In the wake of the July 2013 rail disaster, the city of Lac-Mégantic looked to the future and chose to rebuild its central district by positioning itself as a leader in the energy transition. The outcome of a collaborative effort initiated in 2018 by Lac-Mégantic and Hydro-Québec, the microgrid is a living laboratory that brings together leading-edge energy technologies.
Linked to Hydro-Québec’s main grid, the microgrid is equipped with solar panels installed on six buildings and connected to storage batteries, including an EVLO large-capacity unit. In the case of an outage, the batteries can supply downtown Lac-Mégantic with electricity for several hours. The microgrid can also store the surplus energy it generates and feed it back into Hydro-Québec’s main grid. In addition, smart building components were installed in a number of the downtown’s residential, commercial and institutional buildings so occupants can optimize the impact of the microgrid on their comfort and, ultimately, reduce their energy consumption.
With the microgrid, Hydro-Québec is turning to technologies of the future to attain its objective to decarbonate its off-grid systems, which are not connected to the main grid.
The microgrid by the numbers
- Nearly 30 interconnected buildings
- Approximately 2,200 solar panels to generate electricity (close to 800 kW installed capacity)
- Batteries that can store 700 kWh of energy
- Fast-charge station for electric vehicles (240 V)
- Smart home systems in about 20 apartments
- Technology showcase (indoor exhibition and interactive station, outdoor interpretation route, microgrid pavilion being built)
Informations
Francis Labbé
Spokesperson, Hydro-Québec
labbe.francis@hydroquebec.com
514 268-1394
Anne Vincent
Director, Communications and Marketing, EVLO
vincent.anne@evloenergy.com
450 400-2415
