Solar Energy and Storage: SMA Solution Brings Back the Sound of Heavenly Silence on the Caribbean Island of Saba

“It is always impressive when, as on Saba, all diesel generators can be switched off completely and suddenly the silence reigns at the power plant. In Diesel-off mode the system now saves about 300 litres of diesel every hour,” said Jorge Vélez, Project Manager at SMA Sunbelt Energy GmbH. “A Medium Voltage Power Station equipped with one Sunny Central Storage 2200 battery inverter with grid-forming capability is responsible for ensuring the system frequency even without diesel generators. It stabilizes the grid and provides the reserve power from the batteries.”

1 million liters of diesel savings
“It is a great milestone for Saba. From now on the entire energy supply of our island will come to a large extent from renewable sources,” said Dexter Johnson, CEO of Saba Electric Company (SEC), which is responsible for the electricity supply of the whole island. “In the past few weeks, SMA Sunbelt Energy GmbH has successfully supplied and commissioned the Battery Energy Storage System connected to the Medium Voltage grid . We are very happy with the result and expect that Saba’s inhabitants can be supplied with solar power exclusively for up to ten hours on sunny days. We calculate fuel savings by aprox 1 million liters per year.”

Smooth transitions between solar power, batteries and diesel gensets
The grid-forming properties of the battery inverters and the SMA Hybrid Controller make it possible to switch off the diesel generators automatically without jeopardizing the stability of the utility grid. The SMA system combines solar power and a battery-storage system and only integrates the diesel generators when necessary, providing smooth transitions between power sources. Fluctuations in the solar power generation, for example caused by moving clouds, are balanced within milliseconds, excess energy is stored temporarily in the batteries.

The PV farm on the island of Saba is already the second major project of SMA and its subsidiary SMA Sunbelt Energy GmbH that enables a 100% renewable electricity supply. At the end of 2017, it was already possible to switch off the diesel generators on the neighboring island of St. Eustatius. A 4.15 MW PV farm and a battery-storage system with a capacity of 5.9 MWh supply approximately 4,000 inhabitants with clean solar power.

A film and more information on the exciting project can be found here.
All information on the Sunny Central Storage battery inverters is available on the SMA website.

Disclaimer:

This press release serves only as information and does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for, acquire, hold or sell any securities of SMA Solar Technology AG (the "Company") or any present or future subsidiary of the Company (together with the Company, the "SMA Group") nor should it form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the Company or any member of the SMA Group or commitment whatsoever. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

This press release can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They also include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These statements are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the Managing Board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available at this time. Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the day on which they are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain risks and elements of uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors can lead to considerable differences between the actual results, the financial position, the development or the performance of the corporation and the estimates given here. These factors include those which SMA has discussed in published reports. These reports are available on the SMA website at www.SMA.de. The company accepts no obligation whatsoever to update these future-oriented statements or to adjust them to future events or developments.