The PowerTower: a stand-alone pre-integrated solar-wind power system

1. The PowerTower™ : a stand-alone
pre-integrated solar-wind power system
Alex De Broe, CEO XANT
Steve Drouilhet, CEO Sustainable Power Systems

2. WIND POWER
MADE EASY
• Mid sized wind turbines
✓ 50 - 500 kW
• Applications
✓ On-site generation
✓ Off-grid systems
✓ Drivers
✓ Fuel- & battery saver
✓ Hedge against volatile
energy prices
✓ Smart-grid enabler
✓ Land mark

3. 3
DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY
3
• Just Enough Essential Parts
JEEP
• Elimination of most-failure-
prone parts
XANT DEPLOYMENTS

4. 4
DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY
4
• Just Enough Essential Parts
JEEP
• Elimination of most-failure-
prone parts
Challenges rural electrification world-wide
- Catch-22 situation resolved: money is available, technology is ready, need is (still) there
(fraction of the rural population without access to electricity still stands at 28%)
- But what is the best replicable business model?
Source: TFE consulting

5. 5
DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY
5
GRID-
FORMING
INVERTER
System Architecture
- XANT S-24 turbine (50kWe)
- PV array 50kWp
- 100…500kWh battery

6. 6
DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY
6
• Just Enough Essential Parts
JEEP
• Elimination of most-failure-
prone parts
The PowerTower: system sizing (HOMER Pro)
Assumptions
Turn-key CAPEX
- Li-Ion batteries (including BMS): 400$/kWh
- PV panels + DC-DC conversion stage: 1,000$/kW
- XANT S (w/o grid-side converter w/o tower): 175,000$
- Grid-side converter: 50,000$
Fixed CAPEX
- Logistics: 35,000$
- Civil & Electrical Works: 50,000$
- Distribution System: 150,000$
- Monitoring: 15,000$
- Engineering: 50,000$ (in case of customized system)
Resources
- Solar GHI: 3.0…6.0 kWh/m² per day
- Wind: Avg. wind speed 4.5…8.5 m/s

7. 7
DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY
7
The PowerTower: system sizing (HOMER Pro) (300kWh/day)

8. 8
DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY
8
The PowerTower: system sizing (HOMER Pro) (300kWh/day)

9. 9
DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY
9
• Just Enough Essential Parts
JEEP
• Elimination of most-failure-
prone parts
Conclusions
- Assuming a minimal cost advantage of a standardized system over a customized system
the STANDARDIZED system achieves a lower LCOE than the CUSTOMIZED system in a
certain range of daily-load
- Over a wider range the STANDARDIZED system still achieves similar LCOE’s than the
CUSTOMIZED system
- Tailoring can easily be done by adjusting the battery size
- Standardization not on leads to cost reduction but also to simplification (and thus more
robust systems)
- Solutions to minimize the effects of local conditions: e.g. gravity-based foundation to
avoid soil studies