“Polar Microgrid System” in the Russian Far East Starts Full-Scale Operation
― In Pursuit of Low-cost and Stable Energy Supply in Frigid Regions ―

In the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as "Russia"), many areas are not connected to large-scale power grids and therefore maintain small-scale islanding electric grids that rely on diesel generators for power supplies. In these areas, the cost of electricity is very expensive because of high fuel transport costs. Regional governments of Russian Far East have also taken policy measures to keep electricity rates at levels similar to those found in grid-connected areas. These measures are a substantial financial burden on the governments in this region. In addition, the diesel generators currently being used are old and deteriorating, posing a risk to the stable supply of energy in the region.

In pursuit of securing stable energy supplies for the Russian Far East, NEDO concluded a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) regarding an energy infrastructure demonstration project, including wind power systems in Tiksi City with the Government of the Sakha Republic and RusHydro, a Russian power company, in Moscow on February 27, 2018.

The three project contractors selected by NEDO, Takaoka Toko Co., Ltd., Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Komaihaltec Inc., worked with Sakhaenergo, an electric power company in the Sakha Republic, on site surveys, equipment design, assembly, transportation and installation of equipment, and commissioning.

To establish a “Polar Microgrid System” in Tiksi in the Sakha Republic located in the Arctic Circle, an especially frigid region in the Russian Far East, with the aim of stabilizing energy supply in the region, diesel generators, storage batteries, and an energy management system were newly installed and combined with wind turbines that had been put into operation in 2018. The Polar Microgrid System started its demonstration operation on December 28, 2020.

This demonstration project falls under “the Eight-Points Cooperation Plan" at the Japan-Russia Summit Meeting held in May 2016: "Cooperating in energy development and increasing production capacity."

For the demonstration operation, in pursuit of realizing low-cost and stable energy supplies, the diesel generators installed in the existing power plant were connected to the wind power generation system [three middle-sized (300kW) wind turbines] designed for extremely frigid regions that could operate at temperatures below minus 30 degrees Celsius, three highly efficient diesel generators (1MW), a storage battery system employing high-power lithium-ion batteries (900kW-300kWh), and an energy management system. This demonstration project aims to reduce the consumption of diesel fuels by approximately 16% per year through efficient operation of the wind turbines and diesel generators.

In addition, aiming to verify the effectiveness of co-firing of crude oil and diesel oil, one of the newly installed diesel generators will be equipped with an accessory device for low quality oil-fired engines to remove impurities.

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  Figure 2 Image of Polar Microgrid System

NEDO Smart Community Department
Contact Persons: Saito, Kumadaki, Fujiwara　Tel: +81-44-520-5274­