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Last week, the minister of Tourism opened the Robben Island solar PV microgrid. The system, situated on the World Heritage Site, consists of 1960 solar panels combined with a logic-controlled battery storage system, forming a microgrid that will significantly reduce the island’s fossil fuel consumption. The microgrid was designed and constructed by SOLA.
Commissioned by the Department of Tourism in South Africa, the solar system will move the island away from its reliance on diesel generators and toward the sustainable resource of the sun. Previously, the island relied on generators to supply its electricity for residential needs, desalination, the harbour and offices - the island uses almost 2M kWh of electricity annually. The new solar system will produce almost 1M kWh of electricity annually, significantly reducing costs of transporting diesel to the island and using it for electricity generation.
The microgrid consists of three power production elements, including a solar PV farm, lithium-ion battery bank and diesel generators. The solar PV farm consists of 1960 mono-crystalline modules with a total of 666.4 kW of capacity, whilst the battery bank, consisting of 2420 lithium-ion battery cells, is able to store 837 kWh and output a maximum of 500 kVA. Introducing solar PV and batteries into Robben Island’s energy mix required careful programming of multiple controllers, in order to continue a seamless supply of power to the island. This smart microgrid is able to switch energy sources whenever necessary - and preemptively - in order to secure continuous power.
“Robben Island is the largest combined solar and lithium-ion storage systems in South Africa,” said Dom Wills, CEO of SOLA. “Battery technology is making it not only possible, but really affordable, for medium-size energy users to be powered almost entirely by the sun”.
Solar technology has long been touted as a cleaner energy option, but technological advances in battery technology over the past 5 years have made microgrid systems competitive options for commercial and industrial energy users to go off-grid.
For Robben Island, going “off-grid” is figurative - it has never been connected to South Africa’s utility grid. However, the solar system will ensure that the island reduces its fossil fuel consumption dramatically - by nearly 300 000 litres of diesel per annum. This will result in a reduction the Island’s carbon emissions by 860 tons, as well as a significant monetary saving.
SOLA, a South African company that designs, builds and maintains solar systems for commercial and industrial buildings, was awarded the contract by the National Department of Tourism and has carried out the design and construction over the past year.