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Water Today Title March 29, 2024
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Update 2022/1/17
RENEWABLES



brought to you in part by

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Off-grid Mobile Power and Storage
Interview with Nick Efston, Founder and CTO of MOBISMART

By Suzanne Forcese


WT: Nick Efston, thanks for doing this. One of the principal issues in remote communities in Canada is the use of diesel. You have alternatives to diesel, both in wind and solar, can you tell me what you do at MobiSmart, and where is the alternative to diesel fuel in what you do?

Nick Easton: Our systems are designed to displace diesel. They can displace from 30% to 90% depending on what the desire is. Our systems are “trailerized”, in other words, they are easy to move around; they have integrated components, the systems are tried and tested before they leave our factory. They are put in place to displace diesel by using solar, wind although we do still like to use diesel as a backup. Unfortunately, we can’t get 100% off diesel, there is not enough sunlight in the winter.

The point is, we supplement diesel. The thing about the way diesel generators run now is that they are running constantly. A 10Kw generator, it’s putting out at least 50% load, it should not run less than that. So, a 10Kw generator is putting out 5kw, 5000 watts, but many times the loads are much lower than that. You might be using only two or three hundred watts. In this case, you are using way more diesel than necessary. We run our systems through batteries, so whether it is solar power or wind, or when the diesel backup cuts in, every watt generated goes to the battery to be used or stored. That’s a big difference, it’s about energy conservation, eliminating waste.

WT: Given the gen-set size in some of the remote communities, off-grid communities, those don’t get enough sunlight for solar panels, or they don’t work in -40C. Can you explain the evolution of solar panels and why they would or wouldn’t work in these communities?

Efstrom: Yes, it is true to a certain extent. Many times, the solar panels do work, except that they are not positioned or maintained correctly. We see installations, where the panels are ground (or roof) mounted, covered with snow, and frozen up.

Our systems are designed for the worst conditions possible. We use pole mounts, that get the panels as high as 14 feet off the ground. It’s not a complicated install, just one poured hole in the ground and it goes up in an hour. These systems are designed to sit on top of the snow and face almost vertical to catch the sun. This is where we do have to supplement our solar panels with diesel, but as mentioned, every watt that is generated is useful.

Our systems can be set up as a mobile micro-grid, we lay out our systems so that they can all be connected, wind, solar, and diesel generator. And we train local people to maintain all of this.

WT: Can you tell me about the Spark unit?

Efston: Spark is a trailerized four-panel system. We are using the best technology in solar available, LG bi-facial solar panels, they are extremely effective and efficient. We have a whole system integrated with advanced battery chemistry, we have inverters from 3, 5, and even 10 KW. We customize the system so it’s the right size for what we are powering. It’s a system that we have designed, engineered, and insulated to be extremely rugged, well balanced; we are using a lot of aluminum, so they are quite light. These systems can be pulled into place, the jacks go down, wheels come off, the skirt goes on and they can become semi-permanent.

WT: You mentioned a certain type of solar panel. In the past year or two, there have been some major advances, can you talk about that?

Efston: Solar panels have become more efficient. We are on the leading edge of the technology, using the appropriate panels for the application. For the north, the bi-facial panels are best. These take power from the front and back, so in winter conditions with snow, the reflection coming off the snow gives 30% more light gathering and power generation because they are active on both sides.

WT: Anyone who has been snow-blinded understands reflection off snow has that kind of power. Having these units deployed, can you help me make it real for a community? We have to bring these things in, fly them in, or bring them in on ice roads, can you tell us about weight, length of time to delivery, cost, give us a timeline for ordering?

Efston: The systems are modular; we try to keep the weight down. Weight restrictions are important, these run around 2000lbs, but they are on wheels, and well balanced. They can be configured in different ways depending on where they are going. Starting at $30,000 depending on how we modify them. The biggest issue is the time to payback. Given that we are displacing diesel, the payback period depends on the cost of delivered diesel, we have seen cases where the payback is as short as one year.

