Vitoria/Granada, 18 April 2023.-. ZGR Corporación and Cuerva reached a collaboration agreement last year to provide energy support to rural areas with grid connection difficulties. As a result of this collaboration, a lithium battery energy storage project has been developed to guarantee the electricity supply and improve the quality of the grid in the municipality of Jayena in the municipality of Granada.
Specifically, the solution implemented by ZGR in the Transformer Substation called “Pueblo Jayena 2” is based on a ZGR BESS equipment, whose main elements are a bidirectional charger (ZGR PCS GRID 150kW), a storage system composed of lithium batteries and an integral control system, among other elements.
Through a series of signals and control variables, the installed set optimizes energy management and increases the quality of the energy supply provided by the transformer substation. The equipment makes possible to regulate the power, voltage and frequency of the electrical power. The charging and discharging of the batteries can be managed, ensuring intelligent and automated energy distribution, in accordance with the variables and needs of each moment.
This makes possible for towns such as Jayena, which were at the end of the power line section, to have a better quality of supply.
This equipment has the capacity to provide uninterrupted electrical energy, even in the event of a breakdown, for a period of up to two hours. This measure has been adopted in order to guarantee a reliable and stable electricity supply, with a minimum impact on the continuity of the service and its repercussion on the end user.
Advanced energy storage technology
It is therefore an outstanding technological project that supports the grid in the event of contingencies and disturbances, contributing to its stability and supporting the electrification of isolated populations in which Cuerva is the electricity distributor.
According to Miguel Ángel Pérez, head of the project at ZGR Corporación: “We have implemented advanced solutions in power electronics, both in the promotion of smart grids and clean technologies, as well as last generation electronic equipment, which respond to Cuerva’s needs and allow it to improve the efficiency in the management and operation of its electricity grids in rural environments”.
For his part, Juan L. Guerrero Jiménez, Director of Grid Services at Cuerva, highlights how “this project is another step forward in our commitment to provide greater flexibility to our electricity infrastructures, making them more resilient and in turn providing better services and supply to our customers, even in isolated rural areas, improving the sustainability of our systems. It puts us at the forefront of smart grids”.
Guarantee of supply even in the event of a breakdown
The ZGR BESS equipment, apart from complementing the voltage variations of the grid, has another very important function, which is to work in “island mode”. This term refers to the fact that, in the event of a grid failure, this battery is capable of supplying energy to the area for at least two hours autonomously, giving sufficient time for the grid to be repaired and the supply to be re-established.
Domingo Chinchilla Sánchez, Head of Network Planning and Development at Cuerva: explains “This storage system is cleaner, cheaper and more effective than building traditional assets”.
Escúzar station, which supplies the grid to Jayena, where ZGR Corporación’s lithium battery storage system has been installed.
Cuerva and ZGR: The importance of cooperation in the energy value chain
This project is an example of the joint commitment of ZGR Corporación and Cuerva to the transformation of the energy sector. At a time of energy transition where the electrification of the economy marks the new times, collaboration between all the agents in the energy chain is fundamental.
According to Miguel Ángel Pérez, of ZGR Corporación: “ZGR’s mastery of power electronics, together with Cuerva’s knowledge of the electricity market, is making it possible to develop services and solutions with greater added value for users of electricity grids in rural areas of the province of Granada”.
For Cuerva’s team, grid storage systems should be a fully integrated component of the grid, in order to ensure safe and reliable operation of the distribution network. In this way, we avoid the construction of electrical infrastructures with a greater environmental impact.
Cuerva, as part of its electricity distribution business area, distributes more than 100 GWh of energy per year, guaranteeing access to electricity supply to around 50,000 people in areas that are difficult to access. To optimize supply and maintain it at high quality levels, Cuerva works with a data volume of 5,100 GB integrated in its systems, managing its smart grids in real time. Furthermore, the experience accumulated since its origins, investment and innovation in its distribution areas is reflected in the different fully integrated electricity infrastructures it has: 3 substations, 450 smart transformation centres, 400 km of LAT and more than 500 km of LBT.
ZGR ZGR Corporaciónhas been awarded the contract as the main supplier of Iberdrola and Unión Fenosa Distribuciónfor DC chargers. It has also been awarded the fourth BESS project with Viesgo. All this makes it one of the leading national manufacturers of DC equipment and one of the leading manufacturers of electrical storage solutions.
More information about Cuerva
Cuerva, a family company founded in 1939 in Granada, has more than 80 years of history in the energy sector. With an international presence in Europe and Latin America, it continues to be a company with family values and focused on seeking the best energy solutions through innovation and understanding the needs of people, the sector and society.
With this vision of the future for more than 8 decades, Cuerva has consolidated its brand image as a benchmark company in the energy sector. Understanding energy as a process from start to finish thanks to the exhaustive study of high-value data, it covers the different areas of the energy value chain. From the generation, distribution and commercialization of electrical energy, to extensive knowledge and experience in the operation, construction and maintenance of hundreds of types of electrical infrastructures.
It has more than 125 partnerships in 24 countries with the aim of achieving a positive energy transformation based on collaboration. More information: https://cuervaenergia.com/en
More information about ZGR Corporation
ZGR Corporation is a business group specialising in the design, manufacture, implementation and maintenance of robust, reliable and highly productive solutions for the integrated management of electrical energy. A manufacturer since 1998, it is an international benchmark in power electronics, especially in the development of intelligent systems and grid quality, as well as in hybrid and modular energy storage, based on batteries.
It has four main areas of specialization: Industry, Transmission and Distribution, Energy (Photovoltaic) and Electric Mobility. As a manufacturer, one of its elements of differential value is its technical service and manufacturing guarantees. It has a large number of national and international certifications and approvals for its activity.
Its headquarters are in Vitoria and it has branches in Madrid, San Sebastian and Valencia. Internationally, it has branches in Mexico and Colombia with local technical service in these areas. It develops projects and markets its products all over the world. More information at www.zigor.com/en
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