The University of British Columbia (UBC) recently unveiled a new energy storage system, or prototype ‘smart grid.’

Created in partnership with Alpha Technologies Ltd. and Corvus Energy, the project integrates one Megawatt-hour of stored energy — enough to power an average home for 1,000 hours — into a power grid that supports three major campus facilities.

“This partnership is an opportunity to use the campus as a living lab, integrating research with operations and developing technologies aimed at solving local, national and global sustainability challenges at a scalable, commercially-viable level,” says UBC president, Stephen Toope. “Alpha and Corvus’ contributions will power this work and their leadership will light the way for others to follow.”

The energy storage system was initially created in response to the university’s need for emergency backup power at UBC’s Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BDRF). It will advance research on integrating renewable energy sources such as solar and wind into large power grids.

The smart grid technology will allow the storage of clean power when it is generated and its use in times of peak demand. Most community power grids do not have this capacity. The technology is also a key requirement for integrating clean energy sources into the power grid.

Alpha, Corvus and UBC researchers will develop the system’s automated control software and study its capacity to provide backup for critical energy demand and be integrated into the university’s power grid.

Research and data generated by the project will help demonstrate and evaluate scalable clean energy solutions for cities and communities, and assist UBC in reaching the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 100 per cent from 2007 levels by 2050.

The funding is part of UBC’s ‘start an evolution’ campaign – Canada’s most ambitious fundraising and alumni engagement campaign, which has raised more than $1 billion to date.