(Calgary) An Alberta power company is betting it can entice more homeowners to switch to solar panels by launching what it calls Canada’s first “virtual power plant.”
As of last week, residential customers who register with the Solartility business receive a rental option for a rooftop solar system, with electricity storage and electric vehicle charger included.
Most importantly, customers get a meter that records the flow of incoming and outgoing energy.
That’s what makes Solartility’s business model unique, and why some observers say it could be a game-changer when it comes to encouraging residential renewables in Alberta.
These two-way meters, along with the software that manages the entire system, will allow customers to use their own stored energy during peak periods of energy consumption ― when prices are highest.
“In a nutshell, we’re maximizing export prices and minimizing consumer prices,” says Solartility co-founder Shayne Butcher.
Currently, owners of solar panels in Alberta can earn credits for the excess electricity they produce at home. But without a two-way interval meter, the price they receive for that electricity is simply the regulated monthly rate approved by the utility commission.
Having a two-way meter, along with software to manage it all, means that small growers installing panels on their roof can for the first time be paid with list prices. In other words, Solartility’s software can determine the optimal time to export solar electricity directly from the owner’s reserves, as well as the optimal time to import electricity.
According to Butcher, this virtual power plant concept will result in electricity bill savings of up to 30% for Solartility customers.
“Before, the biggest obstacle was the return on investment,” he explains. You were spending $35,000, $40,000 for solar panels […], but it still takes more than 15 years these days to get your money back. »
“A two-way meter allows the residential consumer to benefit from the price of excess electricity,” says Joel MacDonald, founder of online electricity rate comparison service EnergyRates.ca, adding that electricity prices can fluctuate wildly. from one quarter to the next.
“Historically, there was no mechanism in place for consumers to benefit from electricity pricing. »
Electric grids will come under increased pressure in the coming years as society increasingly adopts electric vehicles, MacDonald argues, so grid management will become increasingly important.
In order to manage this load, as well as account for the intermittent nature of wind and solar power, grids will need to intelligently use storage during periods of low demand and then feed that energy back into the grid when demand increases, d ‘after him.
“As consumers, we think (Solartility’s business model) is great because the more people that put (electricity) into the grid at times of high demand, the lower the average price will go,” he said.
If the launch of Solartility in Alberta is successful, the company hopes to expand its service in Ontario as well as in some deregulated electricity markets in the United States.
The company also plans to license its network management software to other utilities and energy aggregators around the world.