their own localised networks of energy production. The residential and
industrial real estate industry has the opportunity of seizing the benefits
of renewable energy and including it in projects right here at home.
We can rewrite the relationship between municipality, industry, and end
users – ensuring long-term value for all.
By coupling the 400KW of solar production with a 300KW/1.2MWh
lithium battery, Enel X created a solar plus storage solution that delivers
on load. Renewable resources can be shifted to a time of the day when
they provide the greatest value. In the summer of 2018, this meant
cooler homes between 20:00 and 00:00 for the people of the Marcus
Garvey Village.
While South Africa still needs to revise its power-sector regulations,
we’re seeing an increase in the uptake of renewable energy solutions
across the country. Systems like Enel X Intelligent Storage can add
value to residential estates, apartment blocks, shopping malls and office
parks by providing additional cash flow. In fact, once the installation
is paid for, the system keeps producing electricity that – if paid for
by the tenants (maybe at a lower rate) – would translate into a new
revenue stream, which can be used for the improvement and/or for the
maintenance of the estate, among other things. The tenants will enjoy a
cheaper electricity bill, immunity to tariff increases and power outages,
and secure a higher quality of living in an environmentally friendly
property.
For their solar plus storage solution, Enel X created a powerful and
intelligent control system to manage the distributed energy resources,
and support the varying load requirements throughout the seasons,
ensuring the housing development self-consumes the energy it generates
without exporting to the grid. This control system also optimises how
various resources interact and perform, and is intelligent enough to
predict peaks in electricity demand.
The Enel X photovoltaic, storage, and fuel cell system might be the
first in New York City but definitely isn’t the last anywhere in the world.
With the price of solar power and batteries continually falling, the
good news is that smaller markets like South Africa can soon realise
www.enelenergy.co.za
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