Scottish software company Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) is expanding into Europe following successful trials with a German utility company.
The German trials demonstrated the potential of ‘dynamic curtailment’, which reduces the small amounts of electricity produced by renewable energy generators such as solar parks or wind farms if too much power is pumped into the grid.
According to SGS, this approach can reduce the amount of curtailment required by conventional dispatch methods and double the hosting capacity for renewable energy.
The company is also seeking to provide its Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) to distribution system operators (DSOs) in Europe, with SGS’ software already adding approximately 1.3GW of renewable energy, battery storage and flexibility services to global electricity grids.
Regulatory changes introduced by the EU’s 2016 Clean Energy Package allow this technology to be applied across Europe.
SGS co-founder Alan Gooding said: “The time is right for the move: the need exists, regulation is enabling it, the technology is mature and proven, and, most importantly, we see customer pull.
“Only last week we hosted a European DSO in the UK, running through the use cases that can be supported by our products and how they deliver value to DSOs.”
According to SGS this software can be used to control distributed energy resources that are connected to distribution grids, allowing DSOs to have a greater degree of control and system flexibility. The DERMS could also allow DSOs to reduce requirements for grid upgrades and connection times, making operations more efficient and cost-effective.
This greater system flexibility is important for the development of renewable energy infrastructures, as many renewable energy generators are being connected to distribution networks complicating the systems, with power flowing in both directions on the grid.
