The prototype combines a wind turbine with solar PV modules, and diesel generators Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica (Zamudio, Vizcaya, Spain) on May 10th, 2016 inaugurated a prototype of its off-grid system for the supply of power to remote areas without access to the grid, such as islands, mines and certain rural areas. The system in La Muela (Aragon) is bundling wind energy, solar power (PV), diesel-powered generation and energy storage into a solution with an installed capacity of over 2 MW. Wind turbine, PV modules and diesel generators Specifically, the prototype combines a G52-850 kW wind turbine with 816 solar photovoltaic (PV) modules (245 kWp) and three 222-kW diesel generators (666 kW). The plan is to add a battery capable of storing 500 kWh/500 kW by summer. The prototype will generate enough power to meet the needs of 400 families. “Development of this system represents another milestone in Gamesa's quest to resolve energy needs in a sustainable manner,” said Ignacio Martín, Chairman of Gamesa. “At present, more than 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity. Rural areas of India, South-east Asia, Africa, islands such as Haiti, Indonesia and the Philippines, and other remote corners of the plant, such as jungles and deserts, stand to benefit from these off-grid solutions which can generate cheaper and cleaner power.” This off-grid prototype is the first to market which, with a total installed capacity of over 2 MW, enables the ad-hoc combination of each of the technologies installed depending on specific project requirements with the ultimate goal of generating power yet minimising diesel consumption. The prototype also includes control software custom-developed by Gamesa to facilitate integration of the four technologies. “Gamesa's entry into the offgrid sector represents a fresh technological challenge and a new niche opportunity: development of this class of technology is expected to reach 1,200 MW in the coming years. The advantage of our system is based on its flexibility: it can be tailored for customer needs by increasing, reducing or eliminating capacity in any of the technologies used,” explained David Mesonero.