Enexis pilots solar panel dimming for grid balancing
Image courtesy 123rf
Dutch DSO Enexis, in collaboration with Zonnedimmer, will trial solar panel dimming on customer homes at times of high solar supply to test its ability to prevent power grid overload.
The pilot has space for 500 participants and will see Enexis dim the participants’ solar panels in exchange for 30 euro cents per kWh.
The grid operator will ask permission from the panel owners to temporarily reduce their generation when the sun is shining and a lot of power is returned to the grid.
On sunny days in spring and summer, solar panels on roofs generate a lot of energy. When a lot of energy is simultaneously used, this balances out; but if there is little consumption on a given day, the grid may no longer be able to process the excess generated power, risking an overload.
Enexis is running the pilot alongside Zonnedimmer, which has developed an app for solar dimming, in two regions, testing its impact on reducing grid pressure.
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From the end of May, Enexis will approach customers with solar panels in selected neighbourhoods, which are connected to the Helmond and Waalwijk electricity substation, with letters, flyer campaigns and targeted use of social media. These regions were chosen due to the pressure on the grid that increases on sunny days from solar panel-generated power.
Customers can register to have their inverters dimmed for a number of hours on very sunny days, for a fee. In June, Enexis will then carry out a number of tests on sunny days to measure the effect. At those times, Enexis will send a request to Zonnedimmer, who will then dim the inverters of the participants in the trial.
The Dutch power grid and its bottlenecks have long been a pain point for operators in the region, leading them to investigate new ways of managing consumption, namely by implementing flexibility measures.
The project marks the latest initiative of this type from Enexis to manage consumption and reduce grid stress. For example, many large solar and wind farms already reduce production when the grid is busy.
