July 28, 2020 – The Government of Canada announced a $5.1-million investment in London Hydro to develop and deploy a smart microgrid in the West 5 net zero energy (NZE) community in London, Ont.

According to NRCan, this will involve the following:

• Microgeneration
• Renewable sources of energy
• Tighter building envelopes
• Smarter heating and cooling systems
• Direct current (DC) generation, distribution and energy storage
• System monitoring
• Vehicle-to-grid storage
• Improved electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure

“The overarching objective of the project is to successfully construct Canada’s first large-scale, fully integrated, [NZE] community, to demonstrate [NZE’s] feasibility, deploy it at the community level, and to inspire and inform widespread change across Canada’s construction industry towards net zero energy,” explains NRCan in its Project Brief.

NRCan adds this project will allow a municipal utility to build its “capacity for innovative projects and experiment with new business and technical models that can be scaled up” while setting an example for other Canadian communities.

Local partners also contributing to the West 5 project include S2e Technologies, Sifton Properties and Western University, for a combined investment of $10.99 million.

Funding for this project is provided by Natural Resources Canada’s Smart Grid Program, which allows utilities to reduce pollution and optimize electricity use while encouraging innovation.