Road to 2050<\/h2>
It might seem far off, but 2050 is 26 years away. 2050 is the year set by EU countries to become climate-neutral, aligning with the targets previously set by the Paris Agreement.\u00a0 What does climate neutral mean? For a service, process, or product to be climate neutral means that all greenhouse gases it produces are offset by climate measures. Although reducing emissions is the primary way to achieve climate neutrality, this does not mean there are no emissions; they are offset through support for climate protection projects.\u00a0 Spectral<\/a> is the company behind virtual grid technology. It develops software for managing and integrating renewable energy. The firm, headquartered in Amsterdam, offers different energy asset management options. STELLAR is the software used in the Schiphol Trade Park, which accommodates the integration and optimization of renewable energy systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked about his definition of virtual grid, Stefan Kop simply describes it as: \u201cSharing capacity as a collective of companies or entities in a smart way.\u201d Kop is Spectral\u2019s energy consultancy team lead and has closely followed the deployment of the virtual grid at Schiphol Trade Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The starting point of the STP project saw companies that could not access the electricity grid, as the capacity of the local substation\u2013what dispatches power\u2013 was fully taken, causing congestion problems. However, those connected to the grid don\u2019t always use the capacity they contracted for and sometimes use the electricity they produce with solar panels. As a result, demand is lower, and some of the available capacity is untapped. Hence, the idea of sharing capacity and putting it at the disposal of the group of companies. Users and Spectral can access a dashboard displaying all real-time energy production and consumption statistics. This gives them an overview of what is happening and allows them to take action whenever needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking a step back, what does setting up a virtual grid entail? Once the companies or entities have come together, Spectral can conduct a first analysis. Combining data from the metering company, the businesses part of the cohort, and the grid operator is the first step to understanding how much capacity is contracted and what the consumption amounts and peaks are. Based on this information, Spectral sits down with each collective member to discuss their future electricity plans. Understanding if they plan to expand further, switch to electric heating, or install solar panels defines the future energy profile of each cohort member. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, the companies legally form an energy collective, becoming an entity with a single energy contract with the grid operator. The engineering phase comes next, as Spectral physically connects with the assets \u2013 such as batteries and solar panels \u2013 by installing a meter. All practicalities – such as connecting assets to the Internet \u2013are figured out, and the software can start working. <\/p>\n\n\n To Kop, collaboration is key to the establishment of virtual grids. Spectral is cooperating with grid operator Liander to ease the adoption of these solutions and, in general, group contracts that improve flexibility in capacity management. A possibility already available is the so-called capaciteitsbeperkingscontract <\/em>(CBC, capacity limiting contract). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kop: \u201cFor instance, as a company, if you already have 1 MW of capacity and want to increase it to 1.5 MW because of the congestion problems, you won\u2019t get that. However, you can get that with a CBC contract. Still, the operator can tell you a day in advance if it can\u2019t provide those 0.5 MW extra. The obligation to respond to the grid operator demand is shared with the group, meaning that your neighbor can share capacity if it consumes less than the operator predicted.\u201d According to the expert, other grid operators will follow and offer similar options. <\/p>\n\n\n Last April, Spectral published the results<\/a> of one full calendar year of operations at the Schiphol Trade Park. Across the whole year, the virtual grid delivered 2,104 MWh of electricity. Without the virtual grid, the companies would have had to invest further in assets and generators, which would have run for 31,000 hours. If these hours had been covered by diesel generators only, it would have meant using 468,000 m3<\/sup> of gas and emitting 842 tons of CO2<\/sub>. The generators became the last resort and were only activated twice in two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe main takeaway is that implementing these solutions works. This case also shows that, to some extent, grid congestion is a problem mainly on paper. Companies tend to overestimate their future energy consumption. That\u2019s part of the reason why we have congestion problems; businesses ask for a higher capacity than what they need,\u201d underscores Kop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Spectral keeps cooperating with the Schiphol companies, as the cohort members are satisfied with the solution. Besides STP, the energy software provider is active on several other projects across the country, paving the way for constructing more virtual grids and limiting congestion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In October 2020, no additional transport capacity was available for companies that wanted to connect to the grid at Schiphol Trade Park (STP). The business park, sitting next to the main Dutch airport, saw its expansion at risk due to grid congestion. Therefore, the area developer SADC (Schiphol Area Development Company) went on the lookout […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":506740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[83676],"tags":[58887,58875,84890,84355,85281],"location":[6763],"article_type":[43139],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[82815],"class_list":["post-481622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green","tag-grid-congestion","tag-netcongestie","tag-road-to-2050","tag-spectral","tag-virtual-grid","location-netherlands","article_type-features","reboot-archive-green"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"In the second episode of Road to 2050, we highlight another solution to tackle grid congestion. one of the main challenges to be overcome on the way to climate neutrality. 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What steps do we need to take to achieve climate neutrality? How do we make our economy climate-neutral? In Road to 2050<\/a>, we will look at the challenges we need to overcome. <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Stefan-1-1004x669.jpg\")
Thus, Spectral\u2019s software orchestrates the energy operations at STP. Reading the activity on the grid on a second basis keeps the network adaptive and flexible. \u201cIn the background, the system also forecasts all expected grid demands. If we notice that we are about to approach the grid limit, we can already start turning on generators. If there is congestion on the supply side, we can charge batteries,\u201d explains Kop.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nSetting up a virtual grid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sharing capacity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A virtual solution to a virtual problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n