Electro Power Systems S.A.: Commissioning Phase Starts for the Microgrid in Australia

Regulatory News:

Electro Power Systems S.A. (“EPS”) (Paris:EPS) technology pioneer in energy storage systems and microgrids listed on the French-regulated market Euronext Parigi (EPS:FP), has announced the successful delivery of the storage system sired to the Coober Pedy Renewable Hybrid Power Project’s microgrid in Coober Pedy, Southern Australia.

The arrival at the destination, scheduled for the end of February, marks the official start of the installation and commissioning phase of the project, granted to a company part of the Toshiba Group and developed in partnership with EPS. The system delivery has taken place upon the completion of the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) during the second half of December 2016 at the EPS manufacturing site in Delebio (Sondrio). The Coober Pedy Renewable Hybrid Power Project, realised by EDL in the context of 900 MW of power generation capacity managed between Australia, the US and Europe, is a concrete example of this new generation of off-grid microgrids.

The availability of solar and wind energy sources, combined with the adoption of the most advanced technologies in the field of storage to master the intermittency of renewables, will significantly reduce the use of diesel generators. This will ensure, simultaneously, a stable supply of energy to local populations. The microgrid energy output will be underpinned by a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with the District Council of Coober Pedy and supported by the Australian Government.

EPS system, a proper hybrid power plant, will be connected to a microgrid composed by (in its final configuration) 1 MW of solar panels, 4 MW wind turbines and up to 6 MVA of generators combined with 1 MW of storage system. Thus, the system will be able to cover up to 70% of the demand, supplying the inhabitants of the area – about 1,600 people – with energy from renewable sources for the hybrid power plant’s 20-year life.

"Development of this project in a remote location with extreme climatic characteristics such as Coober Pedy, located in a desert area about 850 kilometres in the north of Adelaide, highlights the applicability of EPS technology even in the most challenging environmental conditions", commented Nicola Vaninetti, Vice President of EPS. "Through the concrete possibility to combine wind, solar and energy storage, our technology provides, to all areas of the world where the grid is not present or is unreliable, a cleaner and economic system to achieve energy independence by diesel generators and to reduce electricity bills. In addition, it has the advantage of protecting the mining industry against the volatility of fuel prices and, for the local communities that host mining settlements, to be a resource for renewable energy plants even at the end of the mine life cycle."

The Coober Pedy hybrid power plant is expected to be commissioned by the 1H 2017.

Electro Power Systems

About Electro Power Systems

Electro Power Systems (“EPS”) operates in the sustainable energy sector, specializing in hybrid-storage solutions and microgrids that enable intermittent renewable sources to be transformed into a stable power source.

Listed on the French-regulated market Euronext, EPS is part of the CAC® Mid & Small and the CAC® All-Tradable indices and has registered offices in Paris and research, development and manufacturing in Italy.

Thanks to technology covered by 125 patents and applications, combined with more than 10 years of R&D, the Group has developed hybrid energy storage solutions to stabilize electrical grids heavily penetrated by renewable sources in developed countries and, in emerging economies, to power off-grid areas at a lower cost than fossil fuels without the need for any subsidy or incentive scheme.

EPS has installed and has under commissioning in aggregate 36 large scale projects, including off-grid hybrid systems powered by renewables and energy storage totalizing over 35 MW of installed power that provides energy to over 160,000 customers everyday, in addition to more than 18 MW of grid support systems, for a total capacity output of 47 MWh and 25 MW of systems in 21 countries worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.

For more information, visit www.electropowersystems.com.

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