Buzzwords of Today: Demand Side Flexibility & Renewables in Buildings
Date: October 23rd 2020
Author: Alenka Lena Klopčič
Category: En.vision
Topic:
Electricity
, Renewables
, New technologies
Integrating renewable energy into the grids is a challenge for each and every energy player, whereas ‘managing flexibility’ became the buzzword of today, but at the same time, it is far from new, said Kurt Reynders, Head of Business and Product Development at Engie, at Montel’s Green Week 2020 on Thursday, explaining how Engie tackled this issue. The sentiment was echoed by Danijel Muršič, CEO of Slovenia’s high-tech company Menerga, at a recent webinar, at which he quoted the renowned economist and political adviser, Jeremy Rifkin, who said that green technology, which is based on renewables, is already here, so we do not need any more R&D and there are no more excuses (for inaction).
Managing flexibility has actually become a core business at Engie (in addition to optimising energy production) and the company believes that it will become even stronger with new types of flex, whereas Engie wants to extend its capability to manage flex to new types of assets, including batteries, EVtoGrid, and B2C flex. This area has therefore become a part of the corporate innovation, including activities from research to innovation, explained Kurt Reynders.Business opportunities “in front” and “behind the meter”

Product and business development at Engie therefore includes packages with ‘smart EV’, local energy communities, demand-side management plus batteries, as well as mobile storage, or a package with PV/Wind plus storage, and finally a flexible power plant, Reynders explained, adding that – of course – offering such new solutions brings also price risks for the company. It therefore tries to share the risks with the customers – partners, he concluded.

How can the imbalance costs be reduced? According to Tor Wilhelm Havag from Norway’s Tussa Energy, this is possible with AI predictions, based on weather forecasting models, which are 35% better in forecasting in comparison to the previous manual forecasting. This is especially important for day-ahead market trading. Additionally, there are more megawatts available for intraday and regulation market, Havag concluded.
Renewables more than just a buzzword

As stated by Rifkin, green technology, which is based on renewables, is already here, so we do not need any more R&D and there are no more excuses. He further noted that wind and solar have never made out a bill to us, whereas for every year that we invest in RES infrastructure, we will get 2 to 3 years of GDP back. At Slovenia’s Menerga, green buildings are created by examining every possibility and opportunity to reduce energy consumption, to recycle energy and reuse it.
This article is available also in Slovene.
CHECK ALSO
-
18.09.2020 - Many Issues Related to Enabling Flexibility in Power Markets and Grids Still Open
-
18.09.2020 - EU Launches EUR 1bn Green Deal Call
-
20.10.2020 - Montel’s Green Week 2020: Full Decarbonisation Will Increase Electricity Demand By 150%
-
22.10.2020 - STORY: Interoperability, Renewables, and Storage Devices
-
23.10.2020 - Wholesale Power Market Innovations That Help Incentivise Flexibility
-
27.10.2020 - D. Jones, Ember: The Energy Transition Mainly Needs a Stable Framework Rather Than Subsidies
-
12.11.2020 - SunContract Approved for EUR 4.65m Grant for Demand Response Project Research
-
16.11.2020 - Wood Mackenzie: Europe Losing Global Energy Storage Battle Against U.S. and China
-
10.12.2020 - Boost Needed in Energy Efficiency in Buildings and District Heating Systems
-
17.02.2021 - Video Debate: Energy Management and Recognising the Value of Energy Efficiency