In 2015 the BCIT SMART team and Vancouver based NuGrid Power Corporation received funding from the BC Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund and from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to develop a testing lab for optical medium-voltage current and voltage sensors. With direct digital output this lab will provide active measurement and real-time communication of measurements on the electric power grid.
The development of optical sensing for line measurements for the medium voltage grid has the potential to provide Canadian utility companies with the technology needed to conduct safe and accurate measurements of the critical parameters of their distribution system. Moreover, this technology will encourage more research in Canadian universities into more advanced signal processing and optimization techniques required to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of this technology.
BCIT News: BCIT SMART NuGrid Medium Voltage Testing Laboratory completed (February 18, 2020)