New type of household solar power system
Thunder Bay Hydro has inked a household solar deal with PowerStream.

TBNewsWatch.com
Oct. 8, 2016

Thunder Bay Hydro and PowerStream, a southern Ontario energy company, have put pen to paper on an agreement that will put a new kind of household solar power system in Thunder Bay.

Thunder Bay Hydro president Robert Mace said the technology is a system that integrates rooftop solar panels, battery storage and smart computer control.

“It allows the customer to generate their own electricity, store it on site, put it back onto the grid and sell it if conditions warrant, and use it to ride through any outages. It’s an excellent technology,” Mace said.

The system, called Power House, generates power using rooftop solar panels.

Electricity is either sold back to the grid, or stored using in-home batteries to be used during outages or periods of peak pricing.

Hydro officials said they looked at a number of companies for this pilot, but PowerStream's track record was an important consideration.

PowerStream chief operating officer Mark Henderson said there are deployments in California and in Australia, and just north of Toronto.

“I think the unique piece of this is the added benefit of battery storage technology,” Henderson said.
 
“More importantly the intelligent software control system that lets you choose if you’re running from the solar, the battery or using the grid connection.”

The cost of installing Power House in one home is roughly between $25,000 and $30,000.

Thunder Bay Hydro will pay the cost of the pilot project, which they hope to have installed by the end of the season.

Hydro officials said it's too soon to speak about bigger rollouts, but say they hope to have findings from the pilot soon.