Greetings Fellow Wrenches;
We are consulting on a power system for a large off grid facility that
is currently operating on a 1500 kW gen set. The loads are enormous for
normal off grid: in the neighborhood of 600 amps continuous at 480 v 3
phase. Surges are close to 2000 amps, but we are working on control
programming to bring that number down substantially. That is due
primarily to a 250 Hp motor start. (that's not a typo!). EPA and local
regulations are dictating that the current generator be retired in the
near future. Grid power is a possibility, but we need to offer a viable
off grid option as well.
My question to the group: does anyone have real off grid experience with
large format battery based inverters? I've heard of some micro-grid
systems running in Haiti on Princeton Power inverters, and Dynapower has
a 250 kW inverter that has a "grid forming" mode. As we all know, it is
easier to make claims in spec sheets than to deliver hard motor starting
power in a remote location. We need proven products, with a track
record of reliability.
We are considering SMA type systems that use AC coupled PV to offset
fuel consumption of a generator, but those seem dependent on the
generator to maintain the stability of the micro grid during hard
starting loads. Ideally we would want to reduce the generator run time
to under 200 hrs/ yr and reduce its size to 500 kW. We have excellent
solar resources year round, and the possibility of limiting operations
during cloudy weather to meet these goals.
Thanks,
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Change listserver email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List-Archive:
http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html
List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
Check out or update participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org
