Rotterdam, 07 April 2022 – The problem of grid congestion has become increasingly urgent in many industrial areas in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries. While taskforces form and the grid operators expand the grid as efficiently as possible, there are ways in which batteries and software APIs can help in today’s grid congestion management.
Grid congestion is affecting small and large business
Imagine you are a passionate and eager-to-get-started new company that would like to set up an office in Amsterdam. Permits, finances, people and even your future office space – everything is arranged and ready to go. Everything, but one aspect: your electricity grid connection won’t be available before 2026. This is a problem that many businesses in the greater Amsterdam area are facing right now. The limited availability of electricity, the very backbone of your operations, leaves no room for expansion or new business activity.
The power distribution grid is under pressure from all sides
These supply shortages are caused by a phenomenon called grid congestion. Due to the much-needed electrification of many industries, such as the construction sector, and the inflow of electricity from different renewable sources, our current grid is no longer equipped to handle the growing demand and supply.
In the Netherlands and a growing number of other countries, this is a structural problem. There are not enough transformer stations that transform high voltage into low voltage electricity that can be used by the end-consumer, such as your business.
This leads to bottlenecks where both supply and demand need to be regulated to the capacity of the transformer stations. On one side, we have production plants that could produce more energy, and on the other side, there are more businesses with higher power demands.
It is the transmission between these two parties that causes a dilemma.
This is a simplified congested grid with an overload at the transformer station.
Solutions are on the way
While the regional distribution system operators (DSOs), like Stedin and Liander, are expanding the grid as rapidly and efficiently as possible, they work on congestion management measures to “unblock” the grid. There is curtailment which means that grid operators limit the inflow of electricity onto the grid by reducing the output of production plants. On the other side of the transmission line, DSOs also hope to bring more flexibility to the grid by innovating their contracts from assuring a certain electricity capacity at all times to set usage hours. This would allow a flexible redistribution.
Skoon’s platform provides the necessary flexibility
Batteries have a unique chance to assist the solutions that are already in place by:
- providing additional power during peak hours
- storing excess energy generated by renewable sources to use at a later point
- reducing the need for curtailment and waste of productivity
Additionally, we are continuously improving our software to provide real-time data on the availability of our batteries. Eventually, it will be able to seamlessly communicate with the systems of DSOs.
This is a grid that is reinforced with a battery.
Partnerships will successfully accelerate the transition to clean energy
In this phase of the energy transition, partnerships provide the solutions that are the key to success. This is why the Amsterdam Economic Board invited Liander, Port of Amsterdam and Skoon to share their stories on tackling this challenge. You can listen to it here.
Would you like to know how we can help you? Feel free to send us a message or give us a call!
