Abstracts - Posters

Solar/Backup Power Systems: Increasing the Adaptive Capacity in Atlantic Canada

Alexandre Pavlovski¹ and Vladimir E. Kostylev
¹Green Power Labs Inc.
ampavlovski@greenpowerlabs.com

Climate change brings significant challenges to Atlantic Canada. The most significant impacts result from increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. One of the critical factors that define the sensitivity of the communities to the impacts of climate change is availability of reliable and uninterruptible power supply. Centralized power supply system is the most exposed to damage and the weakest element in a power supply system.

Distributed power supply offers the solution to the problem of power supply reliability in the case of extreme events. When deployed on a large scale, distributed resources can comprehensively improve the resilience of electricity supply, reducing social costs and risks, and enhancing the risk management capability of the region.

Renewable energy sources provide vast opportunities for the development of the distributed generation network. These resources are spatially distributed and can be easily used on the consumption site. Radiant solar energy resources are available where no other resources are present. Solar photovoltaic electricity production is the most recognizable solar energy technology today. The inverter/battery based backup power component constitutes a major part of a solar photovoltaic system. Broad application of the inverter/battery based backup power systems presents a huge step forward to a distributed photovoltaic power supply.

Developing distributed solar generation as a response to climate change impacts brings significant advantages to Atlantic Canada. Governments should adopt aggressive long-term actions that can accelerate the widespread applications of solar /backup power technology in the climate change adaptation policies, strategies and action plans.

2005-04-06