Maintenance is minimal on our systems. One unique thing we do is monitor from our central office. We get the system alerts at our office, if they are running low on power, or if there is snow on them. We are set up to work with local people, training to keep these systems running. This is the huge benefit of our approach. We want these things to work, so, working with local teams, training local technicians to make sure they will continue to work properly, that the systems last the lifetime we put on them, which is 15-20 years.

WT: You sent me the survey you use to figure out the load. So prospective clients fill out your survey, why is this so important? Can you tell us your energy-generating abilities with wind?

Efston: The survey is really a load sheet. We work with the customer to understand what they are running; we need to understand this. The details are important, we must “right-size” the system to your demand. Once we have the survey, the load sheet, we make sure the system is customized for that load plus 25% more to compensate for the extra demand that always comes with reliable power.

After the survey is completed, we come up with how many kW hours you need per day, size the battery bank accordingly, and we size the power generation components accordingly. That could entail supplemental solar, as mentioned, on pole mounts, and wind generation.

Our wind generators are vertical axis. They come in 1, 3, 5, and 10 KW systems. The vertical axis turbine is field-tested, it runs very quietly, and they will work in much harsher climates than the horizontals. The wind turbine has to be sited properly, like anything else. We have to understand where it’s going to be installed, we have to get up above the tree canopy and that’s all part of the survey. When we do a proper survey, we understand what’s around the area so that we can maximize generation, whether wind or solar, and we will always use the available diesel generator to top up just in case there is no wind or solar for three or four days. So, it’s a combination of renewable power and diesel generation that goes into our batteries, set up for the specific application.

WT: From the community core area, power cables run from the gen-set to the homes, some of which are using wood heat to supplement the power. How hard is it to use your system and power the home directly? Should they be doing that, or should they be looking at a whole community micro-grid? What do you recommend for homes that are further from the community centre?

Efston: It goes back to the load sheet analysis, the survey. It also depends on the desire, the end goal for the client. For a community, we use a bigger, containerized system, which has everything integrated, including the diesel generator, battery racks, inverters. The container systems have the same infrastructure, the same power electronics, inverters, and batteries, it’s just expanded. We can power one house or a whole community. If there is a diesel generator in place already, we can make use of that as a backup to the system, to charge the batteries.

It is really about a conversation, finding out what is the end goal for the community. We can work through all the scenarios, mix all the technologies to fill the battery bank, then wire out to the homes.

WT: I would imagine most of the community leaders would do more innovative things, however, they don’t always get the extended support from southern companies that they feel they need. What can you say about this, going beyond words, to actions?

Efston: Equipment always has to be serviced, just as with diesel generators. This is new equipment, so it is not necessarily well known. We bring the local techs down to our facilities in Toronto or Montreal for training in how these systems work, how the components are integrated with our own proprietary monitoring portal. We have maintenance and monitoring contracts, our SLA, surface service agreement. Technology has come a long way from when we started in the business, but it really is not that complicated. 

WT: When technicians come down for a couple of days for training, they stay in hotels, do you charge for training? Do you finance the equipment? What happens at the end of the lifespan of the equipment, is it recycled? There is tremendous interest in how things are thrown away, there is a lot of garbage now, what happens at the end of the life cycle?

Efston: This is also part of our contract, our working agreement. We have been in business for over 50 years in the renewable sector. Our company was a pioneer in importing and selling solar panels and power products into Canada, in the ‘70s. We have to continue to work with our clients’ needs and desires, we have to make sure we hit all those points. Everything is recyclable, the trailer systems, the batteries, and being on wheels, it’s easy to get it out and back to the recycling facilities.

As for financing, we are working with several of the large banks' lending and leasing departments. We have done lots of leasing. These power units qualify for financing, the equipment is bankable, leasable. The units all have VIN numbers, so it’s like a car lease. There are a lot of very successful lease programs we can use.

WT: So when remote communities call, you would get back to them promptly, treat them with respect and deal with all the needs to see it through from start to finish, is that a fair statement Nick?

Nick: Absolutely, yes that’s our goal.

WT: It’s an issue for remote communities, so we wanted to make sure that was addressed. Thanks for doing this.

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