The Finish technology group Wärtsilä has introducing a hybrid and standalone energy storage to the market, combined with engine-based power generation. The company stated is sees “high market potential” in areas with remote microgrids and for solar PV integration.
The threefold solution comprises hybrid power plants, engines+storage and energy storage. Still, the Finish OEM ihas little interest in developing its proprietary power storage technology; having stated earlier that remaining technology neutral would "help de-risk the business."
Energy storage is gaining momentum and large markets for stand-alone power storage already exist in the US, Western Europe and in the UK. Hybrid solutions such as energy storage are now financially attractive, notably in areas with high fuel prices and a stark contribution of renewable power sources.
Risto Paldanius, Wärtsilä Energy Solutions director, underlined that the launch goes beyond providing energy storage, so the company sees itself as a systems integrator, “as we are able to optimise the usage of our hybrid power plants with EMS software”.
To complement its latest hybrid power gen+storage technology, Wärtsilä also introduced an energy management system (EMS). In mid-2016, Wärtsilä started cooperating with energy storage software provider Greensmith to license the latter’s GEMS platform. The Finnish manufacturer now claims this software is the “most widely-deployed” solution and allows to run hybrid power plants “in an optimal way at all times,” ensuring ideal utilization of engines and energy storage.
Javier Cavada, president of Wärtsilä Energy Solutions stated that the new solution would provide value-added for customers through optimized spinning reserve, fuel savings through runtime optimization between engine and power storage in a hybrid power plant, lower need for maintenance, regulation compliance and reduced emissions.