The Institution:
The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) is one of Canada’s leading providers of applied research, development and demonstration (RD&D) and technology commercialization. With more than 350 employees, more than $70 million in annual revenue and 71 years of RD&D experience, SRC provides products and services to its 1,500 clients in 20 countries around the world.
The Achievement:
In cooperation with Cowessess First Nation, SRC directed the installation of 1,134 new solar panels at the Cowessess Renewable Energy Storage Facility – a high-level wind turbine and energy storage project originally commissioned in 2013. The existing facility was already equipped with an 800 kW Enercon wind turbine and a SAFT lithium-ion battery system capable of providing 400 kW for 90 minutes.
The solar expansion – an addition of solar photovoltaic panels covering roughly one hectare of land – provides 340 kW in addition to the wind turbine and battery, as well as 56.7 kW to power the facility itself.
In total, the facility produces 2,828 mWh per year, enough to supply power to 344 homes.
The facility marks the first known utility-scale, hybrid wind-solar-storage system in Canada and one that paves the way for further research in renewable energy generation.
The Team:
This project is led by a team of engineers and technologists within SRC’s Development Engineering group including Ryan Jansen, P.Eng., Anton Farber, E.I.T., Mike Sulatisky, P.Eng. and Nathan Peter, P.Eng.