ABB (new.abb.com)is set to provide an advanced micro-grid to WEB Aruba NV, the main power utility serving the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba.

ABB’s software, automation and control technologies will help WEB Aruba to integrate solar and wind energy, as well as forecast and better plan operations in real time, while meeting the island’s growing demand for electricity.

Aruba, which is 32km long and 10km across its widest point, has a population of about 103,000. A popular tourism destination, the island has a peak electricity demand of 134MW, currently met by a mix of thermal, wind and solar photo-voltaic generation.

The utility has set a goal to generate half its average annual energy requirements using renewable sources, and the other half from alternative fuels by 2020. This ambition supports the government’s vision to eventually become completely fossil-fuel free.

At the heart of the solution is an advanced control system with dynamic load-shedding capability. When major system transients occur, which the generation and storage are not able to accommodate, the system immediately calculates the minimum load shed required to stabilise frequency.

The control system also ensures the distribution of load-shed events, so that no critical facilities are impacted.