Multi-energy Complimentation: A Quest Solved by CHINT's All-in-One Microgrid Energy Solution

Recently, a Case Study published by the National Energy Administration (NEA) of China has drawn great attention. In the case study, the All-in-One Microgrid Project by CHINT has impressed the readers. In this article, let us guide you through the details.

Project Introduction:

The All-in One Microgrid Project by CHINT was commissioned in 2019. Based on a thorough study into the actual energy demand of CHINT’s Industrial Park in Haining City of Zhejiang Province, the whole Microgrid Project is consisted of 4 major parts.

>The first part is the 5.9MW PV System on the Rooftops of the production facilities in the park.

>The second part is the AC-DC Coupling Microgrid System, located to the south of the No.6 building, which includes an 8.83kW BIPV Hut, a 50kW BIPV Parking Lot, a 4.5kW PV Road & Corridor, a 35kW PV Experiment Area, a 5kW Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT), PEM H2 Producer, Alkaline H2 Producer and a 10kW Fuel Cell. This complex features a multi-mode hydrogen production system that is able to realize the integration of the production, supply and sale of hydrogen while connect to the microgrid through a smart and stable power converting equipment.

>The third part is a Combined Cooling, Heating and Power (CCHP) System, which upgraded by CHINT from 2 water cooled chillers of 4.2MW by recovering the waste heat from the circulation water, a 2000kW internal combustion engine and a flue gas & hot water operated lithium bromide absorption chiller were installed to the existing equipment. Together with the power generation, the system is able to supply 2150 kWh of cooling and 2035 kWh of heating while provide hot water for the use of the entire park. This CCHP system has a comprehensive efficiency of 86.8%.

>The fourth part is the Energy Storage System (ESS) of 50kW/100kWh that serves as the peak regulation for the PV generation and the uninterruptible power supply in case of failure. All these 4 parts form up as one comprehensive system that interacts with the Grid for energy transaction.

Now that we have a big picture about how the AiO Microgrid System works, let’s dive into the details of each part of it.

Walking on the PV road, we could have a look at the slippery proof glass integrated thin-film PV panels which is supplying energy to the lighting and screens nearby and we could hardy tell that the energy is generating just beneath the feet. Next to the PV road, a delicate PV hut jumps into our sight.

This hut is totally covered by PV components where not only the curtain wall but also the rooftop is replaced by solar panels and by such way both aesthetic demand and customization are met. This hut is exactly the showroom of the CHINT AiO Microgrid System and it is the best demonstration of multi-source energy integration, energy saving and efficiency elevation within itself.

Besides, in the park there is the parking lot equipped with the bifacial pv panels, Li-ion BESS and V2G charging system which is able to charge the EVs inside the park in consideration of the charging time and speed. In case of peak regulation, the system would reverse the electricity from the EVs to the Grid.

CCHP Tri-generation: the Cornerstone of Energy Reliability

As the energy decarbonization is becoming a trend, a more reliable power source is growing more and more necessary. How can we do to deal with the ever-fluctuate renewable energy? We choose the gas power, which is more stable in front of weather change and covers the energy demand in case the renewable energy is not enough. As we introduced, the 2000kW internal combustion engine acts as the core of the system and is remotely operatable. When there is command of peak-cut from the Grid, all what we need to do is pushing the button and the 2500kW load is substituted without interrupting the production in the park. The energy supplied from this system is 9.8 million of kWh.

Hydrogen (H2): the Answer to the Renewable Energy Accommodation

The CHINT AiO Microgrid System aims at using green energy to produce renewable energy products, while there is another task it takes on which is to explore renewable energy accommodation methods. Currently, to produce hydrogen by PV is attractive to lots of energy enterprises in the world and CHINT has become a pioneer since years ago and accumulated abundant experience in this practice. This Multi-mode Hydrogen Production System is formed by the PV generation, Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Hydrogen Producer, Alkaline Hydrogen Producer, H2 Storage, H2 Application in Transport, Fuel Cell Generator and the Grid-connection peripheral equipment. All the mentioned devices, except for the application in transport, are highly integrated into a 40HQ container.

The PEM H2 Producer is quickly respondent to the PV power fluctuation while the Alkaline H2 producer is characterized for its low cost and mature technology. The complementation between both technologies will cover the disadvantage of each other and the purity of the hydrogen is higher than 99.99%. The hydrogen produced is supplied to the tour buses power by H2 and to the fuel cell for grid-tied power generation. All the production process could be monitored online and on the go.

We do believe that as soon as the energy network is growing more and more mature, there is great potential in the complementation among all kinds of energy and energy storage. The real Net-Zero era is not so far away!