MechChem Africa May-June 2024

⎪ PowerGen,PetroChem and Sustainable energy management ⎪

Microgrids for remote energy requirements Nishandra Baijnath, a systems architect for Power Systems at Schneider Electric, argues the case for microgrids as an ideal energy supply solution for remote locations in Africa. A s the world’s second largest con tinent, the vast expanse of Africa lends itself to remote operations, often hundreds of kilometres away

erations can meet their own energy needs, benefiting from stable supply, particularly when the closest maintenance crews are kilometres away. Furthermore, microgrids can work together to create a mini-grid that can give surplus energy back to the grid. The benefits of microgrids in remote areas also go beyond their ability to harness and manage renewable energy, offering: • Higher resilience: Microgrids can generate and store electrical energy independently from any main power grid supply, thereby offering a more re silient approach to maintaining power stability. By having the option of acting in coordination with the existing grid or as an independent island, the steady, predictable supply of energy greatly minimises downtime related to power interruptions. • Support for the migration from fuel furnaces to electric furnaces: In the glass and steel industries, a sustain ability trend towards the electrifica tion of furnaces is helping to reduce costs and to lower global carbon emis sions. Innovations such as Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF) and Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) are helping to eliminate the use of high emissions fuel furnaces. Microgrids play an important role in supporting these new processes as alternative and additional sources of renewable energy. • Easier management: Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Microgrid Operation (EMO) is an on-premises power management solution that en

from civilisation and the infrastructure supply hubs for energy, water and other commodities. Industries such as mining, minerals and metals must often contend with consider able energy losses or high transportation costs of diesel – for self-generation – due to these vast distances. The reality is electricity that has to travel far encounters conductor resistance, which in turn leads to transmis sion inefficiency. Furthermore, distance also negatively impacts grid stability since power systems require balanced supply and demand to ensure reliable operations. Transmission infrastructure maintenance, repair and new installations can also be prohibitively expen sive when the nearest town is hundreds of kilometres away. This effectively adds to the cost of electricity for the customer. The good news is that advances in off grid electrification have opened new pos sibilities for remote industries. Technologies such as microgrids, which mostly comprise renewable energy such as solar and wind, not only mitigate energy loss but also con tribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to an organisation’s net zero goals. Importantly, remote microgrids can also give back to communities; typically, there are small settlements or towns close to mines and other remote operations which in turn create an economic ecosystem of sorts. By utilising microgrids, remote op

sures stability and reliability of energy supply for all grid conditions. EMO is coupled to cloud-based energy man agement solutions such as Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Microgrid Advisor (EMA), which provides a web based Human Machine Interface (HMI) for site managers to process the various demand/response requests and optimise output decisions based on en ergy tariff rates and weather forecast predictions, whilst factoring in user consumption constraints. Essentially this allows for the correct decision to be made at the right time for forecasting and optimisation on when to consume, produce, store or sell energy. • ROI: Lower renewable power gen eration prices make microgrids increas ingly cost-effective to operate. Prices are also declining for electric energy storage, allowing for more effective self-consumption of renewable energy sources. Microgrids offer a truly viable option to remote areas, overcoming myriad challenges associated with traditional grid operations. They can ensure a stable and reliable energy supply whilst establishing greener and more sustainable operations. www.se.com/za

Microgrids offer a truly viable option to remote areas, overcoming myriad challenges associated with traditional grid operations.

May-June 2024 • MechChem Africa ¦ 27