Basic HTML Version
86
87
CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - JANUARY 2012
HYBRIDYNE –
RENEWABLE ENERGY
TECHNOLOGY GENIUS, STARTING
FROM SCRATCH
T
HE HYBR IDYNE STORY
began with two friends sitting
at a restaurant discussing the
future. Thomas Cleland and Les
Mac were both veterans of the
technology industry, Cleland being
involved in several leading edge
technology and power quality
companies over the years, and Mac
having many years in high
availability power in the data center
and power quality industry behind
him. The two enterprising friends
met in 1999, when Mac was a client
of Cleland’s.
In 2003, Cleland and Mac were
having lunch on an outdoor patio in
Richmond Hill, discussing the power
backup systems (UPS’s) that they
were both installing in multiple
locations around the GTA. The pair
discussed whether it would be
possible to recharge the batteries
with renewable energy, thereby sav-
ing energy purchased from the grid.
At the time, renewables were a
relatively new idea in Canada, and
were not normally used in commer-
cial buildings. In fact, the use of
renewables was extremely limited at
the time. As Cleland and Mac had
years of experience in high
availability electricity and power
electronics, the pair realized at that
particular meeting there was a
potential opportunity to address the
disconnect in the renewable energy
industry at the time.
When Cleland and Mac began the
process of exploring renewable
power options, developers of wind
turbines and PV panels were
working to improve their individual
collection devices, making them
more efficient, but were not utilizing
advances in power electronics to
their full potential.
What came of that meeting was
the basis of a solution for that
renewable power disconnect—and
the basis of several proprietary and
patent-pending conversion/inver-
sion technologies—, the first hybrid
iterations designed on a restaurant
paper place-mat. This would be the
inspiring creation of Hybridyne
Power, a company that has seen its
share of success and looks to be a
leader for years to come.
CIO had the opportunity to learn
more about Hybridyne’s incredible
journey to commercial success from
Richard Leverton, the company’s
Vice President. “Cleland and Mac
saw a way to make wind energy and
solar energy work together for the
first time, and designed a system
that could do it efficiently,” he said.
Nor th America’s first Hybrid Renewable Energy suppor ted Datacentre.
“
At the time, most solar
inver ters you would find in Canada
(or anywhere for that mat ter)
would ‘wake up’ closer to mid- day.
Likewise, most wind conversion
equipment ignored low and high
velocity wind. Those limitations
meant a lot of wasted energy that
could be gathered—the pair knew
they could change it.”
RENEWABLES - HYBRIDYNE