Solar PV to supply supermarket energy

GERMANY: One of the world’s largest diesel photovoltaic hybrid systems is to be installed in a supermarket in the city of Flacq, Mauritius. 

The 3.2MW output system will include a 1.2MW photovoltaic system to be installed on the 10,000m² roof of the supermarket. This is designed to be the predominant source of energy for the supermarket with any excess energy being stored in cold water tanks for later use by the air conditioning or refrigeration systems.

Key to the efficiency of the system is the inclusion of a number of HyGrid Professional controllers from German company DHybrid. These, along with two 1,000 KVA diesel generators and 75 inverters will be integrated into the public power grid as a unified system.

The HyGrid fuel reduction system is said to be is a cost-effective and reliable means of solving energy problems, particularly in regions with unstable power grids. The HyGrid controllers synchronise the photovoltaic systems with existing industrial diesel power plants by acting as the interface between the diesel power plant, photovoltaic system, public power grid and electrical consumers.

This ensures that a significant amount of the required energy is supplied directly by the photovoltaic system, leading to huge diesel savings. Challenging operating conditions such as overloading, feedback and sudden load fluctuations are immediately balanced out by the system and the diesel generators can run at maximum efficiency.

The systems’s intelligent energy management system will also provide buffer storage of solar power in large cold water storage tanks for later use in refrigeration and air conditioning systems where the solar radiation does not provide sufficient energy.

The solar system on the roof also works as thermal insulation and helps to keep the inside temperature lower.