SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA, Niestetal,
Germany)) and its subsidiary SMA Sunbelt Energy GmbH have commissioned a
solar photovoltaic (PV) hybrid system on the Caribbean island of St.
Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands, to completely electrify the island
with the smart combination of utility-scale PV, battery storage and
diesel generators.
The project is designed to generate enough
clean solar power to cover more than 23% of St. Eustatius’ annual
electricity demand of 13.5 GWh.
Up until March 2016 the island´s power supply was
fully based on diesel gensets. By integrating 1,9 MWp of PV power and 1
MW of batteries with the SMA Fuel Save Controller 2.0, the local utility
company is now able to reduce its fossil fuel consumption significantly
by up to 30 percent and save more than 800.000 liters of diesel fuel
and 2,200 tons of CO2 per year.
In 2010, St. Eustatius became a special municipality
of the Netherlands. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs decided to
make the island and the Statia Utility Company (STUCO) less dependent on
imported fossil fuel oils by financing a solar power plant.
“We were looking for fossil fuel reduction and at
the same time for a solution with both very low maintenance and also
stand-alone operation,” Fred Cuvalay, CEO of STUCO, summarized the
technical challenges.
“SMA provided a hybrid system solution exactly tailored to our needs, which is extremely user-friendly.”
“The project fully integrates three different energy
sources on a large scale that work together in a harmonized manner:
solar power, battery storage and diesel gensets,” said Volker
Wachenfeld, Executive Vice President SMA business unit Off-Grid and
Storage.
The Sunny Central Storage 1000 integrated into the
SMA Medium Voltage Power Station 1000 enables a measured solar fraction
of up to 88% during sunshine hours and supports the grid with stability
functions such as frequency regulation, ramp-rate control for smoothing
PV power fluctuations and optimization of diesel genset operation.
“Rapid movement of clouds in this region, in
particular, leads to extreme fluctuations in solar power generation
which constrains the integration of large-scale photovoltaics into
diesel-based grids,” Wachenfeld commented on one of the challenges.
“That's why using large-scale storage systems is
meaningful for this application as they minimize the impact of
fluctuating energy sources on diesel generators.”
Local system integrator, Eco Energy N.V. from
Curaçao, was responsible for installation of the PV plant. Its
experience on Caribbean logistics and high quality workmanship played an
important role in realizing this project successfully within the
ambitious schedule of 9 months.
The installation in St. Eustatius is the first
project of its kind in the entire Caribbean region and will likely serve
as an example of what’s possible to neighboring islands.source: http://www.solarserver.com
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