Kenya will soon be getting its first flywheel storage project. The system, commissioned by Socabelec East Africa, is intended to support a microgrid serving a community of 5,000 people in Marsabit, the capital of the Kenyan county of the same name.
The ABB’s PowerStore is a compact and versatile flywheel-based grid stabilizing generator. Its main purpose is to stabilize power systems against fluctuations in frequency and voltage. It includes state-of-the-art inverters and virtual generator control software. It enables the integration of intermittent and often erratic renewable generation and the higher utilization of renewable energy generators, protecting remote communities from exposure to volatile oil prices. The ABB’s microgrid solution ordered in Kenya will boost renewable energy usage.
When used for hybrid applications, – like Marsabit diesel generators and two 275-kilowatt wind turbines – flywheels will stabilize the grid, enable any excess wind energy generated to be used. It can provide near instantaneous power to bridge other resources. They also have long lives that can keep costs lower in remote areas.
Swiss grid giant ABB’s 500-kilowatt PowerStore stabilization system in Marsabit is expected to be completed by 2016.
A recent study carried out for the German government concluded that Kenya was ripe for development as an energy storage market – particularly if the country’s isolated rural communities are to be served by local microgrids.
A number of other areas where energy storage could gain traction in Kenya includes the telecommunications, tourism and mining.
Read: Kenya’s Storage Market Is Budding – by Greentech Media
Kenya's Energy Future 