Off-grid

Radar pédagogique alimenté par énergie solaire

France : Ce radar pédagogique remplace les panneaux d'avertissement qui étaient placés devant la caméra de surveillance routière. Le radar pédagogique est alimenté par énergie solaire. Lorsque les batteries sont pleines, elles peuvent alimenter le radar pendant 8 jours sans soleil. Avec ce nouveau radar, l'État espère réduire les accidents de la route.

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Somerset, UK: Commercial Off-grid solution

This off-grid system consists of a 6080Ah battery bank and 9 x Quattro 48/10000/140. The system was designed to store the excess power for times without sun and during night times. The entire design, manufacture and installation was completed by Energy Solutions.

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Masaai Mara, Narok County, Kenya

This installation is built at a game lodge in Kenya. It powers 12 luxury tents with swimming pool, modern kitchen and staff houses. The system contains of 45 X 175W Suntech PV Modules mounted on 3 x Lorentz ETA Tracker 1500 solar trackers. The battery bank in the system is 48/3000Ah(C-100). All AC power comes from 3 X 10,000W Victron Quattro inverter/chargers that auto start a 25kVA diesel generator to charge batteries when they fall below a set SOC. The hot water is provided by 18 x 300L Ezinc solar water heaters. The installation is done by Center for Alternative Technologies ltd, Mr. Nawir Ibrahim from Nairobi-Kenya.

For more information visit www.cat.co.ke

Germany, Munchen: Victron Energy at InterSolar 2011

Victron Energy was present at InterSolar 2011 in Munchen. InterSolar is world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry ended with new record exhibitor and visitor numbers. Around 77,000 visitors and 2,280 exhibitors attended the exhibition and were very pleased with the thematic and technological array presented by Intersolar Europe.

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Calig, Spain: Grid connected house with Quattro and BlueSolar Grid Inverter.

This Spanish grid connected house is using solar panels to support the load. It has a three phase system installed, containing three 10kVA Quattro’s. They are in a three-phase configuration together with three 2000W BlueSolar Grid Inverters, one per phase. The battery bank is 48V 1500Ah. During the day the BlueSolar Grid Inverter is supplying the load for the house and charging the battery. If the battery is full,the Quattro shifts the output frequency to signal the Grid Inverter to stop charging. During this time the installation is not connected to the grid. In the evening and when there is no or little sun, the Quattro’s are supplying the loads with energy from the batteries. When the battery bank is discharged below 60%, the Quattro’s enable the grid to recharge the batteries and power the loads. There is also a generator installed to take care of grid failures.

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Cap-Hatian, Haiti: Charity-run hospital.

After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, people are still rebuilding and recovering. At a charity-run hospital in Cap-Haitian, Haiti, a comprehensive hybrid power system is installed to power a complete hospital. At the heart of this system there are five Victron 24/5000/120 Quattro’s connected in parallel. Only a small grid connection is available, with a capacity of hundred Ampères. When the required power is higher, the Quattro’s will supplement the grid with energy from the batteries. This is a unique Victron feature called PowerAssist,that synchronizes the output of the inverters with the grid. Effectively adding power to the grid. When theload reduces, the spare power is used to recharge the battery bank.

For more information visit www.onboardenergy.com

Asia, Turkmenistan: Hybrid electric power system for offshore platform.

In this 40 feet Marine container an electric power system is placed. The system is intended to continuously supply 230 VAC/ 50Hz alternating current to consumers, and also to charge its own batteries. The system consists of 32 180W Solar Panels, 8 Dual Charge controllers, 4 Quattro 5kVA units, a Blue Power Panel 2, a BMV 600S and 24 OPzV batteries.

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Belgium: Solar Festival running completely on Solar Energy

A Festival running completely on Solar Energy, that was the main purpose of the Belgian organisation ‘Solar zonder Grenzen’, which organised the festival Fiesta Solar. Especially for this green event a mobile energy-supplier was developed: the REN-Mobile (Renewable ENergy Mobile). The REN-Mobile is a truck equipped with a solar system. At the center of the system three Quattro’s from Victron Energy are installed.

