Enel through its subsidiary Enel Green Power Chile Ltda. (EGPC) has started operations at the world’s first 100% emission-free “plug-and-play” commercial-sized micro-grid powered by solar PV as well as hydrogen-based and lithium-based storage.
The facility is currently meeting part of the energy needs of the camp that hosts over 600 technicians working at the company’s geothermal plant Cerro Pabellón in the Antofagasta region, located in the North of Chile.
The micro-grid comprises a 125 kWp solar PV facility combined with two energy storage systems, one based on hydrogen and the other based on lithium, for a total storage capacity exceeding 580kWh. Enel’s hybrid facility is able to turn intermittent solar power into a steady energy source, boosting the micro-grid’s flexibility and stability. Moreover, an innovative micro-grid controller optimises the electricity flows produced by the PV modules making sure that such flows are efficiently shared between the two storage systems in order to guarantee continuous availability of the power supply.
Systems like this micro-grid can supply 24 hours of green energy a day, with no need for back-up diesel generators, to potentially any location, as they can be easily moved between places and work both on-grid and off-grid. This “plug and play” solution can be particularly useful to ensure energy access in remote, poorly electrified areas.
Read the original press release here.