Energy Landscape: Balancing Energy Supply and Demand

A wind and/or solar park combined with battery storage is not new. Locally seeking customers for sustainable energy is also becoming increasingly common. But what if we take it a step further? What if we locally connect electricity, storage, and other energy systems, such as a heat network or charging plaza? Then we create a place where energy supply and demand are in balance: the energy landscape of the future.

GreenTrusters Sjoerd Dijk en Christian Holdert zetten zich in voor de ontwikkeling van energielandschappen. Ze kijken met een brede blik waar kansen liggen om vraag en aanbod van energie met elkaar te verbinden. En zoeken – met hulp van de lokale kennis van ondernemers – naar integrale oplossingen. 

Balance

“Everyone who needs energy – especially on a large scale – encounters different forms of imbalance,” says Sjoerd. “The supply of energy is not always in balance with the demand. For example, you see that in the morning and especially in the evening between six and nine o’clock there is high demand, while during the day it’s less. At the same time, due to the generation of sustainable energy, there is a lot of supply during the day. There is also a form of imbalance between seasons. For instance, in the winter months, the demand for electricity and heat is higher, while the yield from solar energy is much lower. If it’s also windless, then the availability of sustainable energy disappears completely.”

“By bringing together local supply and demand in an energy landscape, we can reduce the problem of imbalance,” Christian adds. “At the same time, this offers a solution for grid congestion. And it’s also beneficial for costs.”

Visible Landscape Elements

So what does such an energy landscape look like? It consists of various elements:

  • generation of sustainable energy via a solar field or wind park;
  • energy storage systems such as batteries or thermal storage;
  • system integration by connecting the electricity grid to other energy systems such as the gas network, industry, heat networks, and mobility (charging plazas);
  • energy hubs: for example, a battery or charging plaza near a solar field or wind park. Or a business park that largely provides its own energy with a solar field or wind park.

Making Connections

In addition to these visible components, intangible elements play an important role in the energy landscape. Sjoerd: “We look at where there is demand and supply of energy and how we can connect them. Not only with cables and pipelines, but by creating connections with and between local entrepreneurs. Think about making mutual agreements to align demand profiles. By looking beyond the walls of your own company, you can optimally use locally available energy together and thereby prevent costs and (congestion) limitations. This way, we also create additional space and opportunities for (new) companies that cannot expand or establish themselves due to grid congestion.”

Een goede samenwerking en het juiste inzicht zijn cruciaal om tot een efficiënt en duurzaam energielandschap te komen. GreenTrust kan helpen bij het krijgen van dit inzicht en adviseert je graag welke kansen er in jouw gebied liggen. Ook kan GreenTrust een rol spelen bij de ontwikkeling, financiering, bouw en het beheer van de verschillende elementen uit het energielandschap.