Blue Planet, Green Ideas | Harrow on generators

The soft hum of generators is a common sound on construction sites. A manufacturing company in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu wants to change this model thanks to electric batteries.

Matthew Perreault
Press

“At the construction site, especially at the beginning of the work, there is no connection to the electricity grid,” explained Miro Yagi, Chairman and CEO of Termaco. The company has placed several electric batteries at Montreal construction sites this year. “Having a battery that replaces generators greatly reduces noise and greenhouse gas emissions. Our battery is mobile, on wheels, so we can recharge it and bring it to the construction site where we need it. We also have a construction site that is recharged by solar panels. »

Financial

The TREE battery (Termaco Electric Energy Reserve), which comes in versions from 100 to 1500 kWh, was launched late last year. It’s environmental and… economical.

With diesel savings for generators, we calculate that the battery purchase will pay for itself in two years.

Marco Lessard, President of Preco-MSE Construction

He employed TREE this summer at construction sites in Vaudreuil and Saint-Laurent borough. Another benefit: the battery “makes it possible to use evening site trailers and night pumps, which is often impossible due to municipal regulations limiting the noise of generators,” he argued.

Preco-MSE specializes in excavation, which means it is often the first on the job site. “To have a connection to Hydro-Québec, it could take several months,” said Mr. Lessard said. Preco-MSE has already experienced a generator-free worksite at the Raglan mine in Nunavik, where wind turbines save thousands of liters of diesel per year.

Pomerleau has a TREE battery at construction sites in the Montreal area, equipped with solar panels for recharging. But the company prefers to wait for more results before giving interviews on the matter.

Termaco has been in existence since the 1960s. Initially, it specialized in metal processing and developed batteries for forklifts and data centers, which was sold to a group of Quebec investors in 2015.

TREE will also be used near the Tennis Canada courts at Jarry Park starting in late September. “Television networks require a very stable power supply for match replays,” Yagi said. So generators are needed. Replaces the current control function of battery generators. This helps them reduce their peak consumption for the rest of the year. »

Electric cars

Another outlet for Termaco batteries is charging electric cars in multi-family buildings.

“If too many people plug their car into a fast charging station at the same time, in some neighborhoods in Quebec, we’re already seeing limits in the capacity of the electrical network,” Mr. Yagi said.

During California’s recent heat wave, when demand for air conditioning peaked, the state asked citizens not to recharge their cars when they returned home at the end of the day.

Norway, the most advanced country in the electrification of vehicle fleets, has also adopted batteries to overcome the limitations of the electrical network. “This is the only solution for old buildings with limited electrical inputs,” says Stur Portvik, director of electric mobility in Oslo.

Will we see batteries replacing the generators used during the frequent breakdowns in the Laurentians? “I don’t think we’ll get there for about 20 years,” Mr. Yagi said. The cost of batteries should be reduced by 10 times.