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Mali, Africa: solar panels replace the generator

For more than 15 years Camazending trusts on the equipment of Victron Energy for stable power supply. Camazending is an organization that help people to live independent. The organization installed many Victron inverters in radio stations, medical posts in the bush and larger installations in hospitals and schools. This school in Koutiala works completely on solar energy. The solar panels are connected to 3 Victron inverters, which are installed in a cool container underground. The energy is being used for the lighting and the computers inside the school. The generator is only being used occasionally, when extra energy is needed for eg weddings or conferences inside the school building.

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An Island in the Golf of Morbihan, Bretagne, France

The islands of the Golf of Morbihan were occupied by old farms, where now residents are living. The islands are without electricity. Here solar panels were supplying the electricity, with diesel generator back-up. Two MultiPlus 24/3000/70 units and a 1200 Ah battery bank have been added to the system. The solar panels are connected by a grid connected inverter at the 230 VAC output of the MultiPlus. When the 5 kW generator is on, the MultiPlus units will operate in parallel with the generator to provide a peak power of up to 11 kW. Instead of running continuously (and at low average load) when insufficient solar power is available, the generator now operates only a few hours per day and at its most efficient load point, thanks to the PowerControl and PowerAssist functions of the MultiPlus. Yearly fuel consumption is reduced by a factor of three. Planning and installation: Aerec, Thierry Plaqué.

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Lonavala, India: a farm on solar- and windenergy

This farmhouse in Lonavala, about 100 km from Mumbai, is provided of a 1,4 KW Dutch Wind turbine (Passaat) and a 520W Solar PV System. In this area there is no connection to the Indian grid. Therefore people in this area are dependent to Diesel Generators. The installation in this farmhouse substitutes a Diesel Generator. 
The Phoenix 230V 50Hz Inverter Compact feeds four batteries with a capacity of 24V/300Ah. This is sufficient for a farmhouse using lights, fans, TV, etc. 
 In the next future three more systems are being installed. (in a Hospital, an industrial unit and another farm house.) 
For Victron Energy these are the first steps in the fast growing Indian market.

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Pyrenees, France: Basecamp relies on Victron Energy

This old Catalan farm in the French Pyrenees has become an exclusive hostelry accommodation. There was only one problem: no electricity, and no way to get it there except at extreme cost while spoiling the landscape with power lines and poles. The only sound solution was to set up a hybrid eco- technology energy system, consisting of a generator, solar panels, batteries and inverter-chargers. The generator, a 50kW set from Benza (Spain) was installed at an early stage to power the reconstruction work. Recently, a set of 9 Victron Energy MultiPlus units and a battery bank of 48V/2000Ah were added. This completes the first stage of the project. Plans for the near future include 100m2 of solar panels, two more battery banks and up to doubling the amount of MultiPlus units to reach 50kW, almost the double when PowerAssist kicks in. Space for extension of the solar field to 300m2 meters is foreseen. In the end, the generator will be almost superfluous.

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Mount Everest: The MultiPlus on its way 'to the top'

The robust construction, compact dimensions and unrivalled reputation for dependability in demanding circumstances were the key reasons why the MultiPlus has been chosen for this project. And the expedition team was not disappointed during the trails. Providing sophisticated battery charging from the generator and switching seamlessly to deliver inverter power if the generator supply was interrupted, the MultiPlus assured power supply at all times. “We were so pleased with the MultiPlus, it has never let us down” said Mac Mckenney, expedition manager, “if power had been lost part way through our tests, then a great amount of valuable work would have been lost”. Victron Energy was honored to be involved with this project.

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Netherlands: Giant kites

Scientists from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have produced 10 kilowatts of power by flying a 10sq metre kite which was connected to a generator. This is enough electricity to meet the power needs of 10 family houses. They are now experimenting with a 50KW version of their invention, which is named Laddermill. Their ultimate aim is to create a version which consists out of multiple kites. They claim that this version will be able to generate 100 megawatts. This would be enough to power approximately 100,000 homes.

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