Wärtsilä’s innovative hybrid energy solutions support and accelerate this transition towards a clean energy future. They combine energy storage and a flexible engine power plants which can be integrated with renewable assets, providing considerable potential for fuel and cost savings – especially in remote areas such as island and isolated grids where fuel prices tend to be high.
The value of the energy produced by a hybrid power plant can be enhanced with the Wärtsilä GEMS Digital Energy Platform, which uses data-driven intelligence to monitor, control and optimise energy production at both site and portfolio levels.
Adding renewable generation capacity to a power system isn’t the only way to achieve cleaner electricity production. According to studies carried out by Wärtsilä, adding energy storage to a gas power plant can reduce its fuel consumption and therefore emissions by as much as 6%.
By using the energy storage capacity as spinning reserve, thermal generation can be operated at higher loads with better fuel efficiency as a result of reduced engine running hours. Energy storage capacity can also be used to stabilise the grid, providing additional value to customers.
The Wärtsilä GEMS smart energy management software platform suite purpose-built, end-to-end grid management capabilities. The platform uses machine learning and historic and real-time data analytics to optimise the asset mix, and enables customers to remotely monitor, operate, identify and diagnose assets safely, reliably and flexibly.
The graph shows a setup where five engines are operated at partial load in order to provide sufficient spinning reserve capacity in case of a disturbance in one of the engines. This situation is non-optimal in terms of fuel efficiency, emissions and maintenance.
The graph shows a setup where the spinning reserve capacity of the engines is replaced by an energy storage system, which eliminates the need to run a fifth engine. This maximises engine efficiency and minimises emissions and maintenance costs. Based on automatic commands by GEMS, the energy storage system can compensate for any loss of power generation capacity caused by engine disturbances until the disturbance is resolved or a standby engine is ready to take the load.
This example, based on power-system modelling by Wärtsilä, illustrates an optimised transition towards a 100% renewable energy system including the electricity cost per MWh. An optimal setup includes a combination of renewables, engines running on synthetic fuels and energy storage capacity. For further examples download Wärtsilä’s business white paper: The path towards a 100% renewable energy future.
