Fluence, Siemens BESS-powered microgrid takes Azores Island closer to ‘a sustainable future’

Energy storage technology provider Fluence and Siemens Smart Infrastructure have completed a renewable energy microgrid project on Terceira, a Portuguese Azores island.

Sitting in the North Atlantic Ocean a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, far from any of Europe’s major grid infrastructure, Terceira hosts an autonomous energy network, one of nine in the Azores.

The islands have great potential to be powered by renewable energy sources, particularly wind, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. The project on Terceira uses Fluence’s sixth generation battery storage solution, Gridstack, and Siemens’ smart energy controls software, to help integrate renewables for utility Electricidade dos Açores (EDA).

Fluence supplied a 15MW/15MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), and with the addition of a further 6MW of renewable energy, Terceira can more than double its share of renewables on its grid to 60%.

Siemens Power Technologies International’s (PTI) consulting team worked with utility EDA from 2018 to model the optimal BESS sizing and integration options against metrics including cost, viability, and technical requirements.