CAPÍTULO II: METODOLOGÍA
2.5 Desarrollo de la Investigación
2.5.2 Entrevistas a profundidad
2.5.2.1 Dimensiones entrevista a profundidad alcalde de Barranco
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T
he plant in Thabazimbi, South Africa is our flagship project in the industrial hybrid sector. And there are many more to come,” assures Jon Ivar Ekker, responsible for market development for industrial photo- voltaic-diesel hybrid applications at SMA. And with good reason too. The integration of photovoltaics makes the sup- ply of electricity to energy suppliers, industrial companies, water desalinization systems, mines, tourism facilities and farms in sunny regions more effective, environmentally friendly and, most importantly, more cost-effective. “Where there is enough space and where the generation and consumption profiles are well matched, it makes ex- tremely good sense to supplement diesel electricity genera- tors with solar energy,” confirms John Blowes. “Fuel costs and toxic emissions can thus be significantly reduced.” The Briton really knows his stuff when it comes to cost-efficient energy supply for large-scale consumers. His company Die- sel Consult Ltd. has been designing, building and running power plant projects for industrial consumers in developed markets and newly industrialized countries for decades.Photovoltaics makes electricity supplies more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient
Businesses such as the mine in Thabazimbi are often lo- cated far away from public utility grids. However, even the utility grids that do exist in developing and newly indus- trialized countries are typically unstable. Outages lasting several hours at a time are commonplace, and, as a result, diesel generators are particularly popular in these regions. In addition, the initial investment required for a diesel ener- gy supply system is relatively low and operation can com- mence relatively quickly.
However, fuel and thus related system operating costs have soared in recent years. “Effective fuel costs, mean- ing the price including transportation costs to the consumer, are now often over one U.S. dollar per liter for system op- erators in remote regions,” says Jon Ivar Ekker. “The prices for PV electricity in sun-rich regions are not only lower than this, they are dropping at a rapid rate.”
This has already made photovoltaics the cheaper alterna- tive to conventional energy carriers in many sunny regions. If system operators in regions with a high level of solar irradiation compliment a diesel energy supply with solar energy, the investment will pay itself off in only two to four years. If system operators in regions with a high level of solar irradiation complement a diesel energy supply with solar energy, the investment will pay for itself in less than four years.
Maximizing investment security through technological progress
The requirements that need to be met in the process are huge. “Low costs, fast readiness for operation, the highest degree of reliability and availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week are the most important factors for industrial consumers,” Blowes explains. Each system is unique, as op- eration load profiles and external conditions vary greatly from location to location. These are challenges that Volker Wachenfeld readily takes on. “We have had the technol- ogy for operating large-scale, well-functioning photovolta- ic-diesel hybrid systems for more than 20 years. Today, we are in a position to offer considerably more intelligent, more efficient and more cost-effective systems. Our experi- ence with large-scale PV plants secures us the benefit of an enormous technological advantage – and maximum invest- ment security for our customers,” emphasizes the engineer, who heads up the SMA Hybrid Energy Solutions division along with Jon Ivar Ekker, among others.
Intelligent system technology for
effective synchronization of energy producers
“The two systems need to work together in harmony to guar- antee stable and reliable system operation at any time and the highest degree of component durability with minimal fuel consumption,” Blowes points out. “This is not an issue if the system is managed intelligently,” Wachenfeld adds. “We handle this using the SMA Fuel Save Controller.” At first glance, the Fuel Save Controller looks like a simple metal box – but it carries out an important task. It is the core component of the SMA solution for hybrid systems and acts as the interface between the solar and diesel generators. Working with the SMA inverters, the Fuel Save Controller manages solar feed-in to ensure that sufficient energy is al- ways available to match demand while at the same time keeping diesel usage to a minimum. “The intelligent system memorizes the system’s production and load characteristics and uses them to control the system,” explains Wachenfeld. Only by using this intelligent management is it possible to create the optimum balance between the installed PV pow- er and the power from the simultaneously operated diesel generators, and thus providing safe and efficient system operation. “Without using intelligent management, a maxi- mum level of only 20 percent of photovoltaics can be in- tegrated into such a system. Anything above that will com- promise grid stability,” says Ekker.” “With the SMA Fuel Save Controller, however, we can increase the contribution of photovoltaics up to 60 percent without any compromise in terms of grid stability.”
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