A solar microgrid demonstration project that has been developed and tested over a period of 16 months has successfully delivered electricity to a community in South Africa. On Friday, South Africa’s state-owned utility, Eskom, launched its ground-breaking pilot solar-powered microgrid at Wilhelmina Farm, Ficksburg in the Free State.
The microgrid demonstration plant, which was completed in November 2017 provides electricity to 14 households with 81 family members that make up the Wilhelmina community. The plant harnesses solar energy and converts it to a peak of 32 kilowatt electrical energy via solar photovoltaic panels and power inverters.
The remaining energy from the solar panels is stored in three sets of lithium ion batteries, totalling 90 kilowatt hours of storage. This storage facility provides electricity when there is low or no sunlight available to the solar photovoltaic panels.
Source:Â ESI Africa
