Return on Experience and Lessons Learned from µGrid Projects
(Room Garuda 9, 1st Floor)
18 Sep 18
4:00 PM
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5:30 PM
Tracks:
TRACK E - Distributed Energy Resources
Laborelec participated worldwide in multiple µgrid projects over the last years (Antarctica, Singapore, Tanzania, Brazil, Azores, France, Belgium,...). As the building of sustainable and green powered microgrids is a complex issue from the point of view of power and energy balance, a lot of different technical difficulties were encountered. Sometimes a high level of creativity was necessary to tune existing market solutions to a workable whole. E.a. the available power versus the installed peak load was not always within proportion. In one of our projects we had to manage a ratio of ten between the peak load and the installed power capacity, whilst normal distribution grids encounter a ratio of three. A complex and very stringent load management had to be developed to handle simultaneity of the loads. Other issues we encountered is the lack of correct load profiles which makes it difficult to simulate accurate scenarios. We developed a set of tools to collect this data and to make more accurate simulations. A test bench to perform hardware in the loop tests on Energy and Power Management Systems for microgrids had to be developed because every project is specific and the right energy management system has to be chosen for the right project. The environmental conditions in which a microgrid is installed depends on the location. We encountered situations with extreme cold (-40°C) and high wind speed (up to 230 km/h) as well as situations where it was extremely hot (50 °C) and humid (> 90 %). This has an important impact on the choice of assets and their reliability. This paper gives a return on experience on the difficulties we had to challenge in real life demonstration and pilot projects and gives an expert insight in how we solved these issues.