Island energy storage an Enel first

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Two projects being developed on the island of Ventotene and the Canary Islands are set to transform the lives of the local people, with the Enel Group installing electricity storage systems that will both allow the islands' inhabitants to reduce fuel consumption and lower the risk of blackouts, while also increasing the security of supply and energy efficiency, as well as integrating renewable energy into the local electricity grid.

The 300 kilowatt, 600 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery being installed in Ventotene will be located next to the generators that provide electricity to the island by the end of the year and will store electricity for use when there are peaks in demand. The island's 750 inhabitants, which become thousands when it fills up with tourists in the summertime, will enjoy the benefits of a device that:

  • modulates generators, stabilising the entire distribution system;
  • makes electricity supply more secure;
  • limits the annual fossil fuel consumption by 25 percent;
  • cuts greenhouse gases emissions;
  • Integrates already operational renewable energy power plants, so that the island's inhabitants can install new ones without unbalancing the network.
     

On the 286 islands in the European Union, which are inhabited by around 10 million people, 75 percent of electricity generation comes from oil. Obsolete infrastructure, unstable supply and dependency on the mainland stop the islands having full energy autonomy. Ventotene's storage system can be used to meet the needs of several islands.

The Store project, which Endesa launched in 2012 on the Canary islands, is another example of how Enel's storage systems can produce benefits for a huge number amount of people in Europe and elsewhere. On the Spanish islands, the Group is installing three storage systems on the islands of Gran Canaria (ion-lithium batteries), La Gomera (flywheel batteries) and La Palma (ultracondensers). Once fully operational they will allow, among other things, to fully integrate renewables, increasing their operational capacity to 24 hours a day.