Category — Hybrid

New advances in small-scale Micro Grid power systems have led to the development of the Optimal Power Solutions Macro Hybrid System (“MHS”). This approach brings many advantages to the supply of high quality, reliable electric power in particular applications such as isolated areas, mission critical systems and sites at difficult locations. The Macro system is now recognised as an appropriate solution for utilities where interconnected micro grids can operate together or separately depending on load demands, fuel supply constraints or security prioritised circumstances.

The Macro Hybrid System is the ideal solution for large off-grid power systems incorporating solar photovoltaics and other renewable sources that aim to achieve substantial fuel savings and extended hours of zero diesel engine operation.

For more information on this product, please download our full brochure, available at:

http://www.optimal-power-solutions.com/home/downloads/OPS_Macro_System_rev1_Apr2011.pdf

Optimal Power Solutions has recently completed upgrades to its software control at a privately-held island hybrid system in the Bahamas. OPS made various improvements in order to better support the islands unforeseen peak loads.

This included a new facility that enables separate diesel generators to charge a single battery bank simultaneously via the HPC power conditioning units. In addition, OPS also provided enhancements to its SCADA remote management software and improvements to the integration of the eight wind turbines.

We previously covered this project in an earlier article, Caribbean island lights up with OPS renewable energy technology.

Caribbean Project Photo Slideshow

In June 2010 the City of Puerto Princesa in Palawan, Philippines formed a technical partnership with Optimal Power Solutions in order to address the city’s power shortage, currently estimated at 5 to 10 MW.

An ongoing and significant issue has been the provision of sustainable energy for Puerto Princesa. At present, diesel-powered gensets provide a capacity of 30 MW of power to the inhabitants of Puerto Princesa. OPS and the City Council plan to design and implement renewable energy sources to generate additional power supply, reduce diesel fuel consumption and promote a viable and sustainable energy future. It is envisaged that new renewable sources of up to 10 MW capacity will be integrated over successive phases. This renewable capacity will prioritise the export of photovoltaic power into the grid to better support and lower use of the current diesel generators. Phase One of 1 MW capacity shall be installed in 2011 progressing up to 2MW, 5MW and finally 10 MW providing for future load growth of the City.

The systems will combine solar photovoltaics, OPS proprietary inverter control technology, battery storage and diesel engines configured for 24-hour continuous power supply. OPS will provide the technical design, product technology, delivery, installation and service and maintenance of these new renewable services. The inverter technology will employ specially developed SCADA software for real time control management of the photovoltaic/diesel systems. This proprietary SCADA is currently in use in multi-megawatt grid-connect projects in India and has proven highly invaluable for real-time, remote monitoring of power generation and general system trends.

Puerto Princesa, Palawan: Background Context

Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. Palawan is widely considered as one of the most important areas of biodiversity and conservation in the Philippines due to the outstanding environmental landmarks including spectacular limestone cliff formations, immense reefs teaming with marine life and significant mangroves. Puerto Princesa also contains an environmentally significant tidal underground river. Positioned in the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP), this unique natural phenomena was listed as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site in 1999. The PPSRNP is considered one of few examples in the Philippines whereby a concerted effort has been made to protect and manage the natural area.

The Puerto Princesa City Council is considered to be a leader of sustainable policies and is widely acknowledged as the cleanest and greenest amongst local Philippine governments. As a result, the PPSRPN and surrounding areas of Puerto Princesa are a source of national pride and a key element in the identity of the Philippine people. OPS looks forward to the ongoing technical involvement in regard to the development of sustainable energy and technology trends in the greater region of Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

Optimal Power Solutions has commissioned a unique hybrid power project in the Caribbean islands as of late April 2010.

Renewable energy is well positioned to address increasing energy supply concerns in the Caribbeans. Environmental concerns regarding diesel and fossil-fuel transportation have come to the forefront of political debate as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to cause catastrophic damage. Furthermore, the landed cost of diesel is highly vulnerable to future price spikes and diesel is therefore a risky financial choice as the primary source of energy supply for off-grid requirements. Fortunately, the Caribbeans offer immense potential for new, off-grid renewable projects due to the plentiful solar and wind resource availability.

OPS is pleased to have provided the system integration for this hybrid renewable system that includes solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, diesel generators and proprietary OPS power conversion technology.

This project compromises 2 x 300 kW Hybrid Power Conditioning (HPC) inverters. Our HPC product provides a complete tecnological solution for off-grid renewable energy systems. This unit can operate in parallel with the generators to meet peak loads and features a flexible operating platform for integrating other balance of system components, in this case, the solar PV, wind-turbines and battery storage.

Renewable components of this system include 8 x 15 kW wind turbines and approximately 240 kWp of solar PV that utilise two large capacity OPS Maximum Power Point Tracker’s. In addition, the system utilizes 3 x 312 kVA diesel gensets and a 360 v battery bank rated at 6000 Ah, capable of providing 2.16 MWh of energy storage. The AC system sources are switched through a customised AC switching cabinet that is rated at 1.5 MW. In addition, OPS supplied a Station Control Module that incorporates local and remote access to the system.

To view more images of this project, please click on one of the images below or visit the Caribbeans Project page at our Flickr website here.

Optimal Power Solutions has been contracted for the supply of power conditioning units and system integration for three sites in the Kinabatangan District of Sabah, Malaysia.

Each site compromises a solar hybrid power system that is designed for the supply of electricity to three villages of KG Batu Darat/ Laut, Kg Kuamut and KG Kuamut Seberang. The total combined solar capacity of 430kW across the three villages is expected to reduce fuel consumption by a minimum of 50 per cent. Optimal Power Solutions will provide three proprietary inverters of a combined 710kW capacity. The inverters include 2 x 250kVA Hybrid Power Conditioner, 2 x 30kVA Hybrid Power Conditioner and 4 x 100kVA Grid Export Conditioner, (further HPC & GEC information is available on our products webpage or downloads section).

The sites are very remote and can only be accessed at times via river barges. The Kinabatangan floodplain is located on the east coast of Sabah, Borneo, it is considered of enormous environmental importance for wildlife and the local community as it is arguably the last forested, alluvial floodplain in Asia. Due to the remote location and delivery routes, the cost of landed diesel is high, averaging RM$8 to RM$9 per litre in recent years. It is estimated that the systems discounted payback period for the larger villages will be less than 10 years with scope for a shorter payback period should fuel prices escalate further.

Solar hybrid systems are a particularly viable option for remote area power supply. Optimal Power Solutions is pleased to offer a complete range of proprietary inverters with full service system integration and project development inclusive of remote system monitoring software packages.

For more information please visit our Products, Projects, or Services, webpage

The above map is courtesy of Google Maps 2010.

Optimal Power Solutions is the lead renewable energy technology provider for the system upgrade of the US Navy’s China Lakes testing and training facility.

This project site is located in the Superior Valley, U.S.A. Due to the remote nature of the site, the facility requires a self-contained electrical generating system that includes a large-scale photovoltaic system.

OPS is currently supplying the power conversion equipment and system integration for this system upgrade. The upgrade aims to optimize the energy output of the site’s existing PV modules (210kWp). The existing modules will not be replaced however the previous inverter will be de-commissioned.

Due to the limitations of the existing PV modules to operate at high voltages, OPS was required to design and implement a custom boost-mode MPPT charger. This newly designed boost mode charger will enable the best possible integration of the existing PV array.

This is the same US Navy testing and training facility where an OPS system was previously commissioned in early 2009. It is expected this system upgrade will be commissioned in mid-April 2010.

Pine Bluff is Trinity Grammar School’s outdoor education campus in NSW. It is situated on the Abercrombie River some 75kms from Crookwell. The outdoor campus consists of various freestanding buildings including a lodge, dormitory buildings, cottages, classrooms, a shed and a storeroom. In the summer groups of students attend the campus and participate in camping, bush walking and other similar activities.

Being in a remote environment a standalone power system is required.  Around 2001, the site had a remote hybrid system installed. That system included 12 kW of solar panels designed to supply power to the facility during the day. The system also utilized a 210kWh battery bank along with a 50kVA inverter system.

OPS carried out a site assessment and found that the battery bank had exceeded its useful lifetime. Also, a number of other maintenance tasks were needed to bring the system back to a satisfactory level of performance. OPS was employed to upgrade the existing system. This included a complete system upgrade of the original inverter to a new DSP controlled hybrid power conditioner including a SCADA remote monitoring package. The aging battery bank was completely replaced with 40 x 6V, 875 Ah batteries, and an MPPT solar regulator was integrated into the DSP control to ensure maximum yield of the solar energy.

The system upgrade was carried out in October and November 2009. It is now fully operational in its self-managed “automatic” mode and has been contributing significant amounts of solar energy to the peak summer load of the facility.  The system does this with the assistance of the 2 diesel generators on site and these are also controlled by the HPC unit.

Optimal Power Solutions is negotiating its first project application in South East Asia of our newly developed product, the Macro Hybrid Power Conditioner.

The Macro HPC is an energy optimized large-scale hybrid system. It offers high power renewable energy connected to an automated multiple engine control system (MGCS).  It has a facility to schedule specialized loads through the use of a Station Control Module (SCM).

The MGCS synchronizes various generator sets to operate at peak capacity in parallel, whilst the SCM communicates with the power producing components of the renewable energy station and the Hybrid Inverter Module.

The SCM also controls the Inverter Module at the external PV farm to ensure that all PV power being exported is managed in the event that the battery bank is fully charged and the village load is being met at the time. Controllable loads can be initiated to ensure no excess renewable energy is wasted.

The first application of this newly designed OPS product will be a 1MW power plant in East Malaysia. The Macro HPC platform provides for a scaleable capacity of up to 10MW, in solar photovoltaic increments of 100kW or 250kW.

Optimal Power Solutions envisages a high take-up in future of the Macro HPC in the following applications:

• Remote & Island Village Communities
• Large-Scale Communications Towers
• Health-Care Facilities
• Governmental & Educational Institutions
• Remote Infrastructure
• Off-Grid Airports

Optimal Power provides the latest update for the Kalabakan power system. Delivery to site in East Sabah, Malaysia has been completed. Final commissioning and software setup of the station controller and automation aspects of the main AC board was completed by OPS engineers in Kuala Lumpur.

The main distribution board as shown in the photographs is 3,000 Amp rated at 415 Volts AC. The system integrates 260 kW of solar PV, 3 diesel engines, remote monitoring with automated control. The project is being undertaken for the national Utility TNB in conjunction with local partners Eramaz Technology.

The system is due to be commisoned and handed over by the end of May. For more information on this project please contact us

Optimal Power Solutions has been chosen as key supplier of a new renewable energy technology system in Exuma, Bahamas. The site is a privately owned resort island of roughly 74 acres, in the picturesque Pipe Creek area of the Bahamas.

OPS are providing a highly advanced power station control and optimized energy delivery system. The system’s technical components include two OPS proprietary technology 300k Hybrid Power Conditioner Inverters with two dual channel 120kW MPPT chargers (Maximum Power Point Tracking).

One of the main benefits of the MPPT charge controllers is that they maximize the power from the PV array regardless of the battery or DC link voltage. MMPT systems are less commonly specified in such large systems, however investment in these systems is very sensible given the avoided investment in additional solar.

The system also includes a total of 240kWp of Photovoltaic Arrays, a whopping 360v battery bank rated with over 4MWh storage, three 312kVA gensets and eight 15kW wind turbines. This system has a total capacity of about 1.5 MW. The total system will be used to supply a community with a resort and several houses.

For future information on this and other projects under development visit our blogspot again soon!