EACOP presents several innovations among which:
The use of Fibre Optic cables, coupled with an advanced detection and analytical system, allows to continuously monitor the EACOP asset overall integrity and safe operation (for both humans and the environment), enabling to:
- Detect risks of soil movement or slides of terrain in sloped areas prior to occurrence,
- Detect potential intrusions along the right of way such as digging (either intentional or unintentional) over the buried pipeline's location,
- Detect temperature changes which could potentially signal pipeline exposure to air or leaks.
- Isolate, with a series of in-line block valves, the pipeline into smaller sections to limit the quantity of potential inventory loss should a rupture occur.
Another second area of innovation for EACOP is its hybrid power generation and distribution package. The primary power supply combines solar farms (in Tanzania), battery banks and connections to the Ugandan & Tanzania grids, backed up by its own independent combustion engine power generators to serve as the electrical power source for EACOP’s pumping stations and terminal facilities. This hybrid system brings a Carbon Footprint reduction of up to 60% to EACOP’s compared to a traditional combustion engine power generation scheme. These innovations include:
- Solar farms (or photovoltaic / PV farms) to generate on 5 sites a total of 90MWp generated by 180,000 solar panels. Each site will be measure 350x500m (the equivalent of 6 football pitches) bringing a carbon footprint reduction of 30%.
- Battery farms (or BESS) at each station to store enough excess power generated by the PV farms to cope with the known grid instabilities. The batteries will be coupled with inverter systems to counteract these grid instabilities that would otherwise lead to frequent trips of the pumping stations. Taking power from the grid will allow an additional 30% reduction in GHG emissions.
- An Electrical Power Distribution system (or EMS for Electrical Management System) able to handle a complex power distribution with multiple different sources of electrical power, for all possible operational scenarios.