Siemens has inaugurated a hybrid solar and energy storage system on the Galapagos island of Isabela in the Pacific Ocean.
The 952kW photovoltaic plant combined with a 660kW battery facility is remotely monitored by the Siemens-Mindsphere application centres in Munich, Germany, and Austin, Texas.
Siemens was awarded a contract for the project, which supplies power to 900 households on the largest Galapagos island, by the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy of Ecuador.
The plant is operated by the local energy supplier Elecgalapagos.
German development bank KfW supported the project financially, while Lahmeyer International was project consultant.
Siemens head of distributed energy systems John Kovach said: “We are proud to contribute to the protection of the Galapagos Islands with our climate-neutral technology.
“We have delivered the first local energy system of its kind, enabling our customer to achieve important long-term environmental goals.”
The Ecuadorian government has set up a programme called Zero Fossil Fuels on the Galapagos Islands to switch the UNESCO World Heritage Site away from fossil fuel-based generation.
It aims for the Galapagos to be 100% supplied by renewable energy, including wind and solar.
Oil produced by the native plant Jatropha Curcas is also planned to be used as a biofuel.