Much has been written about the U.S. military’s development of microgrids and renewable technologies for use at field hospitals, remote bases and to support critical missions. The Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) has similar interests and has been fostering innovation through its so-called Pop Up City contest.
TUGLIQ Energy, a Canadian power producer, recently developed a microgrid to support the Canadian Armed Forces’ relocatable temporary camps (RTC). RTCs are deployed both nationally and internationally to support the military’s global missions and must be capable of sustaining upward of 1,500 personnel off grid and in a variety of conditions.
The microgrid project was part of the Defense Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program’s Pop Up City contest, in which the DND encouraged innovators to develop more efficient, green and integrated solutions for water, energy and waste management systems for RTCs.
The TUGLIQ Energy microgrid project was one of three finalists, making it to the third round of the competition and winning a $1.5 million funding agreement from the IDEaS program.
In a successful demonstration, the microgrid, which includes a battery energy storage system (BESS), solar array and wind turbine, reduced the RTC’s diesel fuel needs by roughly 33%, according to a statement from Moment Energy, the electric vehicle battery repurposing company that supplied the BESS.
Transitioning to more efficient and sustainable solutions will lower emissions and fuel costs and improve mission security by reducing the need to transport diesel fuel to RTCs.
ComAp, a smart microgrid control solutions provider, and its service and solutions provider Jenso Controls, facilitated the partnership between Moment Energy and TUGLIQ.
The DND expects it will have reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2025, five years ahead of schedule. Like the U.S. government, Canadian officials are targeting 2050 for achieving the goal of net-zero emissions.
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