Arholma is an island in Sweden's Stockholm Archipelago popular among summer tourists because of its dramatic landscapes, traditional culture, and cuisine.
Now, it's also known for its clean energy development and ability to run independently on microgrid resources.
As Vattenfall reported, experts implemented groundbreaking technology to enhance the island's solar panels and energy storage. The project is designed to increase grid resilience and renewable power production.
Two 160-kilowatt batteries can support the island for two hours, longer than the standard mainland connection outage. Using real-time software to scan and control the microgrid and assess electrical current flows, the system can constantly detect faulty mainland cables and switch them over so that the microgrid can run independently.
International groups have become interested in the Arholma microgrid as a model. With the global increase in extreme weather events, it's more critical than ever for grids to withstand heightened strains and stresses.
Next, researchers are working to adjust the microgrid system to meet consumer demand during the winter.
"Customer demand is the largest potential flexible resource in our grids, and we need to start utilising this possibility to bridge the capacity challenges," said Niklas Sjöberg, a senior innovation and business strategist at Vattenfall Eldistribution/Business Area Distribution.
"We want to be able to disconnect certain electrical load when needed, especially during winter when the load is high," he said. "This is particularly important after an outage, when we get back on the main land grid. Otherwise, if too many appliances and heaters are switched on, the grid may go down again."
Arholma residents and businesses are very interested in the project, and Vattenfall may offer grid tariff discounts to compensate participants. The company will also work with customers to determine which appliances to control, such as heat pumps and electric floor heating systems.
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Definitely 👍 Arholma is home to around 250 people, but sometimes, the smallest communities set the biggest examples for others to follow.
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Meanwhile, the island community of Eastport, Maine, plans to develop a world-class energy facility to overcome weather-related electricity outages. El Hierro in Spain's Canary archipelago took care of its energy needs with wind and water power for 28 days.
In a Block Island, Rhode Island, Facebook group, one person wrote about microgrids for islands, "This is really the only way outside of an outright gift that I can think of to reduce our exposure to the never-ending cost of the cable and the vulnerabilities of centralized power grids."
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