Two new battery projects announced this week will see mining sites in Western Australia and the South American nation of Suriname greatly reduce their dependency on fossil fuel generation.
Western Australia’s state-owned electricity network operator is tendering for a “disconnected microgrid” project which could be replicated if successful, to cost-effectively give rural communities reliable and safe power supplies.
Kokam will supply a battery energy storage system (BESS) that will serve as a virtual synchronous generator, reducing local reliance on diesel generators on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti.
Indian engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Sterling and Wilson has partnered with French EPC Vergnet to develop a solar-storage and diesel genset hybrid project in Niger, West Africa.
Microgrid projects on three different continents that include multiple megawatts of battery storage alongside renewable energy have been announced in the past few days from well-known industry players.
Microgrids can offer a resilient and secure alternative for both rural and city communities. Molly Lempriere looks at some of the microgrids around the world that are transforming the way neighbourhoods produce and consume electricity.
Updated: Germany-headquartered renewables developer Baywa r.e. will deploy a solar-plus-storage solution for a goldmine in Mali that will include 13.5MWh of battery storage and reduce the mine’s dependence on heavy fuel oil during the daytime.
A 6MW / 48MWh battery energy storage system paired to a 15MW diesel generator has gone online on Nantucket, in what has been described by project owner National Grid as the biggest system in New England to date.
