Isolated Power Systems Connect 2016

UAE - Pacific Partnership Fund: Fiji LaKaRo Solar

PV/Diesel Hybrid Project Case Study

Masdar - Special Projects Department

Author: John Caruso

December 1st, 2016

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Masdar

2. Overview of Fiji – LaKaRo Project • Lakeba Plant

• Kadavu Plant

• Rotuma Plant

3. Project Innovation • Detailed look at the Kadavu Plant

4. Results

5. Challenges and Key Lessons Learned

6. Takeaways

7. Q&A

Masdar - Who We Are

Masdar is Abu Dhabi’s renewable

energy company. We work to advance

the development, commercialisation

and deployment of clean energy

technologies and solutions.

We serve as a link between today’s

fossil fuel economy and the energy

economy of the future.

We are a commercially-driven

company wholly-owned by the

Mubadala Development Company.

“We must not rely on oil alone as the main

source of our national income.”

“We have to diversify the sources of our

revenue and construct economic projects

that will ensure a free, stable and dignified

life for the people.”

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Founding Father of the UAE

What We Do - Develop Renewable Energy

UAE PPF – Projects Overview

Fiji Project - LaKaRo

Lakeba Kadavu Rotuma Project PV Capacity (kW) 150 225 150

Diesel Capacity (kW) 138 184 138

Module Type 494 x JA-310 Poly 726 x JA-310 Poly 494 x JA-310 Poly

Inverter 7 x Sunny Tripower 20000TL 10 x Sunny Tripower 20000TL 7 x Sunny Tripower 20000TL

Racking Schletter- Groundmount Schletter- Groundmount Schletter- Groundmount

FSC SMA Fuel Save Controller 2.0 SMA Fuel Save Controller 2.0 SMA Fuel Save Controller 2.0

Diesel Type 3 x Hatz Low Load Diesel Twin pack 4 x Hatz Low Load Diesel Twin pack 3 x Hatz Low Load Diesel Twin pack

Diesel Controller 6 x Woodward easYgen-3200 8 x Woodward easYgen-3200 6 x Woodward easYgen-3200

LaKaRo Project:

• 3 individual plants in Fiji located in the outer islands of Lakeba, Kadavu, Rotuma

• 525 kW of Solar PV

• 460 kW of Low load diesel generator (LLDG)

Types of PV-Diesel-Hybrid

System CAPEX

Fuel S

avin

gs

0%

100%

A

B

C

D

E

LaKaRo Systems

Existing Diesel replaced

by Hatz Low Load Diesel

Generators

Kadavu Specifications

Kadavu

Project PV Capacity (kW) 225

Diesel Capacity (kW) 184

Module Type 726 x JA-310 Poly

Inverter 10 x Sunny Tripower 20000TL

Racking Schletter- Groundmount

FSC SMA Fuel Save Controller 2.0

Diesel Type 4 x Hatz Low Load Diesel Twin pack (8 x 23

kW LLDGs)

Diesel Controller 8 x Woodward easYgen-3200

Kadavu Project (Ariel View)

Kadavu Fuel Saver

Kadavu Low Load Diesel Generator

Hatz Low Load Diesel Generators

• “Flat” efficiency curves. Engine can run at

lower capacity with more efficiency then

typical diesel engines

• Use of smaller sized engines coupled in one

twin pack. Reduced engine capacity allows

for load to be managed in smaller intervals.

• 23 kW engines >> theoretical minimum

running load of 6 kW

Kadavu Power Station

8 x Woodward easYgen-3200

controllers

Hatz Diesel Twin Packs

Fuel Save Controller

Kadavu Load Profile

0

50

100

150

200

250

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

kW

Hour

Kadavu Load Profile

Base Diesel Generation Demand

Kadavu Load Profile

0

50

100

150

200

250

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

kW

Hour

Kadavu Load Profile with Theoretical Solar PV Generation

Base Diesel Generation Utilised Solar PV Supply Solar Curtailment Demand

Results 1) Kadavu Load + Generation Profiles

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Kadavu Load + Generation Profile - August 5th 2016 High Solar Availability

Generator Solar PV Load

PV online

Gen = Load - PV

Generator operating to

maintain spinning reserve (24

to 30 kW)

Matching load

and PV profiles

Instantaneous load

48.549

49.550

50.551

51.5

5:2

2:4

1 a

.m.

