Energy storage systems

Wadeville Microgrid project

See how the microgrid enables the Wadeville site in South Africa to become self-sufficient from an energy consumption perspective, thereby relieving pressure on the national electricity grid and infrastructure in the area.

Discover the award-winning microgrid in Wadeville

The Wadeville facility located in South Africa produces power management solutions for the industrial and commercial sectors whilst employing more than 400 people.

The microgrid system installed at the Wadeville facility uses solar panels and Eaton's energy storage system with second life electric vehicle batteries to increase resilience, provide higher levels of energy independence, support grid stability and reduce energy costs. A similar sized microgrid could provide energy for 230 community homes. Watch the video to learn more.

Supporting economic growth

In Africa where millions are still without modern energy services, ageing infrastructure and grid reliability continue to be issues across the region, microgrid technology is a solution to address energy poverty. For local commercial and industrial sites, improving grid reliability improves business continuity, minimizes business losses and improves economic growth. Microgrids are stand-alone power generation, distribution and storage systems that work with or independently from the main utility grid to help businesses, campuses and communities maintain reliable supply of power, reduce operating costs, optimize energy usage and reduce carbon emissions.

Stacking multiple value streams

The microgrid system installed at the Wadeville facility enables Eaton to stack multiple value streams. It enables outage avoidance as the back-up functionality of the system eliminates production losses due to power outages. It offsets energy costs as the use of solar panels and an energy storage system reduces the total grid consumption. It enables peak shaving as the system stores renewable energy or cheap off-peak electricity and releases it at peak time to reduce the maximum demand charges from utility. Finally the system supports energy arbitrage as the microgrid reduces grid consumption when costs are highest.

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Saving more than 50% in total costs of operation and reducing environmental impact

The microgrid enables the Wadeville facility to save more than 50% in total cost of operation and lower environmental impact by saving 11,812 Metric Tons CO2. This achievement has been recognised and the Wadeville microgrid won the Hannover Messe Industrial Energy Efficiency Award.

Efficient energy use is a matter of importance for all industries, but it is especially important for the industrial manufacturing and energy industries. We are therefore delighted to be able to honor leading innovators of energy efficiency with this new award.

Basilios Triantafillos, Global Director Energy at Deutsche Messe

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Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy and helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges.