A new residential community in Pickering, Ontario is Canada’s first preplanned nested microgrid system.
With rooftop solar panels and Tesla Powerpacks, the 27 townhomes can operate completely independently from the grid.
The community, called Altona Towns, is located about one hour outside of Toronto, and was built to show what a sustainable development and community can look like.
Built by Marshall Homes, and with the help of Opus One Solutions and Elexicon Energy, one of the housing blocks in the development features a 25kW rooftop array of solar panels.
The panels can provide an estimated 10% of the total power needed to run the community of homes.
Any excess energy generated by the rooftop solar panels can be stored by the Tesla Powerpacks.
When combined, the microgrid can become disconnected from the grid, and the homeowners wouldn’t even know as the Powerpacks kick in to provide the electricity.
According to Marshall Homes, the nested microgrid should also save homeowners about 10% to 12% each month on their electricity bills.
In keeping with the green theme, the development also features seven electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for residents.
