Isabela Island Hybrid Power Plant – Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

>> Less noise, less carbin dioxide - The hydrid power plant called Isabela

Within the objective of Ecuador‘s “Zero Fossil Fuel Initiative for the Galapagos Islands” a new hybrid power generation system was installed in Isabela island located in the Galapagos Archipelago. It is successfully in operation since October 2018.
This future-oriented power plant makes an effective contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of the island’s electricity generation. Five containerized engine gensets with a total output of 1.6 MW are designed to run on jatropha vegetable oil harvested and produced on Ecuador’s mainland, with diesel fuel as back-up. During sunshine periods all engine generators can be completely shut down while the island’s grid load is then served by a 1 MWp photovoltaic power plant in combination with a 660 kW / 330 kWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system and power inverters linked to an Energy Management System. As a result, average fuel consumption is intelligently reduced by 155,000 litres each month, with CO2 emissions reduced by 410 tons each month. In a subsequent step the PV-field and the battery energy storage system will be extended to further reduce fuel consumption.

Meeting a growing city’s power needs

Hence, the Ecuadorian government started the “Zero Fossil Fuel Galápagos Initiative” that led to replacing the old diesel gensets with a pioneering solution based on 100% renewables. In 2016 the project began on the largest island of Galápagos, Isabela, with a new, hybrid power plant for the entire island.

The new plant is close to the seaside, resulting in a harsh environment with volcanic and seismic activities. Logistics were constrained by the naval transport capacity, and high environmental protection requirements in this nature reserve called for special precautions. The new power plant also had to be expandable for future demand development, which was considered right from the start of the project.

The Isabela Island Hybrid Power Plant project was handled by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Energy as project owner, Lahmeyer International as technical consultant, KfW as multilateral bank, Elecgalápagos as local utility, and Siemens as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor who carried out the detailed engineering design of the project, procured all the equipment and materials necessary, and carried out construction.

An energy intelligent solution

 The Isabela Island Hybrid Power Plant was designed to eliminate the use of fossil fuels by integrating renewable resources to address the energy challenges of Isabela Island. A special focus was put on designing the plant with complementing technologies to exploit local resources that provide the true basis for a sustainable energy future. Special care was taken with regards to the environmental impact of the used technology, considering the unique and sensitive natural environment the plant is located in.

Creating a reliable, safe, and sustainable power supply for Isabela Island was only made possible by an international collaboration of dedicated people. Inhabitants of the island, authorities, financiers, and energy experts from Siemens all contributed to the big goal: zero fossil fuels for Galápagos.

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