As the penetration of intermittent renewable energies consumed in MW-scale
electrical grids becomes high, in many countries reaching more than 25 % per year, the
need for control, stabilization and storage methods to guarantee a stable and constant
supply at any given moment becomes crucial. Many technological solutions exist in the
market. Some are more mature than others. A benchmarking of the grid stabilization
and energy storage solutions offered by companies is followed by an overview of
islands with an existing or planned high penetration of renewable energies. In a next
step, a case study of the transition from a diesel powered towards a renewable energy
electricity grid in an island in the Pacific is presented. A final discussion about the
techno-economical sense of each solution is made comparing factors such as CAPEX
and NPC.
Keywords: Microgrids, NPC, Energy storage, Penetration level, Islands, MW-scale