Monday, June 22, 2009

Hybrid Solar-Diesel Power - Part I

If in March 2009, someone by the name of En Hamid (a deservedly Sabahan Hero) showed to the world that one does not need to have a certificate to build a hydro-power generator, this time Tambunan came to light again with the commissioning of a hybrid solar power-diesel generator in mid-June 2009 at one of the remote villages.
.
Suitable for places at remote locations, this system supply electricity continuously during wet and rainy seasons. The term hybrid refers to a system in which two or more supplies from different energy sources are integrated to supply electricity to the same demand.
.

Schematic diagram of a hybrid PV solar-diesel power generator

.

Simply put, an array of PV panels is installed side by side with a diesel power generator and the operations is controlled via centralised control panel manually. The system can be upgraded such that the changeover from solar power supply to starting up of diesel power generator takes place automatically.

Storage batteries are used to store energy harnessed through the PV panels during sunny days. During wet season, whereby PV panels could not 'collect' sufficient energy so meet night time energy requirement, the diesel power generator would kick in and take over the job.
.

Pretty simple isn't it? The big question is determination. I did not put "cost" as the stumbling block as cost can be relative, depending on the focus and determination of the government to alleviate the situation of our rural folks.

.
What is the cost then, you may ask. Okay, take a village of about 30 household which would require about 30kW (capped at 1kW/household) of total load. You are talking about RM700k to RM800k for a complete system. Take into consideration import taxes and other regulatory payments which can be discounted for government initiative, we may be looking at half of that cost??
.

3 comments:

Tan Yong Hui said...

Very interesting. I guess the most expensive parts of the system are the batteries and the PVs. If something can be done to reduce the taxes for this parts. It can be a great solution for rural area, provided they can get diesel easily

de engineur said...

Absolutely correct Nix! the G should encourage people to install more solar power systems by makinng these two components tax-free, perhaps for a limited period.

Elnetthra Folly E.L said...

if im not mistaken this person is the one who also light up tambunan with his micro hydro generator.i've went visit his place early this year, and im absolutely salute to him.he is really showd me its nothing to have an higher certificate but cant make it practical..