5:4

1:1

0 a

.m.

5:5

9:3

9 a

.m.

6:1

8:0

8 a

.m.

6:3

6:3

7 a

.m.

6:5

5:0

6 a

.m.

7:1

3:3

5 a

.m.

7:3

2:0

3 a

.m.

7:5

0:3

3 a

.m.

8:0

9:0

2 a

.m.

8:2

7:3

0 a

.m.

8:4

5:5

9 a

.m.

9:0

4:2

8 a

.m.

9:2

2:5

7 a

.m.

9:4

1:2

6 a

.m.

9:5

9:5

5 a

.m.

10

:18

:24

a.m

.1

0:3

6:5

3 a

.m.

10

:55

:22

a.m

.1

1:1

3:5

1 a

.m.

11

:32

:20

a.m

.1

1:5

0:4

9 a

.m.

12

:09

:18

p.m

.1

2:2

7:4

7 p

.m.

12

:46

:16

p.m

.1

:04

:45

p.m

.1

:23

:13

p.m

.1

:41

:42

p.m

.2

:00

:11

p.m

.2

:18

:40

p.m

.2

:37

:10

p.m

.2

:55

:38

p.m

.3

:14

:07

p.m

.3

:32

:36

p.m

.3

:51

:05

p.m

.4

:09

:34

p.m

.4

:28

:03

p.m

.4

:46

:32

p.m

.5

:05

:01

p.m

.5

:23

:30

p.m

.5

:41

:59

p.m

.6

:00

:28

p.m

.6

:18

:56

p.m

.6

:37

:25

p.m

.6

:55

:54

p.m

.7

:14

:23

p.m

.7

:32

:52

p.m

.7

:51

:21

p.m

.8

:09

:50

p.m

.8

:28

:19

p.m

.8

:46

:48

p.m

.9

:05

:17

p.m

.9

:23

:46

p.m

.9

:42

:15

p.m

.1

0:0

0:4

4 p

.m.

10

:19

:13

p.m

.1

0:3

7:4

1 p

.m.

10

:56

:11

p.m

.1

1:1

4:3

9 p

.m.

11

:33

:08

p.m

.1

1:5

1:3

8 p

.m.

Kadavu Frequency- August 5th 2016

410412414416418420

5:2

2:4

1 a

.m.

5:4

1:1

0 a

.m.

5:5

9:3

9 a

.m.

6:1

8:0

8 a

.m.

6:3

6:3

7 a

.m.

6:5

5:0

6 a

.m.

7:1

3:3

5 a

.m.

7:3

2:0

3 a

.m.

7:5

0:3

3 a

.m.

8:0

9:0

2 a

.m.

8:2

7:3

0 a

.m.

8:4

5:5

9 a

.m.

9:0

4:2

8 a

.m.

9:2

2:5

7 a

.m.

9:4

1:2

6 a

.m.

9:5

9:5

5 a

.m.

10:18:24…

10:36:53…

10:55:22…

11:13:51…

11:32:20…

11:50:49…

12:09:18…

12:27:47…

12:46:16…

1:0

4:4

5 p

.m.

1:2

3:1

3 p

.m.

1:4

1:4

2 p

.m.

2:0

0:1

1 p

.m.

2:1

8:4

0 p

.m.

2:3

7:1

0 p

.m.

2:5

5:3

8 p

.m.

3:1

4:0

7 p

.m.

3:3

2:3

6 p

.m.

3:5

1:0

5 p

.m.

4:0

9:3

4 p

.m.

4:2

8:0

3 p

.m.

4:4

6:3

2 p

.m.

5:0

5:0

1 p

.m.

5:2

3:3

0 p

.m.

5:4

1:5

9 p

.m.

6:0

0:2

8 p

.m.

6:1

8:5

6 p

.m.

6:3

7:2

5 p

.m.

6:5

5:5

4 p

.m.

7:1

4:2

3 p

.m.

7:3

2:5

2 p

.m.

7:5

1:2

1 p

.m.

8:0

9:5

0 p

.m.

8:2

8:1

9 p

.m.

8:4

6:4

8 p

.m.

9:0

5:1

7 p

.m.

9:2

3:4

6 p

.m.

9:4

2:1

5 p

.m.

