STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Falbygdens Energi Nät and Plexigrid are launching a partnership to increase the speed of grid connections for industry, renewable energy and electric car charging in Falbygden through digital solutions.
Digital solutions make it easier and faster to connect to the grid, using customers' own flexibility and batteries. By using data from smart electricity meters, which are already available at all customers' premises, Falbygdens Energi Nät will gain better knowledge of the situation in the electricity grid. In dialogue with customers, they can find new opportunities to connect to the grid earlier than they would otherwise be able to.
The challenge that Falbygdens Energi Nät faces today is that requests for grid connection take a long time to process, due to constraints of other grid owners that are beyond control of Falbygdens Energi Nät. Parties wanting to connect electricity intensive industry, renewable energy production and electric car chargers may have to wait a long time before they get permission to connect.
The electricity grid becomes a de facto bottleneck for the energy transition. This barrier can be overcome by using the existing grid more intelligently. The benefits are shorter lead times and clearer information about the conditions for customers wishing to connect to the grid.
"Plexigrid's current solution together with the features we are jointly developing in the project will make a big difference for us both on a strategic and operational level. We will most likely find connection opportunities within existing grid capacity that we would otherwise not have been able to accommodate," comments Falbygdens Energi Näts Electricity Network Manager, John Johansson.
Plexigrid's technology helps users to visualise, simulate and forecast energy flows in electricity networks in a more detailed way, and with increasing amounts of wind power, solar panels, electric car chargers and heat pumps on the grid, this is becoming increasingly important. The system can also be used to develop better long-term plans to ensure that the grid can cope with the energy transition in the future and help keep costs down for consumers.
"Sweden is very well placed to be a pioneer in making our electricity grids more efficient, as we already have a high degree of digitalisation and good access to data. This benefits grid companies, industry and consumers by reducing grid costs and speeding up the energy transition," says Alberto Méndez, CEO Plexigrid.
The project, which will run for one and a half years, is part-funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, as the results and experiences are considered to have good potential to contribute to the transformation of the energy system through increased flexibility and more efficient use of Swedish electricity grids.
For more information about the project and to receive future publications from the project, please visit: www.plexigrid.com/flexibilitetipraktiken
About Falbygdens Energi Nät
Falbygdens Energi supplies electricity to more than 17,000 customers in Falköping and the surrounding area and uses new technology to contribute to long-term sustainability in Falbygden. There is an unusual amount of wind power connected to the grid and they are continuously investing to prepare the grid for more renewable electricity production such as wind and solar. An additional 20 MW of renewable generation is planned to be commissioned as early as next year.
About Plexigrid
Plexigrid is a technology provider that develops software to streamline the planning and operation of electricity grids at the distribution level. Plexigrid's solutions can increase grid utilization and free up capacity by harnessing flexibility to integrate more renewable energy, charging infrastructure, heat pumps and energy storage. The company is based in Gijón, Spain and Stockholm, Sweden. Plexigrid was founded in 2020 by Alberto Méndez, former Regional CEO at Siemens-Gamesa and Head of Wind at Vattenfall; Rubén Medina, Head of Engineering and Construction at OX2 and Vattenfall; and Pablo Arbóleya, Professor of Electric Power Engineering at the University of Oviedo.
Links
www.plexigrid.com
www.plexigrid.com/flexibilitetipraktiken
https://falbygdensenergi.se/
