And to the network first of all. Regularly congested, the latter is not designed to accommodate all the power produced and provide it where it is desired, making it impossible to build houses or factories in certain places in the territory. Then for the sale of energy. When the sun or wind produces a significant amount of electricity, it cannot be absorbed by the network, which creates negative prices.
1 GW of green energy in 2030
Combining renewable energy production, advanced storage and digital management, smart grids are starting to develop in the region with the promise of killing two birds with one stone: decongesting the network, and limiting loss of income for investors. origin of wind turbine fields and photovoltaic farms. This is what the French Equans, a subsidiary of Bouygues with six partners (IGA storage, Circul8 energy, smartgrid flevoland, solarvation, Acrres and wagening university and research), wants to demonstrate, in the province of Flevoland, north-east of Amsterdam . Called Renewable Energy Hub Flevoland (REF), the facility is expected to provide 1 GW of green energy to the region in 2030.
Launched in 2005, under the leadership of farmers, with the installation of a few wind turbines and photovoltaic panels, 20 years later, there are 500,000 solar panels and 37 wind turbines. which now generate up to 300 MW (respectively 163 MW and 137 MW), all coupled with 12 MW of large 36 MVA batteries.
Clear negative prices
Presented as a smart and sustainable grid model, the REF balances supply and demand. “We react to the second, explains Richard Dujardin, deputy general manager of Equans for Switzerland and the Netherlands. If there is a lot of wind or sun at a given moment, rather than selling at negative prices due to a saturated network, the energy is stored in the batteries before being reinjected into the network at the moment. timely.” In other words, the intelligent energy management system (EMS) optimizes electricity distribution in real time according to consumer needs and climatic conditions.
Among the concrete impacts, Equans indicates a 15% reduction in congestion on the local public electricity network and 90% coverage of the energy needs of businesses and residents in the region. The specialist in French fries McCain and the one in the preparation of prepared meals for air travelers, Marfo, benefit from a direct and stable supply of renewable electricity, indicates the French company. This smart grid above all avoids a few tens of minutes of negative prices each day. This technology is set to develop. In 2023, the country had recorded nearly 400 hours of electricity sales at negative prices on the European spot market Epex.
