Energy storage solutions for islands and remote areas: Say goodbye to diesel generators!
2025-04-10
Off-grid energy storage systems are replacing diesel generators and are becoming a new trend in energy supply in remote areas and islands. Compared with traditional diesel generators, off-grid energy storage systems have gradually won the favor of the market with their clean, efficient and silent advantages.
Technological Advantages of Energy Storage Systems
These energy storage systems usually use advanced battery technology, such as lithium-ion batteries or sodium-sulfur batteries, which can provide stable and continuous power to critical loads in the event of power outages or inability to access the grid. They not only greatly reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but also significantly reduce noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to environmental protection.
Island Microgrids: Engine of Sustainable Development
The prosperity of island tourism is inseparable from stable power supply, and the development of island economy has put forward higher requirements for power stability. In order to meet this challenge, many countries have introduced policies to promote the construction of island microgrids.
● Core Components of Island Microgrids
As a power system designed specifically for island environment, island microgrid is composed of core components such as distributed power supply, power load, energy storage facilities and system monitoring and protection devices. It not only has complete power generation, transmission and distribution functions, but also can realize multiple functions such as power generation, power consumption, energy storage and regulation and protection. Its goal is to build a new power system and create a low-carbon ecological island to meet the power demand of island tourism and economic development.
● Operational Principles of Microgrid Systems
Microgrid, a model of small power system, supports off-grid self-generation and local consumption, and is particularly suitable for areas such as islands and remote areas that are difficult to cover by large power grids. It can effectively guarantee the power supply in these local areas and provide stable power support for island tourism and economic development.
Its unique value lies in the ability to realize self-generation and self-use of electricity, mutual compatibility with large power grids, and jointly promote the full utilization of renewable distributed energy. This system can be connected to the external power grid and can also be operated independently off the grid, becoming an indispensable part of smart grids. However, for island microgrids, the addition of energy storage systems is particularly important.
Microgrids are mainly supported by distributed power sources, and they flexibly respond to load changes through precise adjustment of energy storage systems and control devices. The intervention of energy storage systems not only effectively reduces the phenomenon of wind and solar power abandonment, but also gives microgrids distinctive characteristics of new power systems. This makes microgrids more flexible, stable and reliable in operation, thus properly solving the source-load imbalance problem when new energy is connected to the grid, realizing the local consumption of new energy, and promoting the harmonious and coordinated development of "source, grid and load". At the same time, this technology also provides solid power guarantee for island areas, ensuring the power supply needs of "uninterrupted power supply" and "good use of electricity".
Case Study 1: Cheniushan Island Hybrid Microgrid
Wind, photovoltaic, and storage complement each other on Cheniushan Island to improve the reliability of power supply on the island
● Technical Configuration
For islands with complex power consumption environments, Cheniushan Island has built a pilot AC/DC hybrid intelligent island microgrid. Based on multiple green energy sources such as photovoltaic power generation and wind power, with the "energy router" as the core, a hybrid AC/DC microgrid with multiple energy modules interconnected and complementary is constructed. The energy management system is used to accurately coordinate and control the power generation, energy storage, and power consumption conditions, and flexibly allocate the connection methods of each user, realizing the "source-grid-load-storage" coordinated control and economic operation of 50 kW wind turbines, 30 kW photovoltaics, 100 kW diesel engines, and 450 kW-hour energy storage.
● Innovative AC/DC Architecture
"If AC is compared to a highway and DC is compared to a railway, the use of AC/DC hybrid technology is like connecting the 'highway' and 'railway' of the power grid to achieve interconnection and 'road-rail combined transport'. The power supply system on the entire island constitutes a whole network with unified dispatching and management, which has increased the power supply reliability by 73%, greatly reduced the electricity cost, and the average cost per kilowatt-hour is about 0.07USD."
Clean energy such as wind and photovoltaics are intermittent. After the application of microgrids, what will happen to the electricity supply on the island when there is no wind or sun?
Microgrid projects have also been considered. First of all, there are still diesel generators on the island for backup. More importantly, an advanced energy storage system will be installed on the island. The batteries in the energy storage system can store 1,000 kilowatts of electricity, which can store electricity during peak power generation and provide stable power supply when the power supply is insufficient. In the future, all cars on the island will also become part of the energy storage system.
Case Study 2: Saudi Red Sea Mega Project
Red Sea New City is the world's first large-scale commercial public infrastructure project integrating a multi-energy complementary system.
The project has many construction sites and a wide range, with the longest span on the shore being 100 kilometers and the longest span from the command center to the island being 100 kilometers. In order to meet the electricity demand in different regions, the project built 5 photovoltaic power stations, which were equipped with "energy storage system + internal combustion engine power generation" to form the world's largest clean energy off-grid system, of which 3 are microgrids.
● Multi-Energy Coordination
In this way, Red Sea New City is powered by photovoltaic power generation during the day, by energy storage systems at night, and by biomass energy when demand is insufficient.
● System Scale
Next to the photovoltaic array, white container cabinets are neatly arranged. Each container cabinet is a group of huge energy storage batteries. According to reports, the project has a total of 6 energy storage power stations, consisting of 607 energy storage containers, with a total designed storage capacity of 1.3 GW. This is also the world's largest off-grid energy storage project.
Future Development Trends
In the island environment, the integration of microgrid and energy storage technology closely meets the needs of the new power system, overcomes the mechanization and singularity limitations of large power grids, and thus improves energy utilization efficiency and power supply stability.
This innovative technology brings a new experience of "free electricity use" to the island area. The innovative energy storage solution makes full use of its geographical advantages and deeply analyzes the unique energy demand of the island, thus innovatively proposing the "island microgrid + energy storage" solution.
This solution not only supports the access of photovoltaic and diesel generators, but also can build off-grid or grid-connected microgrid systems. By configuring self-developed energy storage equipment, such as integrated photovoltaic storage and integrated liquid-cooled energy storage systems, as well as precise control of energy management systems, this solution can achieve coordinated optimization of power generation, energy storage and power consumption conditions, make full use of peak-valley price differences for arbitrage, thereby obtaining higher economic benefits, and meet the diversified needs under the "dual carbon" policy.
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