10:00:44…

10:19:13…

10:37:41…

10:56:11…

11:14:39…

11:33:08…

11:51:38…

Kadavu Voltage- August 5th 2016

Results 2) Kadavu Frequency and Voltage

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

6:1

46

:31

6:4

77

:04

7:2

17

:37

7:5

48

:10

8:2

78

:44

9:0

09

:17

9:3

49

:50

10

:07

10

:24

10

:40

10

:57

11

:14

11

:30

11

:47

12

:04

12

:20

12

:37

12

:54

13

:10

13

:27

13

:43

14

:00

14

:17

14

:33

14

:50

15

:07

15

:23

15

:40

15

:57

16

:13

16

:30

16

:47

17

:03

17

:20

17

:37

17

:53

18

:10

18

:27

18

:43

19

:00

19

:17

19

:33

19

:50

20

:06

20

:23

20

:40

20

:56

21

:13

21

:30

21

:46

22

:03

22

:20

22

:36

22

:53

23

:10

23

:26

23

:43

Kadavu Load Profile - August 6th 2016 Volatile Solar Availability

Generator Solar PV Average Load

Results 3) Kadavu Load + Volatile Gen. Profiles

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

6:1

46

:31

6:4

77

:04

7:2

17

:37

7:5

48

:10

8:2

78

:44

9:0

09

:17

9:3

49

:50

10

:07

10

:24

10

:40

10

:57

11

:14

11

:30

11

:47

12

:04

12

:20

12

:37

12

:54

13

:10

13

:27

13

:43

14

:00

14

:17

14

:33

14

:50

15

:07

15

:23

15

:40

15

:57

16

:13

16

:30

16

:47

17

:03

17

:20

17

:37

17

:53

18

:10

18

:27

18

:43

19

:00

19

:17

19

:33

19

:50

20

:06

20

:23

20

:40

20

:56

21

:13

21

:30

21

:46

22

:03

22

:20

22

:36

22

:53

23

:10

23

:26

23

:43

Kadavu Load Profile - August 6th 2016 Volatile Solar Availability

Generator Solar PV Average Load Frequency

Frequency fluctuations <1%

Results 3) Kadavu Load + Volatile Gen. Profiles

390

395

400

405

410

415

420

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

6:1

46

:31

6:4

77

:04

7:2

17

:37

7:5

48

:10

8:2

78

:44

9:0

09

:17

9:3

49

:50

10

:07

10

:24

10

:40

10

:57

11

:14

11

:30

11

:47

12

:04

12

:20

12

:37

12

:54

13

:10

13

:27

13

:43

14

:00

14

:17

14

:33

14

:50

15

:07

15

:23

15

:40

15

:57

16

:13

16

:30

16

:47

17

:03

17

:20

17

:37

17

:53

18

:10

18

:27

18

:43

19

:00

19

:17

19

:33

19

:50

20

:06

20

:23

20

:40

20

:56

21

:13

21

:30

21

:46

22

:03

22

:20

22

:36

22

:53

23

:10

23

:26

23

:43

Kadavu Load Profile - August 6th 2016 Volatile Solar Availability

Generator Solar PV Load Voltage

Voltage fluctuations <1%

Results 3) Kadavu Load + Volatile Gen. Profiles

LeKaRo Summary of Results

Summary of Results

• Successful replacement of existing diesel generators with innovative low load diesel generators

and Solar PV plant with fuel save controller

• Highest solar PV penetration in one day of 76.29% and an average penetration of 57.31% over a

one year period

• Highest percentage of diesel energy displaced in one day of 57.46% and an average percentage

of diesel energy displaced of 31.94%

Lekeba power station

LaKaRo Energy Needs

Pre-Project Post-Project

Outer Island Diesel Price Today (Q4-2015)

0.70 USD/ltr 0.70 USD/ltr

Est. Outer Island Diesel Price (2015-2035)

0.95 USD/ltr 0.95 USD/ltr

Energy Demand (2015) 980 MWhr 980 MWhr

Energy Demand (2015-2035) 24,500 MWhr 24,500 MWhr

Ave Diesel usage per year (2015)

302,000 ltr 205,500 ltr

Diesel usage (2015-2035) 6,040,000 ltr 4,110,800 ltr

Diesel Expenditure (2015-2035)

5,750,000 USD 3,905,000 USD

CO2 Equivalent (2015-2035) 16,200 Tonnes CO2 11,000 Tonnes CO2

OVER 1.8 MILLION USD

OF DIRECT DIESEL FUEL

SAVINGS OVER THE NEXT

20 YEARS

OVER 5,000 TONNES OF

CO2 AVOIDED

LeKaRo Key Achievements

Challenges and Key Lessons Learned – 1

1. Instantaneous fluctuations - load and/or solar resource

• Ex. sterilizer equipment in the local hospital caused instantaneous spikes and drops in grid

demand. The resulting frequency fluctuation would cause the inverters of the PV system to

go offline further cascading the issue and requiring the diesel engines ramp up by a

significant magnitude in a very short time. If the generators could not react in time there

would be a resulting black out.

