Background

The hybridisation of Diesel power stations or “fuels saving” is a strategy which consists in combining thermal power stations (Diesel, GTG, etc…) with renewable energy production sources (solar, wind) and eventually energy storage systems.

This technique allows the limitation of the carbon footprint as well as the limitation of the various risks associated with fuels procurement and also lead to competitive electricity production costs (in terms of kWh).

Hybridisation is thus a particularly interesting solution concerning not only rural electrification projects but also for industrial sites or isolated mines connected to unreliable electrical grids.

Requirement

However, the integration of a significant percentage of renewable energy production on an isolated site may lead to the following problems :

- Wise sizing of the renewable energy source’s power as well as the energy storage capacity in terms of the installed thermal power

- Improvement of the energy management system via the consideration of real-time weather forecast (if available),

- Prediction in the long term of the production gains so as to evaluate the profitability of the investmentt

- Possession of a control strategy of the different equipment of the system allowing to optimise the energy production (fuel saving) while guaranteeing grid stability and energy production reliability

CAPSIM, being experimented in studies of dynamic behaviour, grid connections of renewable energy sources and technical knowledge of renewable energy power sources has already performed several R&D projects and concrete achievements in response to these problematic themes.

Service principle

From the client’s goals in terms of renewable energy penetration, CAPSIM defines and validates a strategy regarding the integration of these new power sources into the grid in terms of both static (network sizing) and dynamic (influence of the intermittence of renewable energy on grid stability) analyses.

CAPSIM puts forward its tools in order to design and test via numerical simulation the control strategies of hybrid power stations. These tools allow the following :

- Optimise the sizing of various equipment (energy storage capacity, renewable energy production power)

- Optimise the settings of the energy management strategy

- Validate the grid stability

- Evaluate by simulation the repartition of electrical energy production over the whole period of the power station’s operation

Results

CAPSIM possesses unique and significant experience and expertise in the field of conception, optimisation and control of complex energetic system.

Thanks to these strengths, CAPSIM will allow you :

- to cover all of the risks in defining and validating the strategy of integration of renewable energy sources

- To be a better choice on tenders in determining the technical-economic optimum in terms of renewable energy penetration