A realistic, competitive and immediately applicable solution to the growing energy needs of airports, ports, highways, as well as other large consumers, for access to clean energy, comes to provide an innovative approach developed by the GEK TERNA Group in exclusive collaboration with the Greek company EasyPower AE , which owns the corresponding technology.
In particular, in recent years large consumers especially in the transport sector, such as ports, airports and highways, are looking for a way to completely cover their energy needs with green energy, since in addition to being environmentally friendly and cheap as a product, energy from Renewables Sources are not burdened by a series of carbon taxes. Furthermore, the increasing trend towards electrification of transport creates a greater need for electricity that the electricity grids find it difficult to meet immediately.
A typical example is the highways, where, based on the EU regulatory framework, it is estimated that in Greece in the coming years, new substations of at least 10 MW of new electric power per 60 km of road will be required, in order to meet the charging needs of electric cars.
GEK TERNA Group, leveraging its specialized knowledge as the largest producer of clean energy in Greece but also the largest investor in concession projects with more than 1,600 km of highways under management, comes to bridge the gap that has been created between the increasingly imperative demand on the part of large consumers for access to green energy and the extremely demanding management that this causes in electricity networks, through a pioneering energy architecture and a specially designed application of the utilization of Renewable Sources with Energy Storage (using batteries).
Although the idea of local production and storage of green energy to meet the needs of a transport infrastructure does not seem unheard of, its certified successful implementation is nevertheless an important first. It is a project whose concept, architecture and innovative technology form a new framework for the design, construction and operation of “Green” fast charging stations for electric vehicles, which fully covers the weaknesses faced not only by the Greek but also by the European electrical networks for electric charging.
SEA Malakasas (Sirios): The first and largest hybrid charging station for electric cars with photovoltaics in Greece
The Motorist Service Station (SEA) Sirius in Malakasa, operated by Nea Odos, is the first solar hybrid fast charging station on Greek highways that operates by directly connecting the fast chargers to the direct current produced by the solar panels, and will be combined with an energy storage system in high voltage lithium ion batteries.
This project includes:
• Construction of roofs for car parking lots
• Placing PV in them, with a total power of approximately 500 kWp
• 2 high-power DC chargers in each branch, i.e. a total of 4 chargers with a power of 120 kW each
• Hybrid Inverters. The current from the PV goes to the charger when there is a car charging during the day and at the same time, whatever energy is not consumed by vehicle charging, is used directly to meet the energy needs of the Malakasa Motorist Service Station building (Sirios).
The most important features of the pioneering station include the use of specialized hybrid converters, capable of providing electricity with or without the DEDDIE network. Also, the advanced fast chargers can be powered directly with a constant voltage from the solar panels or the batteries, or from both at the same time avoiding losses of more than 12%, while a special Energy Management System was implemented that simultaneously serves the needs of the fast chargers as well as self-consumption of the station avoiding the injection of energy to the DEDDIE network.
Presenting the project, Mr. Manos Moustakas, Executive Member of the Board of Directors. and General Manager of Business Development of GEK TERNA, said: “Ewe are particularly pleased that this ambitious project is becoming a realistic application for transport infrastructure. It is clear that the prospects and possibilities of commercial application of this approach in the transport sector are truly endless. Operating almost like a hybrid car, the “intelligent” system reads the needs of the charging station and SEA infrastructure, the energy produced, the energy stored and the state of the grid, and accordingly prioritizes the sources of energy extraction, ensuring no only the optimal energy operation in the SEA, but also making sure that there is no effect on the electricity network itself. So, if, for example, the Motorist Service Station requires extra energy, it relies on the one it has already stored, without causing a sudden escalation in the central electricity grid. Also, the peak needs of charging electric cars are met as a priority by the production of solar energy, and in fact in direct connection with the PV panels, avoiding rectification losses in alternating current and achieving a capacity of 25,000 charges per year exclusively from the sun».
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