Philippines Cold Storage Project: Integrating a 5kW Wind Turbine into a PV System

Background

A Philippine client intends to convert a 40-foot container into a cold storage facility. The area is far from the power grid. Currently, the client already has a standalone system: a 12kW Deye hybrid inverter, 6kW solar panels, and lithium batteries.

However, due to the fact that the Philippines is a tropical region with frequent heavy rainfall, the power generation of the customer's photovoltaic system during the rainy season cannot meet the electricity demand of the cold storage project. Therefore, he come to us looking for solutions.

Upon receiving this project, our first step was to determine that the cold storage needs to operate continuously for 24 hours, so the stability of the power supply is of utmost importance.

Why Not Add More Photovoltaic and Batteries

The Philippines has a tropical climate. During the rainy season, there may be no continuous sunshine or heavy rainfall. In such cases, the electricity generated by the 6kW photovoltaic panels is very little.

The customer certainly wanted to expand the capacity. His first consideration was to increase the number of photovoltaic panels and batteries. However, this solution did not address the issue of low power generation efficiency of the photovoltaic panels during the rainy season. Therefore, the return on this solution was very low.

Solution - Adding a Wind Turbine to the Existing Photovoltaic System

So what we need to find is a power source that is not synchronized with the photovoltaic system. We recommended a wind turbine to the client. It does not depend on the sun. At night, on cloudy days, or during rain, as long as there is wind, wind turbine can generate electricity. We checked the local wind speed in the client's area at 5.5m/s, which is already very good. It can achieve full power output in many cases. For off-grid projects, "no power outage" is much more important than "peak power higher".

Due to the limited capacity of his lithium battery and the maximum current of 26A for one MPPT input of the inverter, we provided him with the following solution: add a 5kW 240V horizontal axis wind turbine to his system. After rectification, the voltage becomes 324V, which is within the MPPT range of the inverter.

What Does This Configuration Solve

We use a 5kW 240V G-type wind turbine , combined with a PWM grid-connected controller, and connect it to the DC input port of the Deye inverter. The controller is responsible for braking the wind turbine and rectifying the current, while the inverter is responsible for the operation of the entire system and the distribution of power flow.

During the rainy season, the power generated by photovoltaic power generation drops to its lowest point, but the wind turbine continues to rotate. The cold storage facility does not stop operating at night, and the wind turbine continues to generate electricity to replenish the battery.

Another important aspect of this solution is that the wind turbine is another input source integrated into the customer's existing system. The customer does not need to replace the inverter, does not need to replace the battery, and does not need to change the power distribution of the cold storage facility. The renovation is small, and there is no need for additional expenditures on the modification project. It is also time-saving and labor-saving.

Conclusion

For projects such as cold storage facilities, communication stations and island campsites that are far from the power grid and require continuous power supply 24 hours a day, the wind solar hybrid system solution is often more cost-effective and more stable in terms of power generation compared to the single-energy solution that combines photovoltaic and batteries in sufficient quantities.

If you have already installed a photovoltaic system and wish to add a wind turbine as an additional supplement, please feel free to send us the model and parameters at any time. We can provide you with the most reasonable solution based on your existing system configuration.