Once again I feel obliged to write a few thoughts and practical opinions on the transition of energy in Anguilla.
My intention is not to criticise any one individual, party or company, but to lay out some practical information, scientific facts, theoretical physics, some common sense and, most of all, to stimulate serious questions.
For over a decade now we’ve all heard about allowing renewable integration into the Electrical Grid here in Anguilla, but that is as far as it gets – just talk. Now I applaud the new “push” towards that end by word that the power Utility Company is about to embark on purchasing and installing an 8 Megawatt system in order to alleviate some of the fossil fuel burning generators.
Whether or not it’s just a Grid tied 8 Megawatt Solar array, or a complete system, the real estate required is of a sizeable amount. That said, the practical amount of Solar energy generated from such an array, given Anguilla’s Sunshine, is roughly in the neighbourhood of 48 Megawatts. Now for a little arithmetic, which is not my forte’, but if we subtract the peak load currently banded about as 14 Megawatts a day generated by diesel generators, we are left with 34 Megawatts not being used.
Now to be practical. Those figures may not be attained in the real world, but even if the generated capacity is half, you need to store the excess energy somewhere or it is not realised. In other words, if you don’t use it, it will not be produced. Unlike a diesel generator, once its started it puts out its rated power whether half load or full load.
Conversely, in the Solar example the output is variable, depending on the loads, refrigerators, pumps, air conditioners etc. cycle on and off; and as the sun doesn’t shine all the time, not to mention cloud cover, the solar production is also variable. To smooth out this impracticality, storage is necessary, and it has to be sufficiently efficient enough to handle the demands in real time; at least to hold the load until a generator can come online at the proper frequency without causing brownouts or damage to equipment.
Now back to my original question: If we are seriously thinking about setting up a solar array, what is the time frame? In all practicality this cannot happen until perhaps a year from now. Supply chain, dedicated site preparation, installation, commissioning and, of course, testing online load shaving etc.
This will mean a big capital investment not only for hardware equipment but also consultants, engineers and workers to erect, install etc. And following this the ROI which is about 5years, in practical terms, means increased electrical rates.
Having said all that, Anglec will still has the monopoly on providing power to your homes and of course EV. With distributive generation, when its raining over the 8 Megawatt array, or when cloud cover is curtailing the output, what are the chances of that scenario occurring simultaneously in the East, South, North and West at the same time? In this situation, the grid is more stable and less stress on spinning reserve generators. We have that ability right now! In fact the majority of those who have solar arrays that can be Grid tied, already made their Return on Investment, so that excess power that can be harvested can go directly to their neighbours – at the same time saving the Utility from burning diesel.
Ok, let me reiterate because it is something that keeps surfacing no matter what. Solar inverters are Frequency or Current Generators. Diesel gensets are Voltage generators. When the Inverter is in “Sell Mode” connected to the grid, it monitors the Frequency of the transmission line. If the frequency measured in Hertz is more than 60hz or less than 60hz, the Inverter automatically disconnects from the Grid. It knows that something happened and therefore will not kill the guy on the pole. Conversely, when the freq. is stabilised at 60hz it checks it for 5 mins. before it will start the “Sell Mode” again.
So what’s my point? Allow Solar owners to grid tie. The infrastructure is already in place. Smart meters can monitor the production, without hiring more personnel. Fuel consumption will immediately drop and lower cost to consumers. On the other hand, those who can afford it will go Off-Grid and only the folks who cant afford it will pay the Utility.
– Contributed
