Blue planet, green ideas | Haro on generators

The soft babble of generators is a common noise on construction sites. A manufacturing company in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu wants to change this paradigm, thanks to electric batteries.

Mathieu Perreault
The Press

“On a construction site, particularly at the start of the work, there is no connection to the electricity grid,” explains Miro Yaghi, Chairman and CEO of Termaco. This company placed several electric batteries on Montreal construction sites this year. “Having a battery that replaces generators greatly reduces noise and greenhouse gas emissions. Our battery is mobile, on wheels, so that we can recharge it and also bring it to the place of the construction site where we need it most. We even have a construction site where it is recharged by solar panels. »

Economic

The TREE battery (Termaco electric energy reserve), which comes in versions ranging from 100 to 1500 kWh, was launched at the end of last year. It is ecological and… economical.

He employed TREE this summer on construction sites in Vaudreuil and in the borough of Saint-Laurent. Another advantage: this battery makes it possible to use “site trailers in the evening and pumps at night, which is often impossible because of municipal regulations limiting the noise of generators”, he argues.

Preco-MSE specializes in excavation, which means it is often among the first on a job site. “To have a connection to Hydro-Québec, it can take several months,” says Mr. Lessard. Preco-MSE had already experienced a worksite without generators at the Raglan mine in Nunavik, where wind turbines save thousands of liters of diesel per year.

Pomerleau also has a TREE battery in construction sites in the Montreal area, with solar panels for recharging. But the company prefers to wait for more results before giving interviews on this subject.

Termaco has existed since the 1960s. Initially, it specialized in metal processing and developed batteries for forklifts and data centers, before being sold in 2015 to a group of Quebec investors.

TREE will also be used near the Tennis Canada courts at Jarry Park, starting at the end of September. “Television networks need a very stable power supply for match replays,” says Yaghi. So generators are needed. The battery will replace the current regulation function of the generators. It will also help them reduce their peak consumption the rest of the year. »

Electric cars

Another outlet for Termaco batteries is the charging of electric cars in buildings with a lot of housing.

“We are already seeing, in certain neighborhoods in Quebec, limitations in the capacity of the electrical network, if a lot of people plug their car into a fast charging station at the same time,” says Mr. Yaghi.

During the recent heat waves in California, the state also asked citizens not to recharge their cars when they return home at the end of the day, when the demand for air conditioning peaks.

Norway, the most advanced country in the electrification of the vehicle fleet, also embraces batteries to overcome the limitations of the electrical network. “It’s the only solution for old buildings with limited electrical inputs,” says Sture Portvik, Director of Electric Mobility in Oslo.

Will we see batteries replacing the generators used during breakdowns, which are frequent in the Laurentians? “I don’t think we’ll get there for about 20 years,” says Mr. Yaghi. The cost of batteries should be reduced by a factor of 10.”