#Smart grids

When:
Call for applications is open until Sep 30th. The program will last from Oct 2022 until Feb 2023.

What:
The AMS Startup Booster is a business idea development and validation program hosted by AMS Institute, aiming to help aspiring entrepreneurs turn their gut feeling into a business. The entrepreneurs are expected to pursue an impact-driven startup in the field of urban tech.

Lasting over 4-months, the AMS Startup Booster 2022-23 will start on Oct 2022 and run until Feb 2023. The program will be hybrid, mainly physical at the AMS Institute (Marineterrein, Amsterdam). The program is most effective when all teams are fully committed so during the aforementioned time period there is a minimum requirement of 16 hours per week for each startup.

Program:
The program consists of more than 12 workshops focusing on customer discovery and problem-solution fit. During these workshops, the following topics will be addressed:

• Research Fundamentals & Problem Definition
• Market Segmentation & Customer Personas
• Customer Discovery
• Value Proposition & Business Model Design
• MVP Design & Prototyping
• Experiment Design
• Pitching

In addition, our complimentary masterclasses will cover topics such as <strong>Team Fit & Alignment, Marketing & Branding, IP Rights, Finance & Funding</strong>, and many more. Peer-to-peer sessions and 1-on-1 coaching will complete the free services we offer to the selected startups. In total, the startups will get a 360 entrepreneurship curriculum consisting of more than 30 workshops & masterclasses.

Demo Day: Pitch and win prizes during the 'finals'
We close off the program with a Demo Day during which the teams showcase their business ideas and prototypes to a broad audience of experts, investors and entrepreneurs and compete for a list of amazing prizes! Prizes include:

• Guidance on the design of your feasibility experiment in the Marineterrein Living Lab
• Access to a 5000 euros feasibility grant
• Access to follow-up programs & funding opportunities
• Additional customer discovery sessions
• Continuous coaching & mentoring
• Office Space & Makerspace
• Promo material & access to a large network

In addition, connections with other programs and potential investors will be made.

For whom?
We are looking for ambitious students, researchers and young professionals who have an awesome business idea that could impact city life and solve metropolitan challenges. Please note we are looking for teams not a single founder.

Registration
Apply for the AMS Startup Booster via this form. Applications should be submitted <strong>no later than Sep 30th</strong>.

Digitale technologie en data zijn essentieel voor de energietransitie. In de energietransitie geldt: geen stroom zonder data. Digitale innovaties bieden uitkomst om vraag en aanbod van elektriciteit in balans te houden, binnen de beschikbare netcapaciteit. Zelf leveren ze ook een stroom van data op.

Tegenover de kansen die digitale technologie en data bieden voor de energietransitie, staan zorgen over bijvoorbeeld de zeggenschap van burgers over hun gegevens, de cyberveiligheid van de energievoorziening en de verdeling van lusten en lasten van een datagedreven energiemarkt.

In het rapport Stroom van data. Energiedata benutten voor een maatschappelijk verantwoorde energietransitie onderzoekt het Rathenau Instituut hoe data gebruikt kunnen worden voor een duurzame energievoorziening. Het rapport bevat een analyse van de concept-Energiewet en de afspraken voor data-uitwisseling die sectorpartijen zelf al maken. Vier case studies illustreren welke kwesties opspelen bij het gebruik van data voor de stroomvoorziening. De cases gaan over burgers die zich verenigen om lokaal energie op te wekken en te gebruiken, een virtuele energiecentrale, een platform voor balanshandhaving op het elektriciteitsnet en een platform om overbelasting op het net te voorkomen.

Hello,
I am Kyaw Nyunt Linn, currently working on my masters thesis in MSc. Urban Management and Development (UMD) at the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam.

The aim of this survey is to explore the attitudes towards decentralised energy systems at the community level and understand how prosumerism and demand response can be realised in the energy transition of the Netherlands. The results of this research may be used to guide policy makers and local energy initiatives in developing their communities and activities regarding the transition of renewable energy at the community level.

