PowerMatcher Part of Sustainia100

Two projects involving TNO’s PowerMatcher technology are among the 100 most powerful sustainable solutions in the world gathered in the Sustainia100 list. Both projects are sustainable electricity demonstration projects: the EcoGrid prototype of the European smart electricity grid and PowerMatching City, the first living smart grid community in the world. This has been announced at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro. The list was presented in a plenary session to the high-level decision-makers and country representatives present in Rio. Gathered from 56 countries spread over six continents, Sustainia100 is a complete guide to innovative and scalable solutions instrumental in creating sustainable societies. Building on ready and available solutions only, Sustainia100 is as a tangible tool for sustainability professionals – from politicians to CEOs-­? dedicated to create desirable and sustainable societies. Together with industry partners, TNO is currently developing the PowerMatcher technology into a flexible power platform available for open use in smart grid projects worldwide. jantje

EcoGrid

The EcoGrid solution enables the electricity grid to handle large amounts of renewable energy. It demonstrates the ability of the Danish island of Bornholm’s energy system to handle a large share of wind energy. More than 50% of the electricity supply on the island is coming from renewable energy sources. The central idea of the EcoGrid EU is the introduction of market-based mechanisms to release balancing capacity, particularly from flexible consumption. Approximately 2,000 residential consumers (out of a total of 28,000 customers) participate in this Smart Grid demonstration project, with flexible demand response tied to real-time price signals. The EcoGrid EU demonstration project is among the largest EU-funded Smart Grid projects. The jury report emphasizes the significant challenge of integrating large amounts of renewable energy from wind and solar farms into the electricity grid as we know it. “Raising eyebrows all over Europe for its ability to handle large amounts of fluctuating renewable energy in its system, the EcoGrid project of Bornholm is a demonstration of the future of energy grids” says the jury. “The size of the project, and the amount of fluctuating renewables integrated, make the project particularly noteworthy”, according the report. TNO’s PowerMatcher is one of the technologies demonstrated on the Danish island. The system will turn a planned 700 houses into smart homes that react to the electricity price and buy the needed electricity as cheap as possible. “As the price will go down during an unexpected peak in renewable energy production consumption will go up. This will help the integration of renewables”, says TNO expert George Huitema, the TNO-internal project leader. “We let the electricity consumption on the island follow the wind energy generation more closely.” The EcoGrid project means a significant step in the number of households handled by the PowerMatcher. “The technology has been designed for scalability”, says Huitema, “so we are confident we will make this project a success. The inclusion in this prestigious Sustainia100 list is the icing on the cake.”

PowerMatching City

The PowerMatching City project focusses on reversed relationship between supply and demand in the coming smart power grid. Where electricity production (supply) used to respond to demand from consumers, the smart power grid of the future will enable consumers to respond to fluctuations in supply of electricity generated from renewable sources. The project is centered around a living-lab of 25 households in the Hoogkerk district of the City of Groningen in the Netherlands. The PowerMatching City project demonstrates the ability of consumers to be active players in the energy system by providing them with demand response capabilities. Heat, for example, is produced for the building with heat pumps when very cheap electricity is available, and then stored for later use. At the same time, consumers generate their own electricity with photovoltaic solar panels and micro combined heat and power units. In addition, they are able to exchange energy with each other on a local energy market. Joost Laarakkers, the TNO-internal project leader: “This local market has been realized using TNO’s PowerMatcher technology. The system gives priority to the locally produced electricity and to green electricity from outside the district above less-sustainable energy sources.” Again, the jury stresses the importance of demand response in the grid as one of the primary ways to integrate higher amounts of renewable energy into the system. “When demand for energy becomes flexible, intermittent renewable energy becomes more competitive, as the need for storage, grid interconnection, or backup capacity is reduced”, according to the jury report.

Partners

TNO’s partners in EcoGrid are: transmission system operators Energinet.dk (Denmark) and ELIA (Belgium), distribution network operators Østkraft (Denmark), EDP (Portugal) and Eandis (Belgium), technology companies Siemens, IBM and Landis+Gyr, and knowledge providers SINTEF (Norway), the Danish Technical University DTU, EnCT (Germany), Technalia (Spain), AIT (Austria), ECN (The Netherlands) and the Tallinna University of Technology (Estonia). SINTEF has the project lead. TNO’s partners in PowerMatching City are: distribution system operator Enexis, energy company Essent, gas infrastructure company Gasunie, software company ICT Automatsering and energy consulting and testing & certification firm DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, who also has the project lead. Knowledge partners are Eindhoven University of Technology, Delft University of Technology and Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen.

Relevant Links

Sustiania100 Press Info: http://www.sustainia.me/general-news/sustainia100-unveiled/ Sustainia100 List: http://www.sustainia.me/solutions/ EcoGrid website: http://www.eu-ecogrid.net/ EcoGrid Press Release: http://www.eu-ecogrid.net/index.php/events-and-news PowerMatching City: http://www.powermatchingcity.nl and http://www.agentschapnl.nl/sites/default/files/bijlagen/factsheet%20proeftuinen04-PowerMatching%20City-web.pdf PowerMatching City Press Release: http://www.dnvkema.com/news/articles/2012/PowerMatchingCityhonouredasatopsustainablesolutionatRio20.aspx PowerMatcher: www.powermatcher.net TNO: www.tno.nl