October 1, 2020: Rolls-Royce, the UK multinational engineering company, is to supply the batteries for a microgrid on the remote Pacific island of Rarotonga, one of the Cook Islands roughly halfway between Los Angeles and Sydney, Rolls-Royce Power Systems announced on September 3.

It is the third time that Vector Powersmart, a New Zealand-based energy solutions provider, has chosen Rolls-Royce for microgrid systems.

In this installation the luxury carmaker’s business unit, Power Systems, will supply three battery containers of MTU EnergyPacks with a total storage capacity of 4.2MWh and a power output of 4.8MW. The PV systems, diesel generators and battery containers will supply 11,000 householders on the island with grid support.

The system will be integrated with local utility Te Aponga Uira’s existing power plant.

The other two Rolls-Royce and Vector Powersmart projects on the Cook Islands were in the island of Aitutaki, where a microgrid has been operating since 2019, and the holiday resort of Glenorchy in New Zealand.

In August, Rolls-Royce Power Systems announced it would be increasing its capacity for producing battery containers by manufacturing the MTU EnergyPacks in Bavaria, Germany, where the firm already has a production facility.

“We see growing demand for MTU EnergyPacks, since more and more customers are seeking on-site power generation solutions that use renewables,” said Cordelia Thielitz, vice president of the Microgrid Solutions division.

“But when you use solar or wind power to generate electricity, you often need an interim solution for storage until it is actually consumed.”

Rolls-Royce Power Systems has a product portfolio that includes battery containers for mission critical, standby and continuous power, combined generation of heat and power, and microgrids.