Self-consumption in manufacturing plants, solar power generation, storage batteries and fuel cells
Shiitake mushroom factory with self-consumption model
(Source: Iwatec)
Image of power source from self-consumption system
(Source: Iwatec)
On April 7, Iwatec (Nagasaki City) announced that it has introduced a self-consumption system including solar power generation, storage batteries and fuel cells to its shiitake mushroom factory in Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima Prefecture, and is expected to start operation in December 2024.
The ship is equipped with 620.1kW solar panels, a 400kW power conditioning unit (PCS), a 1,035kWh lithium-ion storage battery and a 4.0kW pure hydrogen fuel cell. The manufacturer of each device was not disclosed.
The electricity used in the entire plant is generated from solar energy, with power supplied by lithium-ion batteries on rainy days and at night. The pure hydrogen storage battery will be used as a backup power source in the event of an energy shortage. In the future, the company plans to transport hydrogen produced at the renewable energy hydrogen demonstration plant by fuel cell trucks and use that fuel to generate electricity to supply electricity.
In addition, the Energy Management System (EMS) monitors, manages, and analyzes the amount of electricity used by the load equipment in the plant to use energy efficiently. By introducing a self-consumption system and improving EMS operations, we will demonstrate a method to supply 100% renewable energy to the plant's electricity consumption needs, and based on the results, we aim to commercialize a 100% renewable power system.
The company's renewable energy hydrogen demonstration plant consists of solar panels with an output capacity of 49.6kW, a 64.4kWh storage battery, a water electrolyzer with a hydrogen production capacity of 5Nm3/h, and a hydrogen compression unit with a compression capacity of 4Nm3/h, and began operations in 2021. The company is looking at optimizing the supply chain, with the aim of verifying a control system that can optimally produce hydrogen to cope with fluctuating renewable energy power supplies, and building a system that can charge the produced hydrogen gas into high-pressure tanks and deliver it to the market in a form that can be used for various purposes, such as in fuel cells.
