To call Trojane a simple “donut shop,” as if it were merely another Dunkin’ Donuts, wouldn’t be fair, because Trojane produces a world-class confection. Also, because Trojane is solar powered, it deserves special mention here on The Green Optimistic.
Like most “donut shops,” Trojane produces donuts, or “doughnuts,” depending on spelling convention, some 5,000 per day, as well as their other specialty, pizza. I won’t go into the culinary contrast this creates, but Gostinsko Podjetje Trojane is a big thing, and happens to be situated smack in the middle of Slovenia.
While certainly making an impact on waistlines in Eastern Europe, Trojane is making less of an ecological impact than one might expect, thanks to the adoption of solar power and cogeneration to power the site. Because Trojane is situated in an above-average sunny climate, her photovoltaic solar power system produces about 50 kW. Add in another 30 kW from a natural gas cogeneration plant, and there is more than enough energy to power and heat the facility, which seats up to 500 and includes a three-phase 22 kW electric vehicle charging station.
Of course, renewable energy, such as wind, water, or solar power, usually needs a backup energy storage system. In a press release today, Imergy Power Systems announced the installation of a pair of their ESP4 recovered-vanadium flow batteries, part of a two-year evaluation program. Flow batteries are ideal for stationary applications, such as solar power energy storage, because they can easily be scaled and do not suffer degradation after thousands of “cycles.” Also, because Imergy Power Systems’ flow batteries utilize recovered vanadium, such as from mine tailings and leachates, less of the toxic metal remains to contaminate soil and groundwater.
