Integral

The project PowerMatching City Hoogkerk was completed in March 2011 with considerable success and attracted television crews from countries like Korea and France. In this project it was demonstrated that it is possible to have an automated demand response system that is optimizing the energy system from the prosumers point of view, while at the same time creating opportunities for both energy suppliers as the local network operators to optimize their processes by offering price incentives to the prosumers.

For a network operator, the challenge lies in ensuring that the power grid does not fail if there is a sudden increase in demand or local power production. From an energy supplier and power producer point of view, these smart grid developments are of great interest for a number of reasons.

Most importantly, the power system is becoming more and more ‘stressed’ as the amount of renewable energy is increasing. Currently power production is following the demand at all times. With the increase of non controllable sustainable power, like power from wind and solar, the demand will have to start following production. That this is feasible is proven in the project PowerMatching Hoogkerk.

However, in order to make such system work, a number of prerequisites have to be met. Most importantly it should be attractive for consumers to participate in such a smart grid. As consumers and local power producers are becoming an increasingly important part of the power system, the role and position of the energy supplier will be changing. From a large supplier of a low interest product, it will become a facilitator and a local partner for energy management.

Hoogkerk II is about exploring this new role of the energy supplier. The project will be expanded with more smart homes and electric vehicles, but the main part of the project is about the interaction with the prosumers and the energy market. Build on the infrastructure of Hoogkerk, new services and products will be tested. From power contracts with dynamic prices that make sure that your washing machine is washing using the lowest energy prices, to selling your excess energy through web sites or you social media page, either to your family or someone who just wants to buy your excess solar power.

We as RWE, together with our project partners, can not create this market by ourselves. Within the pilot therefore we created the ‘Technology Stepping Stone’. This is a program where interested companies can use the infrastructure in Hoogkerk to test and develop their own products and technologies. A chip manufacturer for example is using the pilot to test their embedded chip with the powermatcher intelligence for charging electric scooters.

The project will start in September 2011 and will run for 3 years. Besides RWE/Essent also the local grid company Enexis and knowledge and technology providers KEMA, TNO and HUMIQ are participating in this smart energy pilot project.