New study for expansion of hybrid power plant on the Galapagos Islands

An environmentally friendly power supply is the objective of the Ecuadorian "Zero Fossil Fuel Initiative for the Galapagos Islands". In line with this objective is the hybrid power plant on the island of Isabela which has been operating successfully since October 2018 with the support of Tractebel as Owner’s Engineer since 2009.

With financial support from KfW and technical know-how from Tractebel’s German team, the customer is now planning an expansion to save even more fuel. In a feasibility study, the experts from Tractebel calculated the various scenarios and recommended a suitable technical solution.

This future-oriented power plant makes an effective contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of the island's electricity generation. Its power unit, which has an output of 1.6 MW, is run on jatropha vegetable oil from Ecuadorian farms. The diesel generators can be shut down when the sun is shining. It is made possible by a 1 MWp photovoltaic power plant in combination with a 660 kW / 330 kWh lithium-ion battery storage unit linked to a master control system. Consequently, average fuel consumption is intelligently reduced by 155,000 litres of diesel each month, with CO₂ emissions reduced by 410 tons each month.

A video presenting the challenges of this innovative project and showing how Tractebel has solved some highly demanding tasks is available here.

The hybrid power plant generates power on the island of Isabela using a sustainable generation process.