Powering up the future

West 5 development getting $5.1 million in federal support for smart grid technology

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT today announced a $5.1-million investment in London Hydro to develop and deploy a smart microgrid in Sifton Properties’ West 5 net-zero energy community.

This funding will help the community achieve its net-zero targets. Local partners also contributing to this project include S2e Technologies, Sifton and Western University, for a combined investment of $10.99 million.

“The West 5 development will not only provide us with a sustainable approach to develop future communities, but I believe that in the process it will also help us establish new guidelines, new requirements and new policies, which will pave the way for expanded development of such net-zero communities,” said Vinay Sharma, London Hydro CEO. “This is an important step in our journey for achieving a greener community.”

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The investment supports the design and development of West 5, Canada’s first large-scale, fully integrated, net-zero energy community. The microgrid will integrate monitoring, data management and communications, electric vehicle infrastructure, distributed energy resource management, solar power generation and batteries to reduce grid use.

According to Kate Young, London West MP and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, one of the goals of the project is to demonstrate that net-zero energy is feasible at the community level, which will promote sustainable development and inspire widespread change across Canada’s construction industry.

“The government is proud to support local smart grid projects like the West 5 Smart Grid Project,” said Young. “Strong partnerships and innovative ideas like these at the community level will lead to a cleaner, greener future for generations to come.”

Situated along Oxford Street West, the West 5 development will have 450,000 square feet of commercial space, a central park and 2,000 households consisting of townhomes, condominiums, apartments and retirement residences when it’s completed in 15 to 20 years.