• • • SURGE & CIRCUIT PROTECTION • • •
Delivering efficient energy for remote communities
A solar panel backpack, an iPhone and some headphones are all you need to become a picogrid — a walking, talking, one-person power source able to power your devices no matter how remote your location. Here Jason Harryman, UK sales and business development manager at energy and transportation expert Finning UK & Ireland, explains how local power generation, as part of a hybrid microgrid, can deliver efficient energy to remote communities
P
eople living in remote, rural places pay some of the highest electricity costs in the UK.
Furthermore, in areas separated from the central grid, residents and businesses may require generators to power their lives and businesses. Relying on engine- or turbine-powered gensets for prime or continuous power is expensive, because electricity is produced at a far higher cost than when bought from a large grid. Off-grid applications also require fuel imports to keep the assets running, further increasing costs.
One solution is microgrids — small- scale versions of standard grids that connect buildings and communities to central power sources. A microgrid is simply a local energy grid, a group of interconnected loads and distributed power sources in a self-sufficient system. They can be powered using gensets, batteries and renewable distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar and wind. Microgrids can both connect to the central grid and break off and operate on their own, so communities with a microgrid can produce their own energy and keep the lights on during outages and storms. With the price of renewable energy falling, it has become cost-effective to integrate renewable technologies into local networks. The basic structure of modern hybrid microgrids are the same as traditional models — the difference is using photovoltaics (PV) and wind power to supplement generators. The gensets firm the renewable sources and follow the load. Meanwhile, energy storage batteries help the generators respond to fluctuations in output from the DERs. Renewable energy can make up any percentage of the total peak load — the more renewables used, the less reliance on generators and the lower the fuel and maintenance costs.
There has already been extensive research into renewable microgeneration. For example, the UK start-up Power Transition ran a pilot involving newly built smart homes that had their own rooftop energy generation and battery storage. Residents would produce their own energy and then sell it onto their neighbours or Corby’s National Grid. As well as reducing costs, hybrid
microgeneration can improve energy efficiency in these communities. As the technology develops, it
12 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • MAY 2021
or cooling circuits, which is converted to steam or hot water. During colder months when the solar contribution is reduced, people living in remote areas can use CHP to heat their homes.
ENERGY STORAGE
Because of the reliance on renewable DERs, hybrid microgrids can experience intermit- tent output and changes in voltage. Conven- tional energy storage systems (ESS) include banks of deep-cycle, lead-acid, and nickel- metal hybrid batteries. In hybrid systems, equipment like this can standardise output by storing energy and deploying it to smooth out fluctuations.
could help the UK Government reach its target of zero net emissions by 2050.
LOST IN TRANSMISSION
For rural communities that do have access to the central grid, electricity generation is often inefficient, because of losses from onward electrical distribu- tion. According to a report by Enertechnos Energy, the total power lost in the UK’s transmission and distribution networks in 2017 could have powered seven million homes — at a cost of £1.28 billion. Traditional microgrids are beginning to bridge this gap by creating energy near to consumers. In local systems, generator sets are often located either in the building itself or, in the case of PV panels, on the roof. By minimising transmission losses, people in remote areas can lower their consumption by using less power to compensate for dissipation.
As hybrid microgrids develop, there is potential to reduce energy losses further. Reciprocating gensets are already required as a backup for when the DERs produce at less than the rated capacity — users can go the extra mile by integrating a combined heat and power (CHP) system. According to a UK Government report, CHP offers efficiency of over 80 per cent and can save operators around 20 per cent in costs. The process involves capturing heat from the engine’s exhaust
ESS improves efficiency by reducing wasted energy — it keeps the energy in the system and reserves it for future use. If the main grid is experiencing an outage, the microgrid can also break away from the wider network and use the stored energy to help support loads. Having this backup is vital in areas like the Scottish Highlands, where entire communities are cut off.
As more communities integrate renewables into their energy networks, there is potential for storage technology to evolve in response. For instance, manufacturers could make batteries more efficient and increase their lifespan. There will be a greater need for sophisticated ESS because of the increased loads placed on microgrids. Meanwhile, people living in these communities will prioritise efficiency and backup resilience to ensure that they can generate the power they need.
A few simple technologies can turn you from an iPhone user into a picogrid, with your phone and solar panel acting as power sources and generation, your headphones as a power user and the headphone drivers on your phone as control. Similarly, integrating renewable resources into a microgrid can improve its capabilities, enabling it to deliver vital power, improve backup resilience and improve energy efficiency.
Cat hybrid microgrids provide cost-effective power for on- and off-grid facilities, as well as commercial and industrial sites. Could the new Electric Power Microgrid be the answer for your application?
FINNING UK & IRELAND
finning.com/en_GB
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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