This week we are back with our Energy Storage Highlights Countdown, in the run-up to Energy Storage Europe Düsseldorf, on March 12-14. Messe Düsseldorf has partnered with pv magazine to produce a special publication for the event. As part of the project, we tasked an independent jury of experts to rank a range of Energy Storage Highlights that will be exhibited at the event.
Come to our highlight ceremony
There you have the chance to meet experts from the companies of the five top ranked submissions.
Among them, Christoph Lang, head of product management Europe for Trina Energie Storage Vertrieb und Service GmbH, will be in attendance to receive the award.
Join us, along with Christoph and the other top-ranked experts, for an opportunity to deep dive into the exciting innovations and technologies leading the energy storage sector.
The full ranking will appear in the Energy Storage special issue. This week we have already presented a thermoelectric energy storage approach by MAN Energy Solutions.
And next up is…
#4 Trina Solar
27 microgrids for the Maldives
Islands have been a market for solar and battery storage for some time – the term ‘to island a grid’ explains everything in this regard. By installing solar and storage, diesel generators can be replaced. Trina Solar has now presented an electrification project that takes a particularly holistic approach to island power provision.
The Maldives are a group of islands occupying a similar portion of the globe to Scotland but with a total land area only as large as Edinburgh. That poses challenges for solar electrification, as a separate microgrid has to be planned for each islands. Lying some distance apart, the islands have no electric interconnections.
Trina’s Micro-Grids project spans 14 islands and Trinabess, the EPC division of the company, designed and installed the project.
Given the limited land available, the systems are distributed over multiple rooftops in arrays ranging from 60 kW up to 330 kW – for a combined capacity of 2.6 MW. Trina says it trained locals to install the systems. The battery storage units have a combined capacity of 2.6 MWh.
The systems are designed in such a way that in principle they are grid forming, meaning diesel generators can be switched off for long periods. On a typical day, significant diesel generator output is only required from around 6 pm, when solar output is insufficient and batteries are fully discharged. Without storage, the diesel gensets would have to be switched on from around 4 pm.
In the second, Trinabess is installing a further 2.3 MW of PV generation capacity and 1.5 MWh of battery storage capacity on 13 islands.
Trina says the advantage of the new microgrids is not only the fact 2.6 million liters of diesel will be saved annually, but also that the grid is more robust and costs fall because the average price for a kilowatt hour from diesel gensets is $0.70.
Jury comments
Florian Mayr: “Microgrids on islands often make economic sense today and can help to deliver insights for applications on the mainland as well.”
Trina Solar can be found at Energy Storage Europe in Hall 8B, at booth B36.
The jury
Xavier Daval
Daval is an international solar and storage expert as well as CEO of French solar technical advisory firm kiloWattsol SAS, which he founded in 2007. He is an electrical engineer and former director for the EMEA region for an NYSE-listed manufacturer of tools for the electronics industry. He is also VP of French renewable energy association Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables, chair of its solar commission and director of the Global Solar Council.
Logan Goldie-Scot
Goldie-Scot heads the energy storage insight team at BloombergNEF. He leads the company’s analysis on the global energy storage markets, providing insights on technology, markets, policies and regulation, as well as the competitive landscape. He also oversees the company’s analysis of supply chains.
Rolf Heynen
Heynen is director of Good! New Energy. Good! is known for the annual Dutch Solar Trend Report – also published in English – the Solar Quarterly, the Solar Solutions international trade fair and the Solar Business Day conference. Good! is also active in renewable heating, smart lighting and buildings, energy storage, consulting, energy modeling and market research. Heynen holds degrees in electrical engineering and political science.
Mark Higgins
Higgins is chief operating officer of Strategen, a professional services firm focused on market development for a decarbonized grid. His broad energy sector experience before Strategen included serving as director of utility west at SunEdison, VP of finance for Hu Honua Bioenergy, and as Pacific Gas & Electric’s lead in key policy areas including interconnection and transmission planning.
Julian Jansen
Jansen is a research manager at IHS Markit Technology. He leads the group’s global research on stationary energy storage and provides insight on the key value drivers and emerging business models accelerating storage deployment across Europe and North America. Jansen also delivers strategic advice for bespoke projects featuring new energy technologies.
Florian Mayr
Mayr is a partner at Apricum and head of its energy storage, digital energy and green mobility practices. He is an expert in strategy, business development and transaction advisory in global renewable energy markets. Mayr advises cleantech companies on corporate and project financing. Before Apricum, he spent eight years in senior positions at McKinsey & Company and RWE.
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