CHALLENGE

The project’s goal is the development of a viable model of the microgrid based on distributed microgeneration from renewable sources, with an energy storage and management system. The model’s challenge was to implement a pilot project in a residential condominium, with the participation of ten consumer units and some condominium systems, such as public lighting, condominium security and the needs of the social club).

Among the main aspects of innovation proposed for the project are the control strategies to be developed to integrate renewable energy sources (photovoltaic and wind), different energy storage technologies the loads – which can be critical or normal. The project’s focus is on the intelligence of the network, in an effort to implement an efficient, reliable and economic system that can be an appealing solution for the electrical sector

DEVELOPMENT

Three major technical challenges were confronted:

• (1) The difficulty of finding equipment suppliers that can meet the project requirements. This includes the central energy storage system, since there is still no company in Brazil that offers an operation and maintenance model suitable to the system. It is worth noting that in 2014, the year the project began, energy storage systems were still extremely new products in Brazilian and international markets.
• (2) The difficulty of locating suppliers of demand management devices. It was necessary to enter a partnership with a company that already had a device with characteristics that met the pilot project’s demands. The Smart Panel [Smart Quadro] application originated from this partnership. In addition, the main component of the Smart Panel, the Smart Q, was also used in one of the project’s command and control panels called QGFD.
• (3) The product that presented the project’s greatest challenge was the back-to-back converter. Since this equipment was not yet found in the market, it was necessary to enter a partnership with a Brazilian company to develop it. The converter was developed together with the supplier, a company that already had experience with electric power equipment and that developed the new product according to the needs of the pilot project.

RESULT

The project resulted in the first microgrid installed in a real case in Brazil. The microgrid developed by the project is currently in operation in a residential condominium in the region of operation of the Enel Ceará company. It stands out not only for its pioneer nature, but for the scope of the solutions tested and implemented in the R&D. The project encompassed technological, regulatory, marketing and commercial aspects of microgrids. It was tailored for application in residential condominiums, but is also applicable to commercial establishments and districts, and autonomous grids. It sought the creation of new products, services and business models for the Enel Group.