Powering the World with Clean Energy

Reliable Renewables: wind, solar and hybrid solutions

Keys to Success for Deployment of

Renewable Power on Islands

IRENA Forum 2015

Martinique
22-24 June 2015
Vergnet group: a history
made in islands

25 YEARS’ experience on REMOTE and INSULAR areas

1992: first hybrid system
40 WIND & PV plants installed on islands worldwide
5 continents - 35 countries
4 subsidiaries of maintenance and local partners

Subsidiaries • RE plants 2
 Keys to Success for
Deployment of Renewable
Power on Islands
Opportunities for Islands?
Overview of successful RE developments
Risk profile of renewable energy projects
Is there an ideal RE investment scheme?
Overcoming Islands challenges:
Enabling environment
Technical (case studies)
Setting appropriate goals

3
Opportunities for Islands?

1 GEV MP-C Wind Turbine =

131 T of diesel fuel saved / year

100 kWp =
44 T of diesel fuel
saved/year

4
 Overview of successful
RE developments
(Wind & PV)
Guadeloupe Nevis Vanuatu Kiribati
 FIT  PPA  Utility  Grant

> 21 MW wind 2.2 MW 3.575 MW wind 1.3 MWp PV

30% RE >30 % Average RE Hybrid management

National support Private developper & Utility decision, financing Quick deployment time
High FIT attractive for small investor capability Support from gvt/utility
scale projects Enabling environment Step up approach (1+10+2 Preliminary studies
(Gvt & Utility support) turbines) financed

5
 Risk profile of renewable
energy projects

Risk Level

Project Development Project Construction Project operation

Technical  Energy resource assessment,  Actual site conditions,  Reliability of Equipment, suitability to
site location, design, Suitability of the Equipment local conditions (corrosion, cyclones…),
technology to local conditions (Logistics) Local O&M competencies
Commercial  Grid connection, offtake  EPC track record, Project  Interest rates, labour costs
agreement management
Regulatory
 Permitting, land acquisition  Regulatory change,  Regulatory change
interconnection

6
 Is there an ideal RE
Investment scheme?

Model Investment in Land Project Funding Construction Operation

Preliminary acquisition
feasibility
studies
FIT /!\ /!\
PPA /!\ /!\ /!\
Utility /!\ or /!\ or
Grant /!\ or /!\ or /!\

Not a unique Scenario

No fast track to success :
 Enabling environment necessary
 Cooperation between stakeholders
 Ensuring sustainability of the project : importance of capacity building

7
Overcoming Islands
challenges

Necessity for an enabling environment

Setting clear RE objectives

 All stakeholders to go in the same direction
 Roadmaps, RE target…
 Cooperation between Utility, Public authorities, IPP …
 Adapt regulatory framework and Utility’s business model to increase RE share (IPP, distributed
generation) compatible with the country’s RE objectives

Initiating small & medium-scale RE projects:

 Many investors, few developers
 Facilitating the feasibility and resource assessment studies is decisive to the success of smaller
projects (IRENA, FASEP, Development banks support, country support…)

8
Overcoming Islands
challenges
Choosing the right technology for the right site (Logistics, weather
conditions, consumption)

9
 Overcoming Islands
challenges

Optimizing the design for the best ROI (Homer, Copex, etc.)
System design Diesel + PV Diesel + PV + Wind Diesel + PV + Wind
(Existing) +500kW/560kWh +1MW/1MWh
€/l Diesel fuel 0.7 1.0 1.34 0.7 1.0 1.34 0.7 1.0 1.34

Capex 0 Capex Capex +10%

COE (Cost of 0.24 0.34 0.45 0.21 0.26 0.31 0.17 0.20 0.23
Electricity) in €/kWh
Renewables share 8.2% 54% 77%

