Page 68 - Impiantistica Industriale - Novembre-Dicembre 2016

such as solar photovoltaic and battery storage, will
continue to decline as a result of the economies of
scale and innovations in materials and manufactur-
ing. Renewable energy is, in many cases, the most
economical solution for electrification, with the Lev-
elized Cost Of Electricity (LCOE) lower than diesel,
provided the latter is not heavily subsidized.
Some countries have incentive-driven renewables
programmes, but very often no framework specifi-
cally for microgrids. This is starting to change; the
United States Department of Energy, for instance,
Solar Impulse in flight over pyramids in Egypt is working to encourage the development and de-
ployment of microgrids, and the Indian government
is, under its “Power for all” initiative, promulgating
called Marsabit in northern Kenya, where the pop- federal and state policies to end regulatory uncer-
ulation of 5,000 relies exclusively on a wind- and tainty, which is in turn expected to unlock the level
diesel-powered microgrid. of investment required to scale up the industry.
With the right financing and business models that
The initiative “Power for all” take account of the regulatory environment, mi-
crogrids could help to trigger development in rural
As Solar Impulse and these examples demon- areas, improving the lives of hundreds of millions of
strate, the technology needed for the mass de- people, while helping to meet national and global
ployment of microgrids is now readily available. In emissions targets. We can run the world without
addition, the cost of key technology components, consuming the earth.

Claudio Facchin

Claudio Facchin is President of ABB’s Power Grids Claudio is the President of the Power Grids divi-
division. Italian citizen born in 1965 holds a Degree sion of ABB Ltd., a $36 billion power and auto-
in Mechanical Engineering, with major in Industrial mation technology company specializing in power
Engineering from Politecnico of Milan. He joined and automation technologies that enable utility and
ABB in 1995 covering various roles in Italy, Swit- industry customers to improve performance while
zerland and China until becoming Member of the lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of
Group Executive Committee of ABB Ltd, Switzer- companies operates in around 100 countries and
land in 2013, he is also Member of the Board of employs about 135,000 people.
ABB (China) Ltd.

Solar Impulse dimostra il potenziale

delle microreti

Solar Impulse, che quest’anno ha ripreso il suo volo intorno al globo, è famoso per aver volato intorno a più di mezzo
mondo senza consumare una sola goccia di combustibile fossile. L’aereo è alimentato da una rete a bordo che
converte l’energia solare proveniente da più di 17.000 celle fotovoltaiche che coprono le ali dell’aereo e la fusoliera
A terra, reti elettriche autosufficienti come quella di Solar Impulse (note come microgrid) sono risorse energetiche che
in genere si trovano presso o in prossimità del luogo dove viene utilizzata l’energia e che operano in modo controllato
e coordinato. Esse hanno il vantaggio di poter essere costruite velocemente e possono funzionare sia come reti
autonome o essere collegate alla rete elettrica principale. In luoghi soleggiati o ventosi possono essere alimentate
da energie rinnovabili come ad esempio quelle che provengono da un parco fotovoltaico di piccole dimensioni o da
turbine realizzate localmente.
Le microgrid sono ideali per comunità insulari, villaggi remoti e città che altrimenti avrebbero dovuto aspettare anni o
anche decenni per una connessione ad una rete di alimentazione principale.

66 Impiantistica Italiana - Novembre-Dicembre 2016