For businesses and industry to flourish and remain sustainable, generator manufacturer Maverick Generators says it is important to consider deploying a hybrid, or mixed, energy system to ensure that operations are not brought to a halt, as a result of power interruptions and loadshedding.

To ensure that business and industrial operations are not affected by power interruptions, it is important to use a hybrid power generation system that incorporates diesel generators and solar photovoltaic generation systems, says Maverick Generators MD Gerardo Cammarata.

Running a diesel generator in parallel with a solar generation system can improve power generation during peak demand or when a solar generation system cannot provide enough power, owing to inclement weather, he tells Engineering News.

However, he suggests that solar power generation be made the focal point and the primary source of energy in a hybrid system, as this will enable businesses and industries to reduce the cost of fuel used by a generator.

Therefore, businesses and industries ought to run generators only in the case of a solar system failure or during peak periods, when solar systems may be operating at peak capacities.

Further, backup generators and solar power systems can be integrated in two ways.

A backup generator can be synchronised with a solar inverter by sending a signal to a diesel generator with an instruction to start powering systems and charge batteries once solar power is depleted.

The load between the generator and solar power plant can also be shared, whereby a generator can supplement power obtained by the solar source, which will provide enough power for plant operationality when the solar power source is unable to do so.

In 2023, Maverick Generators supplied a 700 kVA Perkins-powered diesel generator to a client in the steel industry for power supply during peak times and as a backup system when the client’s solar power system was insufficient to meet demand.

Moreover, the company also equipped a mine with a four 1 100 kVA synchronised unit generating plant to provide backup power for its solar power system.