Although more and more of our electrical energy is coming from sources where supply is variable -- whether from wind turbines, solar parks or biomass facilities -- grid structures, industry and private households alike are not yet prepared to deal with the inevitable fluctuations.
Smart energy management systems are the way to put robust supply networks in place and to ensure that renewables are harnessed as efficiently as possible. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance will be showcasing their energy solutions for energy providers, small and medium-sized enterprises and homes at this year's Hannover Messe.
"Wind, solar and biogas are all energy sources with their own strengths and weaknesses. And it's by combining the strengths of each in a smart way that we'll be able to guarantee Germany's energy supply into the future," says Dr. Kurt Rohrig, deputy director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES in Kassel. But what happens when, instead of a big power plant, you have a host of individual small energy producers feeding in energy to the grid at varying times? Is reliable operation of the grid still technically feasible? In the "Combined Power Plant 2" research project, both science and industry have answered the question with a resounding yes. Their concept: to use a software platform to bring together a multitude of small energy providers within a "virtual power plant."
Software platform brings decentralized providers together.
Experts have already conducted a test showing that this setup does indeed work reliably in practice, having combined numerous wind parks, biogas and photovoltaic facilities delivering a total output of over 80 MW in a virtual combined-cycle power plant. Because small providers work together, regional variations in wind and sun can be evened out via the grid or using biogas facilities that can be regulated according to requirement. Surplus energy is either stored or converted into heat. The result is a powerful network that remains decentralized but can still operate as a larger unit in energy trading markets. And it's not just the facilities brought together in the virtual power plant that can be managed and monitored via the software platform; the energy generated can be marketed, too.