The company Norvento from Lugo will supply the Portuguese island of Corvo, the westernmost in Europe, with renewable energy

The a company from Lugo Norventa He has a big task ahead of him: supplies the Portuguese island of Corvo with 100% renewable energy. It is an island of slightly more than 17 square kilometers located in the Azores archipelago, in the westernmost part of Europe.

The project commissioned by the Portuguese energy company EDA Renováveis ​​will be particularly complex in terms of logisticsbecause taking all the material and deploying it in an area with complicated weather conditions and orography will be a challenge.

Norvent’s mission is to cover part of the territory’s energy demand from renewable sources. This will involve deployment seven wind turbines of medium power nED100 manufactured in the Vilalba factory and uses a SCADA system designed by the company itself. So, the quality of electricity supply close 400 inhabitants of the island, but also tourists who visit it They will have clean energy and, by the way, will minimize the risk of power outages.

The technology that Norvento will apply on the island of Corvo will enable monitoring and control of the status of all components of the wind farm, using a communication protocol that can be integrated into the system developed by EDA Renovávies, whose commission to Norvento will be carried out on a turnkey basis.

A huge logistical challenge

A fundamental part of the project that Norvento designed for the Portuguese energy company is logistics, how it can be carried out and deployed on an island 6.5 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide, and with hard to reach areaswind power and technology that go hand in hand.

The company explains that it is variable weather and limited materials construction sites on the island will force Norvento to transport of inert substances and machines from the peninsulaexcept for means of transport and elevation, electrical systems and everything needed to start the project.

Due to the limitations of the island’s logistics terminal, which has a reduced capacity to accept transport containers, it will be necessary transport the wind turbines by sea from the port of Lisbon and later transfer them to another ship in Corvo. From there, they will go by truck to their final destination. An additional complication in this case is that it must be done in summer months to reduce the effect that weather conditions can have on the installation.

“From Norvent, we are very pleased that EDA Renováveis ​​has trusted us to improve the supply of renewable electricity on the island of Corvo. Our experience in distributed energy projects and microgrids allowed us to put in place this infrastructure that will provide the residents of Corvo with the possibility of self-sufficiency with renewable resources. This project makes visible the possibilities offered by renewable technologies to reduce dependence of fossil fuels in small electrical systems and promote their energy development, as well as their decarbonization,” points out Juan Morilla, director of Norvento Enerxía’s Operational Area.

It should be taken into account that until today the Portuguese island relied exclusively on fossil sources that arrived by sea for its energy supply.