A Portuguese archipelago located midway between Europe and North America, the Faial island operates as a self-contained microgrid, powered by six oil-fired generators that produce up to 17MW of electric power to serve 15,000 inhabitants.
A flagship technology of the recent Powercorp acquisition, the control solution is designed to calculate the most economical configuration, ensure balance between supply and demand, as well as maximize wind energy integration, and optimize the generators to help the entire system to perform at peak potential, the company said.
ABB Power Systems division head Claudio Facchin said the technology will facilitate the control and monitoring of all the wind turbines and oil-fired generators on the island.
”This is an important function as the intermittency associated with wind energy can cause frequency and voltage fluctuations that can destabilize the microgrid, and in extreme cases even lead to power disruptions and blackouts,” Facchin added.
The wind energy integration together with ABB’s solution is expected to save approximately 3.5 million liters of fuel per year, and also reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by around 9,400t.
