Researchers and students at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering now have access to commercial-scale solar arrays and energy storage facilities – with the ability to collect real-time data – thanks to a new, direct-current (DC) microgrid.
Researchers and students at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering now have access to commercial-scale solar arrays and energy storage facilities – with the ability to collect real-time data – thanks to a new, direct-current (DC) microgrid.
Located in the Energy Systems Lab at the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering (ECE), the microgrid passed its final commissioning stage and became fully operational in October.
“The microgrid forms the backbone of future DC research within our laboratory,” Professor Peter Lehn said. “It’s a golden opportunity to develop cutting-edge solutions for current societal needs, especially in the area of sustainability.”
Microgrids are distributed energy grids that have their own generation sources, storage units and load; because they generate power from a cluster of local sources, they suffer less transmission loss than centralized AC power grids. And they can better integrate renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, with battery energy storage systems and emerging DC loads.
Read more at: University of Toronto
Part of the new DC microgrid, these commercial-scale solar arrays on the roof of the Galbraith Building deliver electric power to ECE’s Energy Systems Lab. (Photo Credit: Afshin Poraria)
