Tours

Monday Afternoon-- Tour sponsored by Corvus Energy and & Alpha Technologies

A multimillion-dollar collaborative research project aimed at establishing whether distributed stored energy can be used to reduce peak- hour energy demand has gone live at the University of British Columbia, and will be showcased on October 21, 2013, at the Corvus Energy & Alpha Technologies sponsored tour.

The first multi-location project of its kind in the world, the UBC “Living Lab” smart micro-grid will provide operational backup power to three facilities integrated with the grid, renewable energy sources and a mega-Watt energy storage capability.  The stored-energy project is a joint venture between Alpha Technologies, Corvus Energy, Natural Resources Canada and UBC. Each power station used to provide building backup power is being deployed as part of an integrated network controlled through a remote centralized management system – something not done before in British Columbia. The integration means the power stations can communicate with each other and share power when one is running low.

Energy storage technology used for this project allows us to understand how energy is harnessed, stored and deployed at the university to better meet its massive power requirements, which is anticipated to grow by 40 percent over the next decade. The tour will look at how a smarter grid can help deliver electricity more efficiently, cost-effectively and reliably. With these improvements, electricity grids, already strained to near-capacity, will be able to meet the challenges of the future.
 
The visit will include a tour through each power station, including:
 
·      The Fred Kaiser Building
·      Network Centre of Excellence
·      Bioenergy Research and Demonstration 
 
During the tour, attendees will see how one hundred and fifty four AT6500 battery modules (totaling 1MWh, located at the three sites on campus), are supplying backup power directly to specific loads (whole buildings or individual labs) and communicate with the greater grid, allowing energy from the batteries to interact with the grid when requested and coordinated by Alpha Technologies’ Cordex® Controller System. 

Participants will learn about smart grid benefits that have been applied to UBC including:
·      Better equip UBC’s grid to meet increasing demand
·      Help governments, utilities and regional populations avoid the cost and expense of overhauling or building new high-power voltage infrastructure
·      Decrease campus brownout, blackouts and surges
·      Lower energy costs
·      Facilitate real-time troubleshooting
·      Make renewable power feasible by ensuring energy can be stored safely and distributed consistently where and when it’s needed
·      Maintain global competitiveness and safeguard UBC’s leadership position in clean energy research


Pick-up time: 13:30
Drop-off time: About 17:00


Thursday Afternoon-- Power Tech Tour

Powertech Labs Inc. (Powertech), a BC Hydro subsidiary, specializes in clean energy consulting, independent testing services, power system solutions, and smart utility services. Since our inception in 1979, we have served a wide range of utilities companies, oil & gas companies and automotive & electrical equipment manufacturers in order to meet the complex and changing needs of our clients around the world. Operating on a separate, commercial basis for most of our 20-year history, we have been providing energy based consulting and testing services to governments, utilities, Fortune 500 companies and communities. Powertech serves over 400 clients from across all five continents. Combining our multidisciplinary, expert staff of engineers, scientists and technologists, with our world leading testing facilities gives Powertech a unique perspective to help clients from around the globe assess, test and demonstrate their energy systems and energy-related technologies. We are located on an 11 acre, 21-lab campus in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.


Powertech is an expert in clean energy technologies.  Powertech has the resources, testing facilities and analytical tools to help clients verify performance of commercial and emerging energy technologies, electrical equipment and power system planning and interconnection studies. Powertech can assess the reliability of the integration of renewables to the electric power system; integrate distributed generation; design and control of micro-grid operations; model development and support implementation of customized smart grid solutions. In addition, they can provide clean transportation engineering solutions; as well as numerous relevant laboratory and field testing engineering services. Powertech’s reputation is based on their world-class expertise to support innovations in clean energy technologies, which includes smart grid solutions for more efficient electrical energy transfer; conservation initiatives; and demand-side management. Highlights of the tour include
Facility Tour will include the following presentations and/or demonstrations:

  • An Introduction- Introduction and the history of Powertech and its people, relationship with BC Hydro.
  • Smart Utility Lab- Demonstration of various testbeds including Field Area Network, Wide Area Network, Distribution Automation and Distribution Management.
  • Software Lab - A presentation on Powertech’s software business and solutions that we are able to provide to our clients.
  • DSATools Presentation/Demonstration - Demonstration of the DSATools software including the on-line dynamic security assessment.
  • High Voltage Lab Overview/Demonstration - The highlights of our test equipment include 800 kV Resonant test set, 3.2 MV Impulse generator and 1000 kV DC generator. Some of the tests that are performed in the lab include: AC and DC withstand tests, Lightning and Switching Impulse withstand test, Partial Discharge and Corona Tests.
  • Scanning Electron Microscope Demonstration – You may witness testing on the state-of-the-art variable pressure scanning electron microscope with an EDS micro-analyzer attachment and a powerful image analysis module.
  • Materials Lab Presentation/Demonstration – You may see examples of failure analysis, damaged equipment, and various systems and structural assessments. You may witness vibration testing, cavitation erosion repair and a variety of metallography equipment, hardness testers, impact-testing machines and servo-hydraulic tensile testers.
  • Electric Vehicle Charging Station with Vehicle Presentation/Demonstration – You will see examples of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in use for both public charging and Grid Impact and Control studies. There will be a sample of electric vehicles from the Powertech and BC Hydro fleet.
  • Hydrogen Fueling Station with Vehicle Presentation/Demonstration - An overview of how a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and compressed hydrogen fueling station operate.
  • Hydrogen Technology Centre, Cylinder Testing Facility - A general tour is likely to see examples of high-pressure fuel cylinder technologies that are tested at Powertech

Schedule:

1)  Pick-up at Renaissance main lobby 12:00
​2)  Arrive at PTL 1:00
3)  Introduction 1:00-1:30
4)  Smart Utility Lab presentation 1:30-2:00
5)  Tour of Smart Utility Lab 2:00-3:00
6)  Tour of PTL 3:00-4:00
7)  Leave PTL 4:00


If you are interested, please register here.