Let us design and build your energy storage project!

Energy Storage Solutions:

ORTECH has a long history of renewable energy and energy storage consulting in Ontario.  ORTECH has leveraged the experience of our parent company, Kontrol Energy Corporation and its operating subsidiaries, to offer energy storage solutions to our industrial, commercial and municipal clients. Our fundamental values to our clients include:

• Focus on providing cost effective, dynamic and creative solutions with a targeted yet flexible approach,

• Commitment to technology to monitor and manage the use of the equipment with enough flexibility to handle changes to the electricity system and market rules,

• Vendor and technology agnostic,

• Comprehensive services across the entire Kontrol family of companies: design, engineering, permitting, procurement, commissioning, performance testing and project management,

• Structured finance approach to the business case,

• Experience across multiple types of industrial, commercial and municipal facilities,

• Active board member of Energy Storage Canada,

• Over 40 years of project management experience, and

• Industry-leading air quality, permitting, emission testing and consulting firm.

Why Energy Storage?

ORTECH recognizes that although facilities are unique, an ESS will provide improved flexibility and potential long-term savings.  The primary benefit of installing an ESS is the ability to control your electricity demand for whatever reason.  Some of the key factors contributing to the potential benefits of an ESS include:

• The Price of Energy Storage: Like most technologies, the price of energy storage is dropping. The average price of a lithium-ion battery based system for an industrial installation is currently ≈ $700 to $800 per kWh and trending downward. The cost of lithium ion batteries themselves has dropped from about $1000 per kWh in 2010 to below ≈ $300 per kWh in 2017.

• Demand Management: Consists of using energy storage to store electrical power during off-peak price hours and discharging it to facility loads during higher peak price hours.

• Resilience / Reliability (Backup Power): An ESS provides these benefits until a problem is fixed or other backup power can come online. A battery system allows you to shut down gently and keep you running smoothly during a grid outage until your backup generation kicks in.

• Market Renewal: Ontario is evaluating changes the electrical market system, but those plans are still under developed. The use of an ESS was supported by the previous government and the current government. An ESS will have a beneficial role to play in the future Ontario electricity market.

• Global Adjustment (GA) Market Risk: There is potential for significant changes to the GA. As an example, the recently implemented Fair Hydro Plan refinances a large fraction of the GA so that payments are lower by $2.5 billion per year (≈ 21% of the total GA for 2017). However, an ESS will continue to provide its owners with benefits regardless of potential changes put in place by the government of the day. In most of the likely future scenarios, an ESS will continue to allow reductions in the owners GA payments.

• Peak Shaving Value to the IESO: There is value to the Independent Electricity System Operator (“IESO”) in enticing electricity users to reduce their demand during peak hours (e.g. using an ESS for demand management as described above). In reducing peak demand, the IESO could decrease the need to start up natural gas peaking plants or purchase electricity from neighbouring provinces or the United States.

• Other Benefits of an ESS:

  • Avoided or deferred costs of distribution/transmission upgrades

  • Distribution and transmission congestion relief

  • Black start

  • Demand shifting and peak demand reduction

  • Fast ramping to mitigate impact of variable generation from renewable power

  • Flexible and peak capacity

  • Frequency regulation service generation

  • Generation and uninterrupted power supply

  • GHG reductions in and outside of jurisdiction, lowering reliance on fossil fuel

  • Load following

  • Non-­spinning reserve

  • Spinning reserve

  • Operating reserve

  • Seasonal storage

  • Voltage support

How can Energy Storage help?

If you are a Class A electricity user (i.e. monthly average peak demand exceeding 5 MW), an ESS can be effective in reducing your GA and Demand Charges.  

Also, non-Class A users may qualify for Class A as the Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI) has lowered the threshold to 500 kW (monthly average peak demand).    The ICI, administered by the IESO, is a form of demand response that allows participating customers to manage their GA costs by reducing their demand during peak periods.  An ESS can be utilized to accomplish this, and the IESO encourages users to participate in the ICI program as it helps them manage the electrical system during peaks. 

Reducing peak demand costs is the fundamental pricing mechanism that will offset the cost of an ESS.  Although the GA mechanism may change, an ESS will remain beneficial.  

ORTECH's Approach to Energy Storage projects:

Energy Storage allows you to store electricity when prices are low and use that stored electricity when prices are high. The purpose of these solutions is to cut energy costs. Determining if either solution is right for you is complicated and involved.  ORTECH can make the process easier for you. 

ORTECH offers a multi-tiered approach including:

Assessing your Solution:

An Initial Assessment and Feasibility Study will assist you in determining if Energy Storage will benefit your bottom line.  This approach will simplify and de-mystify these up and coming technologies. ORTECH will break the process down into manageable steps.

Step 1: Initial Assessment: This assessment will determine if either a net metering or an energy storage solution will benefit your company. Net gain equates reducing the cost of energy.

Step 2: Feasibility Study:  This study will identify the high-level solution (type), benefits, costs and process to setup a net metering solution using Solar PV or an energy storage solution.

Step 3: Solution Development:  Identify options for the selected solution and develop an implementation plan for your facility.

Building your Solution:

ORTECH has a structured approach to all our solutions.  Here is the high level overview of that process:

Process:

• Scoping Study

• Business Case development: high level

• Preliminary Engineering design

• Detailed Engineering design

  • Define:

    • Technology

    • Savings

    • Cost

• Solution Development

  • Technology

  • Construction Plan

  • Operation and Maintenance plan

If you are interested to know what the business case looks like, ORTECH can tell you.  Just contact us and we will provide you with a high level assessment with capital costs, savings and solution, at no charge. Please contact Ka-Ming Lin at klin@ortech.ca.

To learn more please contact: