ABOUT
On an island, renewables are usually the only form of energy that can be produced locally. That makes them an interesting choice compared to other conventional sources, as they allow to pursue ambitious energy transition objectives and reduce electricity production cost. However, depending on the location, size and orography of the island, the variability of the solar and wind resources can be quite important. As insular electricity networks are fully isolated, this fact can play a major role in the grid management as their penetration in the electricity mix increases.
Hence, being able to predict significant drops in renewable resources is crucial to optimally compensate for the production decrease with a different energy source or storage and thus guarantee power quality and grid stability.
In the operational phase of the plants, solar and wind forecasting on different time scales proves to be the best practical solution to predict the fluctuations in energy production.
In the planning/development phase, this is achieved by conducting different types of studies:
Sizing of energy storage systems (centralized or not)
Analysis of the variability of the solar and wind resources
Estimation of the solar potential of a specific site
Long-term mix strategy, grid code specification support
Steadysun has successfully deployed insular products and services in places where the penetration rates of electricity production from variable sources can exceed 30% of the consumption.
Optimize the management of the grid and the spinning reserves by limiting the impact of the intrinsic variability of renewable energies.
KEY BENEFITS
Reduce the carbon footprint of the electricity production mix by optimizing the management of operating reserves/spinning reserves and then reducing fossil fuel consumption.
By anticipating the significant drops in power production caused by sudden changes in weather conditions and optimizing the real-time dispatch strategy of the different energy sources, thus ensuring electricity supply.
By using massively renewable energies: the use of fossil fuels will be reduced and the gensets lifespan will be increased, reducing maintenance costs.
CASE STUDY
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Forecast contribution assessment study
Solar/wind resource and renewable energy assessment study
Solar/wind variability assessment study
Hybrid energy system sizing and optimization study
Long-term mix strategy, grid code specification support