Toronto Hydro, Ryerson Pilot Pole-mounted Lithium Ion Batteries

 June 23, 2017

Toronto Hydro is testing pole-mounted energy storage devices that can supplement electricity during peak hours in homes, reports Hina Alam in the Toronto Star.

One unit has already been mounted six metres up a hydro pole in the northwest part of the city. It’s paired with a 50 kilowatt transformer that typically powers about 12 houses, writes Alam. 

The unit can store 15 kw hours of energy, and can supplement enery needs during peak hours. “It’s a lithium ion battery just like the one in your cell phone, and it’s equivalent to 2,000 cell phone batteries,” Gary Thompson, supervisor of engineering at Toronto Hydro, told Alam.

The units will be charged during off-peak hours, and will supplement the energy supply peak hours, Thompson explained. If mass produced, they would cost about $20,000-$30,000 each.

According to project lead Bala Venkatesh, Director of the Centre of Urban Energy at Ryerson University, these units could defer the need for electrical system upgrades. Early results from the pilot unit show less strain on the local transformer.

Toronto Hydro plans to run the pilot for “quite a while longer,” a spokesperson said. If the pilot continues to show positive results, then more of these pole-top systems could be installed. Toronto Hydro has more than 175,000 hydro poles.

Read the full article: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/06/21/toronto-hydro-ryerson-launch-pilot-project-to-store-energy-in-pole-mounted-compact-box.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=

Photo source: Toronto Hydro.