Starting in 2019, the SKA (Square Kilometer Array) telescope project plans to build the most ambitious space observation facility in scientific history, in two desert areas in South Africa and Australia. Powering this infrastructure, with its unprecedented data throughput and computing power, poses formidable technical challenges.
With financial support from the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, Naldeo Technologies et Industries' teams, experts in control systems for renewable energy supply systems, contributed to this project.
The situation of the telescope in South Africa was particularly sensitive: a fragile electricity grid powered mainly by coal-fired power stations, a project located in a very isolated area to benefit from good conditions for observing the sky, and so on. Our teams studied several energy supply scenarios, giving priority to the use of photovoltaic solar energy, coupled with various storage and back-up power supply solutions (batteries, hydrogen, etc.).
The study validated the feasibility of powering the site with renewable energies, while respecting the high availability constraints of the telescope intended for use by a large scientific community. The simulation tool developed for this project was then made available to the public under the name Enersquid® (www.enersquid.com)
The Naldeo group is a leading engineering and consulting firm specializing in the climatic and environmental transition of industries and local communities.