Endua power bank use case: Utilities & Remote Community
Discover a microgrid’s potential to power a remote community with renewable energy
The challenge
In a remote community, residents rely on a disconnected microgrid, powered by electricity from diesel generators. The operator of the microgrid was seeking to transition the energy source from thermal generation to renewables, with an aspirational target to achieve 100% renewable penetration.
This would reduce diesel reliance, supply-chain losses, and other associated transfer costs and challenges, as well as price volatility. The ideal solution would reduce carbon and noise emissions, deliver greater cost certainty, and supply reliable, clean power to local community members and businesses.
The solution
The Endua team worked with the operator to model a solution using the power bank, for its ability to store larger quantities of renewable energy, for longer periods of time. In addition to storing weeks worth of energy, it would also provide an economical pathway to removing fossil fuels by delivering multi-day storage more competitively than other battery storage devices.
Endua modelled a power bank with the following specifications:
750kW Solar PV
60kW Electrolyser
120kW Fuel Cell
10,664kWh H2 storage
1,383kWh BESS
The solution could be rapidly deployed on-site with minimal project coordination. The operator team could rely on Endua’s multiple years of engineering and hydrogen expertise, reducing complexity of the project. They could gain peace of mind knowing the pre-engineered, pre-built hydrogen storage solution utilises a standardised design with proven integration of components. They could also be confident in its compliance with all relevant Australian safety standards.
The results
Utilising the Endua power bank for the community would achieve the following results:
99.98% load met by renewables
256% increase in storage energy capacity (compared to a battery-hydrid system)
increase in autonomy (1.6 days to 4.4 days of stored energy).
The graph represents a model of the power bank’s stored energy performance over the course of a year – with the purple segment demonstrating seasonal power discharge, and the grey representing the recharging period.
Operationally, the power bank could supply an annual load of 681MWh, and peak load of 220kW.
At a similar levelised cost of energy (LCOE), the Endua power bank could deliver significantly better customer outcomes by increasing stored capacity, increasing autonomy, and reducing capital costs of solar PV plant.