Sometimes it is difficult to bring electricity to far flung areas, in which only diesel generators can be used (i.e. mining) and when a country has energy shortage problems the only solution is loadshedding. Battery based solution, normally used on small loads, are not economically viable.
The SIRA Hybrid Microgrid, combines grid, diesel and photovoltaics into a hybrid system, minimizing fuel and grid dependency. Photovoltaics, in sunny regions, have already become the most economically and viable way to generate power, even without subsidies. PV systems do not cause emissions. They require low maintenance and have very low operating costs. They have a modular design, are scalable and can be adjusted according to current energy demands.
The solution is currently catering to loads over 300 KW. With SIRA Microgrid solution, photovoltaic reduces the grid consumption and the diesel generator consumption with the PV produced power. As an example a PV plant of 100 kw in Pakistan produces 170,000 Kwh/year that are an offset saving from the grid and the diesel generator production cost. A financial model has been developed that allows the client to make a bare minimum capital investment thus allowing it the flexibility to invest in other areas at the same time.
SIRA Micro Grid System is based on special inverters controlled by scada system to avoid the instability of Microgrid, due to the coupling of PV plant with the genset. A rapid and intelligent management of load, grid and genset conditions, ensures that the diesel genset and the entire hybrid system operate smoothly and stably. In the event of major load changes or a sudden drop in PV feed-in, there is always sufficient spinning reserve available due to the intelligent control of PV generation that is adjusted automatically. Operators benefit from reduced fuel and logistics costs, lower CO2 emissions and a short amortization period of the system.