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Home My WebLink AboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-05-03, Page 5A cleaner Ontario 1 -low Ontario start-up company, NRStor plans to improve energy efficiencies and reduce green house gases Kathleen Smith Goderich Signal Star In a Town Council meet- ing last week, Ontario -based start-up company NRStor presented a site -plan pro- posal for the first of its kind energy storage projects. When CEO of NRStor, Annette Verschuren, retired as the CEO of Home Depot Canada, she spent time in developing countries and recognized that the issue of energy was a challenge. Verschuren wanted to start a company that made a difference, that could help solve energy problems as a global community, under- standing that energy storage was a major contender to help clean up the electricity system. "I want to do something different. We started this company NRStor, and want to store energy that is of excess," explained Ver- schuren. "It really improves the efficiencies and also reduces green house gases, which I think, is something that our country and the world is focused on." The technology, devel- oped by another Ontario - based company Hydrostor, uses a process, which would compress air, store that com- pressed air while also storing the heat in a separate insu- lated tank, until the air is released again to put elec- tricity back onto the grid. Hydrostor President and CEO Curtis VanWalleghem also presented to Council and provided a description of his cutting edge technol- ogy that would allow for energy storage, without using gas and without fur- ther harming the environment. "We were founded in 2010 and we spent seven years working with various univer- sities, including Windsor and Waterloo, to develop this technology. The trick is the thermal piece that we spent a lot of time develop- ing which is now ready," explained VanWalleghem. In a short description of the process, atmospheric air would be sucked in through a compressor and pressur- ized, then stored in the unused salt cavern. In other compressed air technolo- gies, the heat from the air is removed and released back into the atmosphere. "No one had developed the mechanism to store the heat. They all required natu- ral gas. That is what my com- pany has done. We are get- ting calls from Germany, the US and all around the world. We would like to make a showcase here in Goderich for the world," said VanWalleghem. When it comes time to re- release the air through an expander to regenerate elec- tricity, other facilities burn- fuels to heat the air. The • Enjoy continuous, stable and uninterrupted power throughout your day • Recharge your batteries while you sleep • Avoid the hassle of disposable batteries • Replace your batteries only once a year at your annual checkup SOUND THERAPY HEARING CENTRE www.soundtherapyhearing.com difference is this facility can reheat the air without the use of fuel. Once the site plan is approved, this project will be the first fuel free project with a commercial -backed, ten- year contract with the Inde- pendent Electricity System Operator (IESO), to ever be built in Canada. "We are excited to offer this technology to the world, and hopefully we can do it from here in Goderich," explained VanWalleghem. NRStor and the technol- ogy developed by Hydrostor wish to bring a `first of its kind' project to Goderich, and build above one of the unused salt caverns. As mentioned three weeks prior to this proposal to Town Council, Dr. Spacek a concerned local, presented information on this project, comparing the yet -to -be - built facility to two others in the world, which are similar. Representatives of NRStor such as CEO Verschuren and Director of Engineering Katherine Peretick, provided Wednesday, May 3, 2017 • Signal Star 5 Kathleen Smith/Goderich Signal Star NRStor CEO Annette Verschuren presented a site -plan proposal to Town Council last week. NRStor's project of storing excess energy in unused salt caverns in Goderich, coupled with Hydrostor's technology, is the first of its kind and is totally fuel - free. a detailed description of what the dimensions of facil- ity would be and how the technology works. The most significant dif- ference between the two other facilities, one in Ger- many and one in Alabama, and the one that Ontario - based NRStor would like to build in Goderich, is that the latter would be less than 1% of the size and completely gas -free. See page 11 for more on this story. Heating Open House May lOth, 2017 1 9arn •- 5pm During this event, we will offer: • FREE hearing screening and consultation • FREE clean and check of your current hearing aids 12 -MONTH special financing available** • REFRESHMENTS will be served • FREE technology demonstration • of both Muse hearing aids and ZPower° rechargeable batteries • 60 -DAY risk-free trial* ALL EARLY TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AS SPACE IS LIMITED -519-440-0033 44 Newgate Street, Goderich, ON 'Deposit may be required. "Subject to credit approval or see clinic for details.