Rolls-Royce is to supply three of its mtu CHP plants for a new logistics park in England.
The 2MW Symmetry Park energy centre in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, is a collaboration between logistics company Tritax Symmetry and energy services firm BasePower and will provide clients at the park with reliable, green power.
The Symmetry Park system will augment power generation from several sources, including rooftop solar photovoltaics, batteries and a CHP plant.
Besides ongoing maintenance, the contract will see Rolls-Royce deliver two mtu QL EnergyPack battery storage systems with 2.3MWh capacity, which will act as the sole power source in times of low demand.
The company will also provide three mtu CHP systems (8V4000 GS) and two backup 1MW mtu 16V2000 DS1250 generator sets to provide power in case of an emergency.
Tom Leeming, development director at Tritax Symmetry, said the installation of energy centres “will provide tenants at the site with greater resilience, more competitive energy, and a pathway to fully net zero carbon in occupation”.
“We estimate a saving of between five and 10 per cent on grid energy bills and the energy centres are also upgradeable if extra power is needed, such as by adding additional PV.”
Have you read?
Microgrid to power entire US town during an outage
JFK Terminal deploys solar microgrid to mitigate potential grid outages
According to Rolls-Royce, all the mtu systems and onsite solar photovoltaics will be coordinated by a smart microgrid control system consisting of two microgrid controllers operating in duty and standby mode.
The system handles both the dynamic load and power needs to maximise efficiency.
The energy centre operates in parallel with the grid supply or off-grid if required and the smart controls ensure the microgrid provides energy using the best source or combination of sources at any given time.
Andreas Görtz, President of Sustainable Power Solutions at Rolls-Royce, claimed the Biggleswade microgrid “will undoubtedly be a blueprint for further microgrid projects all over the world”.