10
Overcoming Islands
challenges

Managing Intermittent energy and Variable load

Efficient Hybrid control is the key

11
 Overcoming Islands
challenges
Hybrid Wizard © controller: solution for islands
All
One measured
or several
Hybrid Wizardvalues
©power are
calculates in
Power instructions Most of the time, network
analyzers
transmitted are
to distributed
real-time new Hybrid
power Wizard
on ©
Samoa analyzers are linked with an
the grid
instructions
550 kW wind farm optical network
(running)
PV + inverter
Kiribati
500 kWp PV plant Voltage
Frequency Power instructions
(building)
Current
Mauritania Flickers coef.
Harmonics (%) SCADA
4.4 MW wind farm
Grid resilience
(running)

1.3 MWp PV plant

(building) Network analyzer

Gensets

Grid
Optical fiber Wind turbines + PLC
LOADS
12
Case Study 1: Walking before running – Wind diesel on mining site
Location Mauritania
Technology Hybrid wizard controller, no storage

Installed Wind: 4400kW

Capacity Diesel: 4 x 4000 kW
Peak load 10 000 kW

13
Case Study 1: Walking before Running – Wind diesel on mining site
Actual average penetration of Renewables since June 2013

AVERAGE WIND SHARE: 30%

FUEL CONSUMPTION: - 30%
DIESEL SAVINGS: 4 800 T /year

= 1 TURBINE PAID FOR

EVERY 3 MONTHS

14
 Case study 2: Ensuring Grid Stability - Hybrid PV system for remote island
Location Kiribati
Hybrid Hybrid Wizard controller
Technology
Installed PV: 1.3 MWp (400 + 500 + 400 kWp)
Capacity Diesel: 5.45 MW
Peak load 3500 kW (Week)

15
Case study 2: Ensuring Grid Stability - Hybrid PV system for remote island

POSSIBLE
OVERCAPACITY OF PV PRODUCTION
DURING WEEK-END

Genset minimum setpoint: 30%

Hybrid Wizard:
Real time management of PV
and Diesel power plants

Fuel savings: 596 T / year

16
Case study 3: Selecting the proper approach- High penetration Wind-
Diesel system for island
Location Caribbean Island
Hybrid
Technology Hybrid Wizard controler
Installed Wind: 1.925MW
Capacity PV: 114kW
Diesel: 1.9 MW
Battery for spinning reserve
Peak load 1.3 MW

17
 Case study 3: Selecting the proper approach- High penetration Wind-
Diesel system for island
Option 1: Hybrid Wizard Option 2: Hybrid Wizard
without Battery storage + Battery storage for spinning reserve
1.37MW WIND POWER 1.92 MW
NO BATTERY YES

40% AVERAGE RE SHARE 70%

70% PEAK RE SHARE 90%
100% RE USAGE 100%
1 039 m3/year DIESEL SAVINGS 1 418 m3/year

Capex: - 35% vs Option 2 Capex > Budget

Wind
PV
Wind
PV
Genset Genset
18
Setting appropriate goals

Grid Stability and power quality must drive the development of RE projects in islands
 Consumption : minimum and maximum loads, grid parameters
 Possibility of performing grid measurements, identify weak points, etc.
Walk before running
 Set reasonable targets for penetration rates and have a step by step approach (ex: 1 turbine + 10,
30% penetration before targetting 70%)
 Grid stability : the project must be immediately a success
 Project a flexible system, able to adapt to the grid evolutions
 Possible evolutions of the consumption
 Integration in the plans for development of the infrastructures of the territory
Capitalize on the potential of variable energy for Islands
 PV, Wind, low-medium penetration systems are on parity with diesel costs in most islands locations.
 Intermittent (Wind & PV) = 2/3 of planned generation in the Caribbean
 Quick deployment
 Mature, scalable technology: Possibility to improve the system and targets : technology is evolving fast

19
Technology is ready
Wind and PV bring significant savings with high quality &
reliability
Short payback time if good resource

Thank you

Istvan Ponsot – i.ponsot@vergnet.fr 20