Installation type
Isolated power supply without photovoltaic input
Location
Vall Farrera (Lleida)
Start-up
October 2025
Category
Generator sets, Isolated power supplyISOLATED INSTALLATION WITHOUT SOLAR PRODUCTION
After so much discussion about photovoltaic solar power generation installations, with or without storage, off-grid or grid-connected, there are also isolated systems that lack a backup solar system. While I must admit that these are very few nowadays, sometimes, due to their topography or particular situation, implementing a photovoltaic solar power generation system is very difficult or simply impossible. This is the case of the installation we present here. It is a traditional mountain hut, nestled amidst mountains and forests, where sunlight, due to the high peaks that surround it, the narrowness of the valley, and the dense canopy of trees, makes a solar installation either completely impossible or, if implemented, entirely inefficient. Therefore, it wasn’t even necessary to consider it.
This old farmhouse has been completely renovated and transformed into a luxury retreat for its owner, who arrives by helicopter, as for much of the year air transport is impassable. The narrow forest track leading to the house becomes impassable when snowed in, even for the best off-road vehicles. It’s a perfect place to find refuge or experience profound solitude, although the area’s charm is utterly breathtaking.
That said, we need to create a powerful, balanced, and as efficient a power generation system as possible, using only combustion-based electricity production equipment; in other words… traditional generators, batteries, and off-grid inverters. This is how SOMA began in the 1970s, electrifying isolated areas. Although solar panels existed at that time, they were so expensive and inefficient that no one would have considered installing them.
That said, we need to create a powerful, balanced, and as efficient a power generation system as possible, using only combustion-based electricity production equipment; in other words… traditional generators, batteries, and off-grid inverters. This is how SOMA began in the 1970s, electrifying isolated areas. Although solar panels existed at that time, they were so expensive and inefficient that no one would have considered installing them.
This luxurious mansion has extremely high energy consumption, as all the heating and cooling is electric. It has a sauna and jacuzzi, all kinds of appliances, and electric cooking and hot water… in short, a goldmine for any electricity provider. But here, everything has to be generated on-site. It has two generators: one for regular power supply and battery charging, which is a soundproofed 80 kVA unit, and an emergency 40 kVA open generator. The main 80 kVA generator is connected to inverters, which simultaneously supply power and charge the lithium batteries that will provide energy to all the house’s appliances via the off-grid inverters. This has to be a very perfect and reliable system, while also being convenient for its users, which, given the circumstances, wasn’t easy, but we’ve managed it… once again.
Elements of the installation:
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80 kVA soundproof generator set
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40 kVA emergency generator set
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2 Inverters of 15,000 VA
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4 x 15 kW Lithium batteries
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Management and control system.
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At SOMA-GENPOWER Electricity we specialize in industrial photovoltaic solar self-consumption installations in Lleida, Huesca and the rest of Spain .
Do you need an industrial photovoltaic solar self-consumption solution ? Check out our installations section or contact us and we’ll provide you with information for your off-grid photovoltaic solar installation, with no obligation.