Grid congestion calls for a different way of thinking about energy
The energy transition is no longer only about generating more renewable energy. Due to the rapid growth of solar and wind energy, and an increasingly crowded electricity grid, the challenge shifts. The next step is making smarter use of the energy we already have.
The next step: using green energy smarter
According to Martin Marijnissen, Director New Business at Zeppelin Power, this marks a new phase in the energy transition: "The next step is not only producing more green energy. It is about making sure that energy is available at the right time, in the right place, and without further burdening the electricity grid. That is what it will be about in the coming years."
Zeppelin Power sees this development every day in conversations with customers. Where the question used to focus primarily on a new installation, it increasingly concerns grid capacity, flexibility, and cooperation between different energy technologies.
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"The next step is not only producing more green energy. It is about making that energy available at the right moment, in the right place, and without further burdening the electricity grid."
Greenhouse horticulture plays a key role
Greenhouse horticulture plays a much greater role in the Dutch energy system than is often assumed. The sector accounts for approximately ten percent of electricity generation in the Netherlands and makes an important contribution to the stability of the power grid. Precisely because many greenhouse horticulture companies have combined heat and power units (WKK's), they can quickly respond to changes in electricity demand and supply.
Zeppelin Power has supported greenhouse horticulture companies with combined heat and power units (CHP's) for decades. Whereas these installations were previously valued mainly for their efficiency and reliability, today they have a broader function.
"The essence of a CHP has not changed," says Marijnissen. "The world around it has. In the past, a CHP was mainly about producing energy and heat efficiently. Nowadays, it is also about flexibility."
Modern CHP's can ramp up and down quickly, thereby making a valuable contribution to a stable power grid. At times when additional capacity is needed, they can supply electricity. At other times, energy consumption can be smartly aligned with the available grid capacity.
From installation to energy system
Customers' questions have changed as well. Marijnissen: "Ten years ago, a conversation often started with the question, which installation do I need? These days, it begins with completely different questions. What does my energy profile look like? How much grid capacity is available? Where do peak loads occur? What flexibility can I offer? Only then do we look at which technology fits."
For many greenhouse horticulture businesses, there is also another factor at play. They often have a relatively heavy grid connection. Where that used to be a given, such a connection has now become scarce. That is why it is increasingly important to use the available capacity to best advantage, both from a business-economic and a societal perspective.
As a result, the solution increasingly consists of a smart combination of technologies. CHP units (CHP's), batteries, solar panels, energy management systems, and where necessary generators complement each other. It is not one installation that takes center stage, but the complete energy system.
"The energy transition is shifting from technology to systems thinking," says Marijnissen. "It is becoming less and less about individual installations and more and more about the way different technologies work together."
"It is increasingly less about individual installations and more about the way different technologies work together."
Decades of experience, focused on the future
Zeppelin Power has been working on decentralized energy solutions for decades. First with reliable CHP installations and backup power supply, nowadays more and more often with integrated energy systems where generation, storage and energy management come together.
That experience is used by the company every day for customers in greenhouse horticulture, but also in sectors such as industry, logistics and data centers.
"Customers want more than just sustainability," decides Marijnissen. "They also want to be able to grow. They want to maintain reliability despite grid congestion. Our role is to look together at which energy system fits that need. Not only for today, but also for the next twenty years."
So the energy transition is still all about sustainable energy. But in the coming years, at least as important will be how we use that energy. Smarter, more flexible, and as part of one coherent energy system.
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