Projects

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has announced IPS smart micro-grid in Sumba Island (Indonesia) as the winner of “Energy Renewable Energy Best Practices Awards”. The event was part of the 38th ASEAN Ministers of Energy Meeting in Vietnam. The awards, which have been given since 2000, are aimed to show appreciation for best practices and increase public awareness of the use and development of new, renewable energy and energy conservation as well as the use of coal in a responsible manner while still addressing the aspect of environmental protection. IPS’s smart microgrid is a turn-key solution for independent, decentralized energy generation, storage, and supply of power to a community school in Sumba, an Island in South of Indonesia. I had the change to visit the school and make sure that the solution that was installed was working properly. The electrification of the school has enhanced the living quality of its students. Lightning can enable classes to be taught early in the morning or late at night. Electricity access facilitates the introduction of ICTs into the classroom such as computers and televisions. Electrified schools can enable principals to recruit and retain better qualified teachers and have been correlated with improvements on both test scores and graduation rates. Such reasons are my deepest motive for a more sustainable and fairer world. https://www.esdm.go.id/en/media-center/news-archives/indonesia-raih-berbagai-penghargaan-pada-asean-energy-awards-2020

After several years of cooperation between IPS and Saudi Aramco on analyzing the specific needs for critical Oil & Gas infrastructure and harsh environmental conditions, the Oil & Gas Giant and its contractor, the Canadian SNC Lavalin, have entrusted IPS to deploy a new stand-alone solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage system to supply power to eleven gas well facilities, located in a remote desert area in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The purpose of the project was to eliminate the use of diesel generator use thus optimizing the OPEX, securing reliability and build the foundation of the Oil & Gas sector Decarbonization. I had the pleasure to be the Project Manager of this multi-million project. We successfully delivered a complete solution on time, despite all the operational and logistical issues that we faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each site included also 122 kWp solar power and 2 MWh battery capacity ensuring 5 days back-up power.

The project’s purpose was to provide sustainable eco-friendly electricity to the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, located in Effurun, Nigeria. Until then, the facility was powered only by diesel generators – unreliable and high-cost power source. The project included five outdoor containerized EXERON systems with 540 kW output, 622 kWp solar power and batteries with option for 2-days backup. IPS eliminated the diesel generator dependence and contributed for the positive environmental impact in the area and cost reduction.

Thanks to my work in International Power Supply, I had the honor to lead some of the exceptional projects. In this case, in cooperation with Saudi Aramco, we delivered a new stand-alone solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage system to supply power to a critical TETRA communication site located in a remote desert area. Aramco’s trust towards IPS technology was a great opportunity to prove the robustness and readiness of the renewable resources in off-grid applications. My role required the coordination of all stakeholders involved in this project, including the EPC SNC-Lavalin and suppliers such Canadian Solar and Hoppecke. This is a special project for me, since it was my first big project working with the biggest company in the world, Saudi Aramco, as well as very experienced team from SNC Lavalin and our suppliers.

In collaboration with our partner in Australia, IPS delivered the most innovative and modular technology to power Santos remote crude oil beam pumps with solar energy. Santos received support from ARENA (“Australian Renewable Energy Agency”) for converting oil well pumps to solar power which deliver environmental and commercial benefits by reducing crude oil consumption, long distance fuel haulage and emissions. The solar and battery combination was sized to ensure continual operation 24 hours a day in some of Australia’s harshest climates. They are installed using an innovative system which streamlines engineering and procurement and provides cost efficiencies through deployment in-field. Since commissioning in October 2018, the system has delivered 100% availability.

In 2016, the self consumption market in Spain was still beginning, this is when I joined Greening as a Junior Photovoltaic Projects Engineer. I was responsible for the design and legalization of the projects, what is known in Spain as the Engineering Office. The experience was a challenge, since there weren’t many projects as a reference, and the legal framework was recent. Commissioning those sites and seeing their positive effect on the customer’s bills were the reasons that helped us grow in Greening. After many years, I am happy to see Greening as one of the biggest EPCs in Spain with an international footprint and remember that I was their first engineer dedicated to Solar Energy.