Solution: Increase the inverter tolerances to accept larger frequency and voltage

fluctuations. Must be done with manufactures consent for warranty purposes.

• Rapid drops in solar resource, due to cloud cover, results in large losses of solar PV power.

This would be larger then what could be accounted for by one 23 kW low load diesel

engine. Subsequent diesel engines, which were offline, require several seconds to come

online and ramp up in order to meet the new load requirement.

Solution: Modify the control methodology so that at any one time a minimum amount of

diesel engines are operational (spinning reserve required) to account for the maximum

solar PV power drop

Solution: Oversized solar PV plant reduces the magnitude of a sudden drop in solar PV

power

2. System control logic to main balanced running hours between engines

• This is done equalize long term running hours. If there are maintenance issue with one of

the engines it will naturally have the lowest running hours, the system would constantly try

to use this engine if it is not taken offline by the operators. Example – engine with

faulty/dirty filter, maintenance issue would be worsened by control logic.

Improved control logic used to fixed this issue

Periodic manual intervention and regular maintenance is important

3. Irradiation data not being incorporated into fuel saver

• Caused an extra degree of reserve capacity from the LLDG. The SMA Fuel Saver controller

requires input from an irradiance sensor on site in order to calculate the available solar

resource, cannot be calculated indirectly by the inverters.

4. Grid imbalance on micro grids

• Voltages across different lines can vary drastically. Three phase inverters have a set

tolerance bandwidth and cannot operate outside of a maximum threshold.

Possible solutions include single phase inverters or battery solutions.

5. Use of small capacity generators requires modified protection philosophy

• Typical breakers didn’t incorporate a function to change set points (inrush current).

Suitably configured breakers must be chosen in the design of the low load diesel generator

protection system.

Challenges and Key Lessons Learned – 2

System CAPEX

Fuel S

avin

gs

0%

100%

A

B

C

D

E

PV Penetration 55-60%

Displaced Diesel Energy

(Fuel Saving) 30-35%

LeKaRo Conclusion

LaKaRo Systems

Battery integration with the fuel saver provides additional versatility, but is it technical and economically

feasible? Some possible options which could be explored.

i) Battery system with non-grid forming inverters

• Power smoothing, eliminates instantaneous fluctuations generation profiles and minimal peak

shaving

• 2-4 hours of battery capacity with appropriate C-rate

• Requires diesels to form the grid, diesel always run at minimal load

ii) Battery system with grid forming inverters

• Diesel generators placed offline during daytime hours, reduces diesel running hours ; lower

maintenance costs

• Requires larger battery system ~4-12 hours of battery capacity

iii) Battery system with grid forming inverters- no diesel generators

• Eliminates the need for diesel generators. Micro-grid is entirely powered by Solar PV

• Requires large enough battery system to account for multiple days of low/zero solar irradiance

to prevent blackouts; ~48-62 hours of battery capacity

Future case study…

LeKaRo Takeaways

Thank You - Q&A

Thank You

APPENDIX 1

Case Study Appendix

Fiji Project - LaKaRo

LaKaRo Energy Needs

Pre-Project

Outer Island Diesel Price Today (Q4-2015) 0.70 USD/ltr

Est. Outer Island Diesel Price (2015-2035) 0.95 USD/ltr

Energy Demand (2015) 980 MWhr

Energy Demand (2015-2035) 24,500 MWhr

Ave Diesel usage per year (2015) 302,000 ltr

Diesel usage (2015-2035) 6,040,000 ltr

Diesel Expenditure (2015-2035) 5,750,000 USD

CO2 Equivalent (2015-2035) 16,200 Tonnes CO2

Kadavu Site Plan

Kadavu SLD

Kadavu Plant

Lakeba Plant

Rotuma Plant

Rotuma Plant