Schneider Electric and Saft win two projects from Langa Group for the installation of energy storage systems for two solar power plants in Corsica (France), awarded under the French public tender schemes – Commission de Régulation de l’Energie (CRE).
Contributing to the development of renewable energy
Langa’s new solar power plants will be based near Corte and Castifao, on the French island of Corsica. With a nominal solar power of 1 MWp and a storage capacity of 1 MWh, each plant will produce more than 1,300 MWh per year, in compliance with the CRE specifications.
Schneider Electric and Saft partnered to meet Langa’s requirements on those two projects. The consortium proposed a solution including the design, supply and installation of the equipment, management system, and the maintenance services.
The combination of photovoltaic power generation and a storage system optimises the integration of variable solar energy into the island electric grid. Energy produced during day times when sun irradiance is at its best can thus be stored in batteries, and redistributed in the evening, during peak times and after sunset. The two photovoltaic plants will generate enough energy to meet the electricity needs of more than 400 Corsican homes annually.
A French consortium for a global solution
Leader of the consortium, Schneider Electric will implement its solutions dedicated to storage and solar energy: PVBox for solar power conversion, ESBox for battery power conversion, Energy Management System (EMS) for global equipment management and control of Saft batteries, project engineering and services to guarantee the system performance. Schneider Electric is also in charge of the interconnection between the various components of the plants, and with the electric distribution network. Schneider Electric developed and industrialised an offer for energy storage and its coupling with renewable energy production assets, and supports its customers projects with expert engineering and services teams.
For each project, Saft will deploy its energy storage solution Intensium Max+ 20E. This integrated solution is fully developed and manufactured by Saft, and composed of a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery of around 1 MWh in a 20 foot container. The container also includes the thermal and safety management systems, as well as the operational battery management through a BMS (Battery Management System), the interface with the Schneider Electric control system. Saft supports its customers during their projects lifecycle, reaching from early optimization of storage system sizing to maintenance services once the installation is completed. The Langa project comes in a series of contracts won by Saft for Li-ion storage systems for island grids around the world.
“Energy storage systems are required for continued growth of renewable energies: they will allow to integrate energy production into the distribution grid in an optimised way. We were convinced by the solution proposed by Schneider Electric and Saft, two French leaders in their markets. Their expertise in solar energy and energy storage, their competitive offer, along with their local presence have been key in our choice,” said Hervé Guérin, founder and CEO of Langa Group.
The contract was signed in June between Langa and the Schneider Electric – Saft consortium, and the two installations will be grid connected by the end of the year.
