Aiding the transition to de-centralised energy through the supply of SAPS along the Esperance feeder, WA.
Background:
We were contracted by Western Australian utility provider Horizon Power to execute the transition of a number of customers from traditional and costly ‘poles and wires’ grid connections to de-centralised Stand Alone Power Systems (SAPS) along the 54km Esperance feeder.
Solution:
We designed and supplied 15 Stand Alone Power Systems to aid transition from a fixed connection to de-centralised energy generation model.
System Size
Horizon Power utilised its advanced metering infrastructure to model the best stand-alone power system size for each site.
The systems are sized to provide the same or better quality of supply compared to the old connection. Our design is modular and scalable, allowing for easy customisation.
Panel and Battery Selection
The team opted for Jinko supplied solar panels and Murata supplied batteries for integration within this project.
Product selection of panels is a relatively straight forward consideration for this type of application, but a great deal of thought has gone into the selection of the batteries.
The Murata LiFe Po batteries come with a 15-year performance warranty while the phosphate chemistry is widely regarded as the safest of the chemistry types relative to alternative options on the market.
Battery Size
For the purposes of reducing the associated costs attached to the project, all aspects of the build were designed with modularity and scalability in mind. This is particularly relevant with the battery cabinets that were designed in house by CPS National.
Each cabinet can support 30kWh of the Murata LiFe Po batteries. In the event that additional storage is required, it is simply a matter of adding additional cabinets.
Energy Management Solution
Horizon Power has developed its own fleet management system for monitoring and controlling the new assets. The platform meets all the utility cyber security requirements and integrates into existing back office systems.
The system provides the engineering teams, control centre and regional depots with live status, diagnosis and optimisation information from the SAPS systems.
Diesel Generation When Needed
Other than solar and storage, each site typically has a 16kVA genset with a 500L tank for prolonged periods without sunlight.
Genset run time is contingent on load, which will vary between each site. In a traditional hybrid that incorporates a diesel genset, a site will generally have 1.5 days of battery autonomy.
The generator is there for prolonged periods of inclement weather, which is not unusual for the latitude of Esperance. These systems are monitored by Horizon Power’s in-house operations team, with CPS National on-hand to provide technical support when and where they are required.
Outcome:
We achieved a number of desired outcomes for this project:
- Each system design was unique to the loads required from differing sites and were determined using advanced metering infrastructure.
- Installation saw the migration from a traditional ‘poles and wires’ connection to a self-sufficient, de-centralised generation model.
- Successful completion resulted in a significant increase in the availability of reliable power for customers located along the Esperance feeder.
