Driving innovation through collaboration with researchers, students
On the right, Jon Nicolle, a University of New Brunswick electrical engineering grad now working on solar and smart grid projects for Saint John Energy, with Carl Ozkaynak, director of Smart Grid at the innovative utility company.
UNB researchers and students are working with us on developing artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced devices and other technologies to help bring a smart grid to Saint John.
By Carl Ozkaynak, December 21, 2020
As Saint John Energy nears a century of proud service to our community, our teams are working hard to forge the utility of the future – building an intelligent electrical grid, designing smart energy products, creating paths that will allow customers to embrace low-cost renewable energy.
“The strategy mapped out by this small energy company was inspiring.”
I joined Saint John Energy last year, attracted by the strong commitment to innovate for the future. Quite frankly, I was impressed at the vision its leaders had mapped out.
Over a career spanning more than two decades with companies throughout North America, I have had the privilege of working on many forward-thinking smart grid projects. The strategy mapped out by this small energy company was inspiring.
Like most successful innovation, the work we avidly pursue today and every day at Saint John Energy relies not only on the strong talent of our people but on the others we bring in to collaborate with us.
Bright minds, latest research
With ongoing and trusting partnerships with post-secondary institutions, Saint John Energy benefits from the approach of bright minds, the latest research insights and emerging technologies.
“We offered him a part-time job during school and then hired him full time when he graduated this year.”
Students come in and soak it all up. They impress us with their command of technology and their fresh mindset and more. In turn, they are able to apply what they are learning in class and gain valuable practical experience for their future careers.
And sometimes we hire them – young rising stars like 23-year-old Jon Nicolle, a University of New Brunswick electrical engineering grad from Saint John who first started working with us as a summer student on the smart grid team in 2019. He impressed us with his enthusiasm and incredible grasp of technology, we offered him a part-time job during school and then hired him full time when he graduated this year.
He’s a highly valued contributor on the team, responsible for helping us to develop a wide range of technologies in renewable energy, smart controllable devices, electrical vehicle chargers and more.
Moving concepts to commercialization
“What I am very happy about with Saint John Energy is that they take the initiative to move toward a greener future and to develop more advanced systems. I am thrilled to be at the forefront of that on the smart grid team. This is exactly the kind of job I dreamt about in school.”
“This is exactly the kind of job I dreamt about in school.”
Jon Nicolle
Collaboration with post-secondary institutions gives us a chance to learn and grow along with people like Jon. It gives students and faculty the chance to take innovations they have designed in labs to test and refine them with staff at Saint John Energy. It moves concepts to commercialization.
Concepts like an advanced smart power inverter designed and developed by UNB to effectively convert, manage and monitor the energy produced by solar arrays. Inverters, which convert the DC power generated by solar to AC, are common and readily available. But this one developed at UNB is capable of interacting with a smart grid, responding in real-time to shifting power demand, weather patterns and other factors.
If the current tests underway with solar arrays at Saint John Energy are successful, the technology could benefit more than 100 local energy distribution companies across Canada.
An important focus for Saint John Energy in developing our smart grid is smoothing the peaks of energy demand. Peaks of high demand for energy press energy suppliers like ours in NB Power to fire up expensive and often high-emitting power generators to meet the surging demand, which is both costly and undesirable for the planet.
Curbing costly peak energy charges
At Saint John Energy, we face one of the most expensive peak demand charges in the country. Nearly a third of the money we spend buying energy goes to peak charges. By devising ways to flatten the peak, we are not only saving money but eliminating carbon emissions. This only becomes more important as energy demands grow.
“Our early efforts in this space have already saved us more than $1.5 million in energy costs a year.”
Carl Ozkaynak
We are working hard to add technology to our grid that will allow us to better predict demand and take measures to shift energy consumption and resources to soften the peaks. Our early efforts in this space have already saved us more than $1.5 million in energy costs a year.
A smart grid allows our customers to more effectively adopt advanced technologies like smart water heaters, smart heat pumps and smart thermostats, which in turn advance energy and cost savings for them.
UNB researchers and students are working with us on developing artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced devices and other technologies to help bring a smart grid to Saint John.
‘A very good opportunity for students’
We also have UNB students working on data analysis for our upcoming Home Heat Saver program, where customers will have access to aerial thermal imagery of their homes to help them identify energy loss and take steps to increase energy efficiency.
One is Ahmad Mohamad Mezher, a postdoctoral fellow at UNB who supervises a number of engineering students involved in Saint John Energy projects. He worked and studied in Europe before coming to UNB and found companies there were not as open to embracing student-led research.
“This is a very good opportunity for students – you are implementing things that will be used by the company.”
Contrast that to the partnership with Saint John Energy, where students are developing and then implementing their ideas for testing in real-world environments. They’re getting the opportunity to work with the private sector – including local firms like The Smart Energy Company, developing solar technologies that are creating jobs, driving innovation and creating export opportunities.
“Not all companies will do that,” Mezher says. “This is a very good opportunity for students – you are not just working in the lab, but you are implementing things that will be used by the company. Your expertise will be better, you will acquire more knowledge.”
Carl Ozkaynak is the Director of Smart Grid at Saint John Energy and is responsible for Smart Grid Engineering, Operations Technology, Information Technology, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Geospatial Information System (GIS), and Distribution Control Center (DCC).