The Nice Grid smart solar pilot project in the South of France has been successfully validated by Socemec and ERDF2, the French distribution operator, islanding a district for five hours.
The company’s said the five hours is a record for islanding a district.
The EDF R&D’s experimental platform targeted eight industrial client and three PV plants totalling 430kWp.
The storage system manages disconnection and reconnection of the district to the mains supply. In the ‘disconnected’ mode, the clients continue to be supplied by Socomec’s PCS energy storage system and PV production.
The company said the district is disconnected at the substation. In the event of islanding, to reduce load on the main power grid, the electricity is disconnected without interruption to the customers’ supply or the PV generation.
Socomec energy storage projects director Giovanny Diquerreau said: “The Nice Grid project demonstrates that the local management of variable energy flow is achievable via efficient energy storage solutions.”
Image: commissioning the PCS converter at the district site (Socomec)
