A virtual power plant developed in Valais!
Project type
Multi-company
State
In test
Role of EnovArk
- Identify available facilities
- Accompany the creators of the application
OIKEN and Studer Innotec have teamed up once again to launch an innovation project to harness the flexibility of photovoltaic installations and storage batteries. This system should make it possible to exploit and optimize these intermittent and unpredictable resources within the framework of a virtual energy plant. Financially supported by The Ark Foundation, the project is being developed in collaboration with the Institut Icare in Sierre, which is making available its expertise in the field, and the test phases are currently underway.
Having already collaborated on the Autarcity project, OIKEN and Studer Innotec are once again pooling their skills to launch an innovation project to exploit the flexibility of photovoltaic installations and battery storage. The aim is to bring together small energy producers, who together have the weight of a large power plant, to create a Virtual Power Plant (VPP).
This project is part of the accelerating development of decentralized and random energy production, mainly from photovoltaic power plants (residential power plants). This development is profoundly changing the way the electricity grid is managed.
According to Swiss solar statistics 2022, more than 1 GW of PV was installed in 2022, for a cumulative capacity of 4.7 GW, generating 3.8 TWh, or 6.7% of Swiss electricity consumption. The proportion of solar energy produced is therefore becoming significant, and already exceeds that of other energies (gas, hydro, biomass) during the summer daytime. However, this production is not flexible, which is why we need to develop an intelligent system to make the most of these installations.
The contribution of smart meters
The deployment of smart meters and changes to the legislative framework in Switzerland should enable energy suppliers to offer new dynamic pricing models over the next few years, taking account of network and market balance. Some European countries are already offering such models to their customers. In this context, OIKEN and Studer Innotec are already anticipating and aiming to develop technology and services while respecting customers’ interests.
The project will therefore focus on demonstrating the technical and economic potential of three levels of technology use:
At local level (individual home), the aim is to improve self-consumption and optimize electricity re-injection into the grid through optimal use of batteries.
At the next level up, at the level of a neighborhood, the project aims to develop intelligent energy management for several installations, enabling flexibility to be exploited by optimizing self-consumption at group/neighborhood level.
Finally, at regional or DSO level, the aim is to valorize and aggregate local flexibilities through a VPP solution. Valuation can be carried out on balancing markets (SDL, Spot, Balance Group) and in the longer term for network needs (investment minimization).
Creation of a management platform
The project will develop a platform for dynamic pricing, self-consumption optimization and balance group balancing. Other value-adding options can easily be added in the future, as new needs or opportunities arise.
With this development, Studer-Innotec and OIKEN aim to bring about concrete changes in energy management, in support of the energy transition in Valais, Switzerland and beyond.
At this stage, development of the solution is underway with the Institut Icare in Sierre, which is making its technical skills available. The first customers in the test phase will be approached to determine the viability of this project, with the first results expected between late 2024 and early 2025. The Ark Foundation is providing financial support for the feasibility study.
Contact
EnovArk
c/o Fondation The Ark
Rue de l’Industrie 23
1950 Sion
Switzerland
058 332 21 20