Electrify an off-grid site

Client’s needs

The Glorieuse is a small island in the Indian Ocean surrounded by coral reefs, and nesting grounds for migratory birds and sea turtles. It is also the site of a small French military base.

French soldiers monitor and maintain this island location to ensure compliance with environmental protection rules.

The Saint-Denis Department of Infrastructure and Defence (DID) at Reunion Island contacted us to help them eliminate the resupply of diesel fuel to the military base, where it is used to power backup generators for electricity. 

The DID’s request entailed dimensioning and installing an entirely autonomous power station that would use on-site energy resources.

Specific challenges

Designing the appropriately sized power station did not present any difficulties in itself. However, several technical challenges were identified in connection with the specific location and its strategic nature:

• Due to the lack of docking facilities, the remote location of the island required air transportation.
• Size limits for each piece of equipment needed to be taken into account to allow for transport on Air Force light aircraft.
• Lack of communication network with the island required the set-up of a secure satellite communication infrastructure.
• Lack of qualified on-site personnel to service the installation in the event of system failure required thoroughly resilient solutions.

PowiDian solution

PowiDian recommended the set-up of a bespoke hydrogen power station. Dimensioning was calculated according to electricity consumption data collected at the site by the Saint-Denis DID.

The station consists of:

• A 62-kWc solar power plant
• A 110-kWh battery storage system 
• A 10-Nm3/h electrolyzer
• 190 m³ of hydrogen storage (35-bar pressure tanks)
• A 10-kW Li-ion battery

The entire station was installed by PowiDian teams. The Air Force only handled equipment transport to the island.