The 26 MW Sunbank solar and storage project in Summerside, PEI will also feature a 10 MW battery storage system and is expected to reduce the city’s imports of electricity from 58% to 38%.
Canadian solar mounting system supplier, Polar Racking, announced that it will supply the foundations and racking to Aspin Kemp & Associates Inc. for the Sunbank solar and storage project in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.
The Sunbank Project solar and storage project is set to consist of a community microgrid with a capacity of just over 26 MW as well as a 10 MW battery energy storage system for which Aspin Kemp has been selected as the EPC. While the duration of the battery storage system has not yet been chosen, it’s reasonable to expect somewhere in the ballpark of four hours. Polar is responsible not just for supplying hardware to the project, the company will also conduct the engineering the structural racking for the installation.
Once completed, the Sunbank Project is expected to reduce the city’s imports of electricity from 58% to 38%; meaningful progress as the whole of Canada looks to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
“The Summerside Sunbank Project proves that jurisdictions of any size can play an active role in sustainability when they truly want to,” says Vishal Lala, Managing Director at Polar Racking. “We are thrilled to work with Aspin Kemp & Associates to advance the city’s clean energy goals by supplying the racking and foundation for this project.”
While usually a bit more tropical in nature, Polar Racking is no stranger to the hardware solution needs of island solar systems and microgrids. The company was selected by Sir Richard Branson’s BMR Energy group as its racking & foundation supplier and mechanical installer to rebuild a solar farm destroyed by hurricanes in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. BMR said it recognized that Polar’s PRU fixed-tilt racking system is engineered to handle heavy loads from wind, slopes, and a wide range of variable ground conditions.
Before that project, Polar Racking previously installed over 20 MW of rooftop and ground-mount solar racking across the Caribbean including Barbados, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Belize, and other islands. Elsewhere, Polar has worked on projects all over Canada and the US, including ongoing projects in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, Minnesota, and California.
