Off-grid market attracts solar growth

22 December 2014

Companies without grid connections and relying on diesel generators are reducing their costs and carbon dioxide emissions by switching to solar

Off-grid, small-scale solar generation is offering increasing opportunities for companies reliant on diesel generators to cut their power costs and at the same time reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Key fact

Turning to solar is expected to knock about 26 per cent off Abu Dhabi-based TDIC’s annual fuel and generator-hire bill

Source: Tourism Development & Investment Company

Typically, firms without a connection to the grid use diesel generators to supply their power. Installing solar offers an opportunity to reduce energy costs by cutting generator hire costs and the amount of fuel used each month. Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) estimates that turning to solar will knock an estimated 26 per cent annually from its fuel and generator-hire bill.

These small-scale schemes are usually at commercial properties, such as warehouses and factories, or construction sites that cannot get a grid connection.

Hybrid approach

Many take a hybrid approach, mixing solar with a reduced level of temporary diesel generation to soak up extra daytime requirements and the night-time capacity. In some cases, it will be solar only, using battery storage for night-time and when the sun is weak.

However, battery storage can double a solar system’s cost, even when comparing it with a solar-diesel mix, shifting it from a cost-effective day-time diesel generator replacement to becoming more expensive.

Daniel Zywietz, CEO of UAE-based solar provider Enerwhere, says it becomes less cost-effective because you are paying for expensive storage equipment even when it is not in use. “Even if, during the day, solar is 20 per cent cheaper, then at night it becomes more expensive.”

Enerwhere leases solar panels, metering usage and for temporary sites, but there are firms that focus on storage to eliminate diesel generators from off-grid systems. UAE-based MiccGreentec has optimised its battery technology so fewer are used, reducing storage costs.

“Photovoltaic solar harvests sunlight during a specific time, which in the UAE is around 10am to 4pm,” says Qureshi. “If electricity is required [at other times], it has to be generated by the panels and stored in batteries. Battery storage, when connected to conventional solar power inverters, is economically unviable.”

Saadiyat Island switches to solar

Saadiyat Island labout camp off-grid solar facilities

The Saadiyat Island accommodation village in Abu Dhabi houses about 7,500 labourers, working on the construction of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums on the island’s cultural district, and can accommodate up to 20,000.

It has used rooftop solar panels since 2009 to heat water, but needed another system to also cover lighting, air conditioning and heating. It now has 200kW of ground-based photovoltaic solar panels for that usage, which will be doubled in January to 400kW.

Philip Mills, director of facilities management at Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), says solar was installed for its environmental impact. “With hot water being produced by solar energy, the next stage was to reduce the electrical load being delivered by carbon fuel,” he says. “So with close cooperation with Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC), the camp operator and TDIC, 200kW of panels were installed. We are able to extract about 10 hours a day of solar generated energy.”

The camp uses a mix of solar with diesel generators for additional daylight requirements and night-time usage, with a capacity of 4.5MW. Daniel Zywietz, CEO of UAE-based supplier Enerwhere, says that with the current 200kW, generation changes through the day, with the panels supplying about 20-30kW early in the morning, about 160kW at noon, and dipping back to about 20-30kW by 4-5pm.

Once capacity rises to 400kW, Zywietz says the panels will supply about 40 per cent of the January noontime peak load of about 1MW. Solar capacity through 2015 could increase to up to 1.5MW from today’s 200kW.

Mills describes it as a successful project that is expected to reduce the accommodation’s carbon footprint by 1,920 tonnes a year and push down fuel costs and generator-hire fees by about 26 per cent.

“This has established internal and external support, and awareness for TDIC’s future plans, which are to look at other sites to install solar panels, including integrating with [ADDC’s] systems,” he says.

The residential market

Despite a sunny climate and cloudless skies, the residential market in the region is yet to develop. This is because:

  • The GCC is still waiting for clear regulation, particularly on power purchase agreements.
  • Subsidies mean low tariffs do not make small-scale systems economically viable. A reduction or removal of tariffs could kick-start the residential rooftop solar market.
  • The region is heavily weighted towards expatriates, many of whom rent. In the rental market, rooftop solar is not attractive, as there is no guarantee that costs will be recouped.

Ayham Mkalalati, business development manager at Abu Dhabi-based Environmena, says that without an increase in tariffs, the market is more favourable for larger institutions. “It doesn’t make sense yet for private individuals to put solar on their homes,” he says.

Landfill degassing

Al-Qusais landfill site

Methane degassing at the Al-Qusais landfill site in Dubai

While solar has captured much of the attention for renewable energy in the region, there are alternatives. One that is little known but able to supply decent levels of renewable energy is landfill degassing.

In wet environments, rain can slowly push methane into the water table, but in desert regions such as the UAE, the gas sits in the landfill and is relatively easy to extract. Anita Nouri, business development manager at Green Energy, which is degassing landfill sites in Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai, calls it the lowest hanging fruit in renewables. “Landfill gas is the cheapest and most straight-forward way to make energy.”

Green Energy is degassing the Al-Qusais landfill site in Dubai, and is exploring with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority whether it can add the energy it produces to the national grid once the regulatory framework is in place.

The Al-Qusais degassing 20-year contract was awarded by Dubai Municipality, with the company expected to remove the site’s methane gas in an environmentally friendly way.

Since July 2013, Green Energy has produced 1MW of energy using the methane, enough to power the offices on the site. But it flares 6,000 cubic metres an hour, enough to produce 12MW of energy. Nouri says the company has the capacity to increase this to produce 20MW, estimating that is equivalent to preventing 350,000 tonnes a year of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere.

It is also in discussion to remove methane from other landfill sites around the country.

Methane in numbers

21 If calculated over a 100-year cycle, methane is approximately 21 times more efficient at trapping solar radiation than carbon dioxide (CO2), making it a potentially more dangerous greenhouse gas in terms of warming the atmosphere

12 However, methane levels in the atmosphere are much lower than those of CO2, and it has a much shorter life before breaking down of about 12 years

100 If calculated on a daily basis, 1kg of methane can trap about 100 times more heat than 1kg of CO2

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