DC microgrid for rural tea factory in Kenya

Ariya Finergy, Kenya

Application
  • Customer: Mbogo Valley Tea Factory, Kenya
  • DC Microgrid with BESS
  • 403 kW Rooftop Photovoltaic
  • 544 kWh Pylon Tech Lithium-Ion Phosphate Battery storage system
Solution
  • 1 x bi-directional power converter Convert SC-C Flex 500kW
  • 1 x bi-directional power converter Convert SC-V Flex 500kW

Mbogo Valley Tea Factory In Nandi County, Kenya, with its high altitude and cool wet climate, is ideal for tens of thousands of local tea growers; however, the factory is located at the end of a power transmission line, which leads to low power quality as well as expensive downtimes due to power outages of two to four times a day for about one to six hours each time.

A resilient microgrid consisting of a 403 kW rooftop PV array coupled to a 544 kWh Pylon Tech Lithium-Ion Phosphate Battery storage system on a common DC bus was built by Ariya Finergy, which is a Nairobi based EPC and technology company specializing in

providing seamless integration of power systems to commercial and industrial clients across East Africa. The power is harvested from the PV array by Alencon's SPOTs which provide the required voltage to the DC bus to charge and discharge the battery depending on the requirements of the system. The microgrid is supported by a grid forming inverter from AEG Power Solutions that operates in on- and off-grid mode.

The factory can reduce its power costs significantly with the onsite solar generated power. With the direct connection between the factory and the battery, power is reliable and available even when the grid is not. The DC coupled solar is revolutionary as the solar power can extend the power provided by the battery.