Siemens hands over energy island ‘blueprint’ project to Portugal’s EDA
Expected to establish a blueprint for EU island energy systems, Siemens Smart Infrastructure has successfully completed the Azores sustainable power project. Now handed over to Portuguese utility Electricidade dos Açores (EDA), the project combines energy consumption predictive software and BESS to enhance renewable energy integration on the island of Terceira.
The project, completed by Siemens in partnership with its AES jv Fluence aimed to enhance renewable penetration and grid stability for Terceira.
The project combines software that forecasts energy consumption and production with the battery energy storage system (BESS), allowing for greater and more reliable integration of renewable energy sources such as wind or solar into the power grid.
“This project is an important step towards a sustainable future for Terceira island and the Azores,” said Nuno Pimentel, CEO of EDA.
“The project allows us to better address the instability caused by fluctuating renewable resources like wind energy and can replace the diesel spinning reserve needed to cope with the challenges of maintaining grid stability and the power quality requirements of an isolated system like ours at all times.”
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The Azores have nine isolated autonomous energy systems with great potential for renewable energy, mainly from wind, solar and geothermal sources.
The challenge was to find the right balance between energy production and consumption in the face of sharply fluctuating feed-in and demand cycles.
Siemens’ project team worked with the goal of providing a more secure power supply for island residents while steadily increasing the share of renewables in the electricity mix to up to 50%.
Since 2018, based on their BESS knowledge and experience, the consulting team of Siemens Power Technologies International (PTI) performed BESS sizing and integration studies for EDA.
Project breakdown
Different sets of scenarios were considered to evaluate BESS response and ensure reliability, stability and safety of the entire electrical system.
The Spectrum Power Microgrid Management System from Siemens was deployed on Terceira to ensure optimal interaction between all power generation assets, battery storage and power consumption. It enables real-time monitoring and control of the entire infrastructure as well as hourly or daily forecasts regarding production, consumption and storage use.
These forecasts are based on a variety of data, including weather information and historical data, allowing the operator to manage and optimise the complete microgrid.
On the storage front, a 15MW BESS – one of the largest stand-alone projects of this type for a European island – was supplied by Fluence. Fluence’s Gridstack system also delivers grid forming, reactive power and short circuit capabilities.
This allows excess renewable energy to be captured and then fed back into the grid when not enough power is available to meet demand, reducing the production of energy from fossil fuel sources. The modular battery storage system can be expanded as needed.
This software is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 3,600t per year for the island.
