Siemens and RWE pilot virtual power plant comes on-line

Germany’s Siemens Energy and RWE Energy said Friday that the first virtual power plant operated by the companies had come on-line. The pilot project, which linked nine small hydroelectric facilities with a total capacity of about 8.6 MW, would demonstrate the technical and economic viability of virtual power plants and accumulate findings for further possible applications, the companies said.

Siemens said that the virtual power plant could use marketing channels that individual plant operators would otherwise not be able to access. It explained that, as a group, the plants (ranging from 150 kW to 1,110 kW) could be operated more efficiently and thus more economically than before—which benefits the operators of the distributed generating plants.

RWE said it would also market the electricity on the European Energy Exchange.

Decentralized energy management and communication with the generating plants played a key role in the virtual power plant. The companies used products from Siemens’ portfolio, including the decentralized energy management system (DEMS) and the Distributed Energy Resources (DEM) Controller.

RWE said that at the heart of the virtual power plant is the DEMS. With it, the distributed generating plants cannot only be networked intelligently, but they are also economical and environmentally friendly in operation. The DER Controller used for communication is specifically geared to the needs of distributed generating plants.

Siemens hopes that in the course of the project more distributed generating facilities such as engine-based cogeneration plants, biomass, and wind power plants will be integrated into the linkup.  “In addition to economic benefits the aim of the coordinated utilization of distributed generating facilities is above all to make a contribution toward the improved market integration of these facilities,” it said.

Sources: Siemens, RWE