Wind Solar Hydro Biomass Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Storage Home » What we do » Storage Photovoltaics + Storage = Smart solar Making Islands Self-Sufficient in Energy Terms Renewable energies are particularly well-suited to island environments, where wind and sunshine tend to be plentiful. Moreover, the high cost of importing power from conventional sources, a necessity for isolated, non-interconnected islands, automatically makes renewable energies a competitive option. However, because solar and wind energy are intermittent, they cannot exceed 30% of islands’ energy mix without throwing the grid out of balance. One way of exceeding this limit is to combine storage solutions with solar power plants. Ensuring a Predictable Level of Solar Power being Fed into the Grid The 2012 tender process for solar/storage projects launched by France’s Commission de Régulation de l’Energie (CRE) included extremely strict and detailed specifications. Storage solutions combined with solar power projects were required, in order to provide the grid with a steady supply of power specified the day before, regardless of weather conditions. The batteries will absorb excess supply and offset insufficient power production during the day, and subsequently feed a perfectly steady supply of power into the grid over a daily period of time defined jointly by the network operator and the producer. On a given day, the project sponsor must inform the grid operator of the power that will be fed into the grid the following day, i.e. when the steady feed-in period will begin and end. The batteries, along with the related software, are what makes the power plant smart. Mature Technology and State-of-the-Art Software To achieve this global first on such a scale, Akuo Energy opted for a mature technology already in widespread use, i.e. lithium-ion batteries. Battery suppliers have combined this technology with sophisticated software that factors in local weather data history going back more than ten years, and that accurately predicted weather conditions during testing. As agreed with the battery suppliers, the software comes with a two-year warranty on the basis of pre-defined performance ratios. The batteries are guaranteed for ten years. The Next Stage: Energy Self-Sufficiency for All Non-Interconnected Territories This ground-breaking, industrial-scale alliance between solar power and storage is removing the final barriers to the development of renewable energies in all noninterconnected territories. Project Capacity Localisation Status Olmo 1 4 MW Corsica / FR In operation Bardzour 9 MW Reunion Island / FR In operation Mortella 7 MW Corsica / FR In operation Les Cèdres 9 MW Reunion Island / FR In operation TOTAL SOLAR WITH STORAGE : 29 MW What we do Wind Solar Hydro Biomass Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Storage Who we are Our Strategy The Team Akuo in figures Agrinergie Akuo Foundation Legal notices Press Press Releases Newsletters Press Kit Press coverage Video gallery Origin of Akuo name Press contact Contact Us © 2009 Akuo Energy France Design and technical realization Onedrop Solutions GmbH & Co. KG