Elektrownie Next’s Virtual Power Plant Brings 35 Megawatts of Solar PV into Polish Energy Mix
Next Kraftwerke has announced that its Polish subsidiary Elektrownie Next will begin trading electricity produced by the 35 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic portfolio owned by ReneSola. Next Kraftwerke has connected more than 5,000 energy-producing and energy-consuming units in its virtual power plant “Next Pool,” with a total capacity of over 4,100 MW.
“We are happy that our years of experience will now be put to use at ReneSola in Poland,” says Artur Lagodzinski, Business Development Manager at Elektrownie Next. “Among all winners in the auction system, the PV installations of ReneSola belong to the first PV installations which were awarded. That is an important step toward more renewable energy in Poland.”
This is a significant step forward for solar in Poland and sets a powerful precedent for adding renewables to the energy mix in a country where 80% of electricity currently comes from coal-fired power plants. “We are proud to have won this tender with our PV assets and to advance additional installation of [photovoltaic solar] plants in Poland. With Elektrownie Next, we’re glad to have found an experienced partner for direct marketing,” says Josef Kastner, vice president of the European Region at ReneSola.
When the new solar portfolio is added to Next Kraftwerke’s system, its intelligent control system will be leveraged to manage and balance the energy production and consumption of all of these units from its Cologne, Germany, headquarters, trading electricity on spot markets.
Next Kraftwerke is a certified member of the EPEX energy exchange, allowing it to buy and sell the electricity generation from within its profile as well as the ability to quickly ramp up or down energy generation on the demand side of the equation. The unique ability to keep the grid in balance by managing various electricity production and consumption units individually across countries is a powerful demonstration of the power of distributed renewables when connected up through an intelligent software portal.
By trading its aggregated power 24/7 on different energy spot markets, the virtual power plant also makes a substantial contribution to stabilizing the grid by smartly distributing the power generated and consumed by the individual units in times of peak load. Next Kraftwerke has created a simulation of its virtual power plant solution for those who want to learn more about how the system works.
Source: Next Kraftwerke
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