6MW solar plant integration feasibility study: Bonaire island case study

The power supply on Bonaire is characterized by a high penetration of wind energy. Currently 5 diesel generators (total capacity 14MW) and 12 wind turbines (total capacity 10.8MW) operated by ContourGlobal generate electricity for Water and Electricity Bonaire (WEB). To meet future power demand increase, WEB has the ambition to connect a 6MW centralized solar plant to their system, thereby further increasing their renewable power generation in the island's energy mix. This paper studies the system impact of adding a 6MW centralized solar plant on the existing system and highlights the associated operational constraints.