Recently, there has been a new development on Dadaosha Island in Panyu, Guangzhou: a smart microgrid equipped with methanol hydrogen energy backup power has successfully completed all debugging work and entered a state of autonomous and stable operation. This is also the first time in the Guangzhou industry that the methanol reforming hydrogen production power generation technology has been applied to the urban island distribution network. This project not only provides a green and low-carbon new path to ensure the basic electricity needs of people's livelihoods in emergency situations such as extreme weather and natural disasters, but also offers a set of practical solutions that can be directly replicated and promoted on a large scale for emergency power supply in various areas such as urban villages, main urban areas, and islands in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area.

Three major module components

This set of methanol hydrogen energy backup power supply is independently developed and built by Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau of Guangdong Power Grid. The core of the entire equipment is divided into three major operating modules: methanol reforming hydrogen production module, fuel cell power generation module, and lithium battery energy storage buffer module. The equipment can provide a stable uninterrupted power supply of 1000 kWh, and can quickly start and restore power supply in case of a failure in the public power grid.

At the same time, the equipment avoids safety hazards caused by high-pressure hydrogen storage and transportation from the source. From adding methanol solution, starting the equipment with temperature rise, to stable full load power generation, the entire process is fully automatic and can quickly adapt to changes in electrical load, ensuring smooth and stable power supply operation without fluctuations. Compared to traditional diesel generators, this hydrogen power source has a 50% reduction in electricity cost per kilowatt hour, significantly reduces operating noise, and reduces carbon emissions by over 40%. Its advantages in energy conservation, environmental protection, cost reduction, and efficiency improvement are very obvious.

Building a micro electric cluster on islands

To address the pain points of unstable power supply and difficulty in emergency power maintenance in island power grids, Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau has built four independent and mutually supportive smart microgrids in batches on two local islands, and also established the first mega city island microgrid cluster of Southern Power Grid. This integrated power grid system connects the main grid, distribution network, and microgrid, achieving zone coordinated regulation and dynamic control of islanding status. The core key to building such a new type of smart grid is to enable the three-level power grid to support each other, operate in a coordinated manner, and enhance the overall power supply fault tolerance capability.

Power outage and non inductive switching

To verify the emergency power supply capability of the entire equipment, on April 22, 2026, Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau conducted a full-scale off grid practical test on Dadaosha Island. The staff simulated a transformer failure and actively cut off the connection between the island and the urban power grid. At this time, the methanol hydrogen energy backup power supply was immediately connected to the low-voltage power grid, achieving seamless power supply switching, and residents did not feel any power outage fluctuations. Within the testing range, 94 households instantly resumed normal electricity usage, and the irrigation water pumps for farmland and daily household appliances for residents were running smoothly without being affected by power outages. One hour later, the public power grid was repaired, and this hydrogen power supply automatically entered standby mode. At the same time, the fuel cell autonomously recharged the built-in lithium battery, always on standby to respond to the next power supply crisis.

The stable and reliable island microgrid also lays a solid foundation for the development of agriculture, culture, and tourism industries in Dadaosha Island. The pre sunset fishing camp covering over 100 acres on the island is the largest agricultural, cultural, tourism, and commercial project in the area. The person in charge of the campsite, You Ailin, said that after the microgrid was put into use, various equipment such as fish pond aquaculture equipment, water play facilities, and RV charging piles now have continuous, stable, and safe power support, completely solving the development problem of unstable electricity in the past. Keywords: Guangzhou, methanol hydrogen energy, green power supply

At present, this methanol hydrogen backup power supply has been connected to the Guangzhou urban distribution network intelligent control platform, and can achieve full unmanned operation, remote one click start stop, and automatic diagnosis of equipment faults in the future. The main projects of the other three independent microgrids on the island have been completed and are currently undergoing joint equipment debugging. It is expected to be fully operational by the end of June 2026, fully ensuring the normal and stable electricity demand for the summer electricity peak and agricultural, cultural, and tourism projects on Dadaosha Island.Editor/Gong Ziwei