Interest in hybrid energy generation is high, says generator manufacturer HIMOINSA Southern Africa business development director Matthew Bell.

Speaking to Engineering News on the sidelines of the Africa Energy Forum, he noted that, for projects coming to fruition, there were still some challenges, as well as opportunities, for vertically integrated original-equipment manufacturers such as HIMOINSA in terms of establishing an effective integrated solution.

The challenges were due to there effectively being four components to a good hybrid system – solar, grid capacity, battery and the generator (thermal energy) – but the “brains” to it all was an integrated control system.

Such a system synchronised the different energy sources and could use the best one available according to the time of day or year. “This approach ensures that the most cost-effective energy supply is selected, [the cost of which is lower than] utility tariff rates, which increase during peak hours and winter periods,” noted Bell.

The company’s Master Control System, launched in 2016, allowed for one port of call for assistance, should there be a challenge with any component of a hybrid system using one of its generators.

The Master Control System had, since its launch, made major strides in the telecommunications sector, where significant interest for hybrid generation lay, said Bell.

“Where there are base stations or telecoms masts, particularly in remote parts of Africa, it requires a generator to run 24/7, which can be expensive to run – fuelwise and the cost of servicing and maintaining the units,” he explained.

Bell added that the North Africa region and the Dominican Republic were important customers for hybrid generation systems.

Moreover, he said, hybrid generation could make a significant impact in more African countries, since there were many towns and industrial areas not connected to a grid.

The company’s continuous research and development programme and the technology developments that it had launched and/or already had in operation for hybrid solutions (designed specifically for the telecom market) were now being leveraged for other applications, such as on- or off-grid micro and mini grid solutions.

“Some industrial users are located at the end of transmission lines and, consequently, had unreliable power supply, since fluctuations in voltage and frequency trip the power supply.”

Having numerous hybrids along the utility network strengthened the grid and reduced bottlenecks and voltage fluctuations.

Total off-grid solutions also worked where a hybrid solution was used to provide an alternative power source to the traditional transmission line and utility connection solution. With the latest technology developments in hybrid solutions, this provided a cost-effective and reliable power supply for remote and rural businesses and communities in Africa.

Bell highlighted that a traditional diesel genset would need to run all day and, therefore, could be expensive and emitted carbon dioxide, but, having hybrid solar and battery components, it effectively offset the time diesel was required by up to 80%.

The diesel genset was the last energy source to kick in if the battery or solar component was inefficient or unavailable at any time.

Meanwhile, HIMOINSA also offers its C2Cloud system, which is a remote monitoring system that uses a SIM card installed on the generator to provide visibility of the oil pressure, battery charging, fuel levels and other critical information about the state of the generator at any given time.

The C2Cloud system enables remote visibility and control of the generator from the customer’s mobile phone, with preventive alarms set up to inform the customer if an issue concerning the battery level, for example, is foreseen.

“The temperature of batteries is important . . . and needs constant monitoring for effective energy storage. “Air-conditioning systems are also built into the company’s hybrid designed gensets to regulate temperature,” Bell explained.

The hybrid gensets used a variable- speed engine rather than a traditional fixed-speed engine. With hybrid applications, where demand and load profiles varied greatly throughout the day and night, this could result in fuel efficiency and operational challenges, unlike fixed-speed generators.

“Our variable-speed engine matches low demand with the output of the engine and the benefits include a 20% improvement in fuel consumption, compared with a hybrid fixed-speed generator, and a 40% saving, compared with a standard fixed-speed generator, while also reducing cylinder head glazing as the engine can run at a low load factor without having operational issues.”

Bell concluded that total cost of ownership was a core value among HIMOINSA’s manufacturing and customer service objectives. “We strive to produce the most cost-effective solution over the life span of the product’s application, providing our customers with high-quality and reliable power generation equipment and services.”