Microgrid
ProjectsSubmit a project

Home / Directory / Flores Island Microgrid

Europe / Island & remote community

Flores Island Microgrid

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations5
System facts24
Sources reviewed8
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Flores is an isolated island power system in the Portuguese Azores, not a single fixed-generation package. In 2024 it combined the 1.5 MW Ribeira de Além Fazenda hydro plant, the end-of-life 600 kW Boca da Vereda wind farm, diesel generation at the Lajes thermal station, and a historically installed ABB PowerStore flywheel. EDA Renováveis reports that hydro supplied 44.2% and wind 1.5% of island electricity in 2024, for a 45.7% renewable share; diesel supplied the remaining approximately 54.3%. The two old 300 kW wind turbines were dismantled for replacement by one 900 kW machine, but the latest March 2026 evidence documents equipment logistics rather than completed commissioning.

Research status
Operating isolated utility system, with hydro and diesel in service and wind repowering still unresolved. EDA Renováveis began dismantling the two old wind turbines in late 2024 and originally planned full operation of the 900 kW replacement by year-end 2025. RTP/Lusa reported in March 2026 that transport of the replacement towers, nacelles, and blades had been completed for the three-island repowering program, but did not say the Flores turbine was commissioned. The current availability of the 2005-era ABB flywheel is not disclosed in EDA's 2024 report.
Historical classification
Community
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
39.44747, -31.19394
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Flores Island Microgrid?

5 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

ABB

Supplier of the historic PowerStore flywheel grid-stabilization system used to integrate wind on the isolated grid. [6][7]

Organization

EDA — Electricidade dos Açores

Island electric utility and operator of the diesel thermal station, grid, and planned fast-response battery reserve. [5][2]

Organization

EDA Renováveis

Owner/operator of the Flores hydro and wind assets and developer of the current wind repowering and planned solar expansion. [2][3]

Organization

Enercon

Manufacturer of the retired E-30 turbines and the planned E-44 replacement turbine in the repowering program. [2][8]

Organization

Transinsular

Marine and inter-island logistics provider for the wind-turbine repowering equipment delivered in the 2026 update. [8]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Wind
600 [1]
KW Gas/Diesel
600 [1]
KW Hydro
1480 [1]
Storage
NA [1]
Current hydro nameplate
1.5 MW for Ribeira de Além Fazenda in EDA Renováveis' 2024 portfolio table [2]
2024 hydro output and mix
5.106 GWh, down about 4% from 2023 because of lower precipitation; 44.2% of Flores electricity [2]
Retired wind configuration
Two Enercon E-30 turbines at 300 kW each, 600 kW total, installed in 2002; 44 m hub height and 30 m rotor diameter [2]
2024 wind output and mix
0.17 GWh and 1.5% of Flores electricity while the old machines were reaching end of life and being removed [2]
2024 renewable and diesel mix
45.7% renewable: 44.2% hydro plus 1.5% wind. The remaining approximately 54.3% is inferred diesel generation because EDA identifies gas oil as the thermal fuel on Flores. [2][5]
Wind repowering target
One Enercon E-44 rated 900 kW, with 55 m hub height and 44 m rotor diameter; medium-voltage collection replaces the old low-voltage arrangement [2][3]
Historic flywheel
ABB PowerStore rated 500 kW with about 60 seconds of full-power duration, commonly reported as approximately 5 kWh / 18 MW-seconds; commissioned in 2005 [7][6]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Hydroelectric turbine-generators

Model not publicly disclosed

The remodeled Além Fazenda plant documents two 528 kW horizontal-axis Francis turbines, each coupled to a 640 kVA three-phase synchronous generator. EDA's current portfolio gives 1.5 MW total plant nameplate; the public plant page does not reconcile the additional rating with the two new units. [4][2]

02

Historic wind turbines

Enercon — E-30

Two 300 kW direct-drive turbines installed in 2002 and dismantled beginning in late 2024 after reaching end of useful life. [2]

03

Replacement wind turbine

Enercon — E-44

One 900 kW turbine planned for Boca da Vereda. Components were included in the three-island logistics campaign completed by March 2026, but a commissioning notice for Flores was not located. [2][8]

04

Flywheel grid stabilizer

ABB — PowerStore

Fast-response flywheel/inverter system that absorbs or injects real power and supplies voltage/frequency support, allowing wind operation with less need to keep diesel generation online. Current availability was not established. [6][7]

05

Diesel generation

Model not publicly disclosed

The isolated grid uses gas-oil-fired generating sets at the Lajes thermal station. Current aggregate nameplate, unit count, manufacturers, and models were not disclosed in the reviewed current sources; the recovered 600 kW diesel figure should not be treated as the present plant total. [5][4]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Storage

    Flywheel [1]

  • Storage

    Power Store Distributed Control of generators with inverters in combination with flywheel [1]

  • Hydro automation

    The hydro intake, headpond, auxiliaries, and generating groups were fully automated in the 2015 remodel. The plant can operate unattended and is remotely controlled from the Lajes thermal station. [4]

  • Historic flywheel role

    ABB described wind-induced voltage and frequency fluctuations, blackouts, and curtailment before PowerStore. Its fast injection/absorption let the utility smooth wind and at times operate without an online diesel set; this is a historical operating account, not a statement of current availability. [6]

  • Repowering progress

    EDA's 2024 report planned new foundations, platforms, underground medium-voltage connections, and switchgear, with full service targeted for the end of 2025. A March 2026 logistics update confirms delivery work, implying schedule slippage or at least incomplete public closeout; it does not establish commercial operation. [2][8]

  • Planned additions

    EDA documents future fast-response BESS deployment on Flores and a planned Flores PV project, but the reviewed sources do not establish commissioning, capacity, vendor, or model. These are excluded from installed capacity. [2][3]

  • Proposed additional hydro

    The separate Ribeira Grande hydro project on Flores, estimated around 1.2 MW in EDA's 2024 accounts, remained under geological and routing reevaluation. It is not part of current installed hydro capacity. [2]

  • Evidence boundary

    The 2024 mix is measured and current for that year. Public evidence reviewed does not provide 2025 or 2026 island generation mix, current thermal nameplate, a current PowerStore status, or proof that the 900 kW turbine, BESS, or PV project entered service. [2][8]

Provenance

8 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  2. [2]
  3. [3]
  4. [4]
    Hydraulic circuit of the Além Fazenda hydroelectric plant

    SIARAM / Regional Government of the Azores · Primary source

  5. [5]
    Electricity generation in the Azores

    EDA — Electricidade dos Açores · Primary source

  6. [6]
  7. [7]
  8. [8]

Continue exploring

Related projects in Europe