A microgrid case study: The Annobon Island Microgrid, a reliable and cost-effective island microgrid.
Annobon Province, an island off Equatorial Guinea in west central Africa, has a population of approximately 5,000 residents. The residents only have reliable electricity for up to five hours per day and spend an average of 15-20 percent of their income on supplemental power. They needed a solution that would eliminate the expense and provide them electricity for 24 hours a day, seven days a week in order to become a better functioning island. As part of The Equatorial Guinea’s National Economic Development Plan Horizon 2020, which aimed to make Equatorial Guinea an “emerging economy” and accelerate its development and democratization by 2020, the group sought outside help with their power dilemma.
Historic Solution
The government of Equatorial Guinea chose MAECI Solar, a division of Management and Economic Consulting, in collaboration with Princeton Power Systems to install 5-MW solar microgrid system on Annobon Province. The island microgrid provides reliable, predictable power and supplies enough electricity to handle 100 percent of the island’s current energy demand and allow for the largest self-sufficient solar project on the continent of Africa.
The solar microgrid features 5-MW solar modules, system integration, an energy management system, controls, and energy storage.
The Annobon Island Microgrid is the culmination of many years of operating off-grid solar systems around the world. By integrating advanced batteries and controls, we can now make large-scale microgrids a reliable and cost-effective energy solution.- Martin Becker, Chief Technical Officer, Princeton Power Systems
A World-class Energy Management Solution
Princeton Power Systems’ BIGI-250 energy management platform, the world’s first three-port industrial-scale solar energy management system, with UL listing and thousands of operating hours in commercial applications since 2012 was the key driver behind the power project on Annobon Island. Princeton Power Systems’ BIGI-250 energy management platform:
- Offers advanced smart-grid functions saving customers time and money.
- Operates both on-grid and off-grid
- Features built-in smart functions, such as peak demand shaving, photovoltaic (PV) ramp rate control and area frequency regulation (AFR).
- Highly innovative design can be configured for various applications and is compatible with advanced grid communication protocols.
- Converter platform offers high efficiency, proven reliability and unprecedented flexibility.
Global Experience
Princeton Power Systems’ previous global experience in microgrids from Alcatraz Island, the U.S. Department of Defense and private sector customers was relied upon to improve the quality of life for people on Annobon Island where grid power does not exist or is not reliable. This groundbreaking project in Africa will serve as a platform for the one billion people across the world without any power.
For a free PDF of this microgrid case study visit Princeton Power Systems.
Read more about Annobon Island on Microgrid Knowledge: Darren Hammel of Princeton Power Systems explains the changes that the Annobon Island microgrid will bring to this Equatorial Guinea community, or to see other Microgrid Knowledge Microgrid case studies, visit the case studies channel.