It will take about 7-10 minutes to fill out the survey.
https://forms.gle/xgt1PJYmjJEFbxoY7

Op 23 augustus organiseert de Werkgroep Slimme Energie Systemen in samenwerking met Hiemstra & de Vries weer een digitale community sessie op het thema slimme energiesystemen van 15:30 tot 17:00. Dit keer geeft Naut Loots, van de gemeente Amsterdam, een presentatie over de aanpak op (slimme) energie-infrastructuur van de gemeente. In Amsterdam sturen ze gericht op het toekomstbestendig maken van de energie-infrastructuur aan de hand van een uitgebreide systeemstudie die is uitgevoerd. Wat levert zo’n studie op en waarom is het een belangrijk instrument om te sturen? Naut vertelt ook hoe de gemeente Amsterdam bedrijven ondersteunt, die op de wachtlijst staan voor een aansluiting of uitbreiding. Het liefst met een collectieve oplossing. Er is ruim de tijd voor vragen over de aanpak van Amsterdam.
 
Daarnaast is er in het programma ook tijd om vragen aan elkaar te stellen. Wil je ergens hulp bij of wil je over een onderwerp sparren met de community? Breng het vooral in. Je kunt ons vooraf mailen, of ter plekke je vraag inbrengen.
Je kunt je aanmelden door een link te sturen naar: cato.bechtold@hiemstraendevries.nl
 
We hopen je digitaal te zien op de 23e!

In de polder in Schagen werken we in een innovatieve samenwerking aan het zonnepark van de toekomst: De Dijken. Dit park heeft niet alleen de nieuwste PV-panelen, maar ook plek voor mobiele batterijen. Dankzij die batterijen en ons Smart Grid Platform maken we hyperefficiënt gebruik van de beschikbare zonne-energie. In het artikel op onze website lees je meer over deze bijzondere samenwerking en onze ambitieuze toekomstplannen.

Op dinsdag 5 juli, organiseerde de werkgroep slimme energie systemen (SES) van de Provincie Noord-Holland, TenneT en Liander een digitale sessie voor de SES community. Hierin vertelde Liander over congestiemanagement 2.0 en gaf de Provincie inzicht in de aankomende subsidieregeling voor SES projecten.
Updates ontvangen van en/of meedoen aan de community? Mail naar cato.bechtold@hiemstraendevries.nl

Hello everyone, my name is Francesco Quaglia and I recently graduated in system design at the Polytechnic of Turin.
I am looking for a job that will allow me to broaden my experience in the field of sustainable design.
Do you have some opportunities to share?
I enclose my latest projects carried out in the university.
Thanks for your attention, bye bye. :)

Ons elektriciteitsnet loopt op heel veel plekken in Nederland vol. Met netbeheerder Liander, provincie Noord-Holland, Metropool Regio Amsterdam, andere overheden, bedrijven en kennispartners zoeken we naar nieuwe oplossingen, op het thema slimme energie systemen (SES). Met alleen verzwaring van het net redden we het namelijk niet, er zijn ook slimme oplossingen nodig. Maar welke? En hoe zorgen we ook hier voor versnelling?

Ben je geïnteresseerd in dit vraagstuk, sluit je dan aan bij onze community en schrijf je in voor de webinar op 5 juli van 12.00 tot 13.30.

In dit webinar praten Patrick Begemann en Bas Trago van Liander je bij over de nieuwe netcode die sinds mei van kracht is. Wat is er allemaal veranderd met de nieuwe netcode en wat kan dit betekenen voor netcongestie? Ook vertellen Patrick en Bas over de pilot op onderstation Westhaven in de Haven van Amsterdam en wat dit betekent voor congestie op andere stations in Noord-Holland.

Ellen van der Heijden van de Provincie Noord-Holland vertelt kort over de aankomende financieringsregeling van de provincie voor SES-vraagstukken.

Bertram van der Wal inventariseert tot slot met de groep welke onderwerpen nog dit jaar aandacht vragen op het thema slimme energie systemen en wat jij daarin zelf mogelijk kunt brengen. Zo maken we gezamenlijk de agenda van deze community!

Wil je aansluiten, stuur dan een mail naar cato.bechtold@hiemstraendevries.nl, dan ontvang je een link naar de webinar. En stuur de uitnodiging door naar een contact waarvoor je denkt dat het relevant is. Kijk voor meer informatie op

KNX and FLEXCON2022 are hosting a free KNX Smart Energy & IoT development workshop on June 28, for 15 developers max.

Are you an experienced developer who wants to build Smart Energy applications? Bring your RPi’s and other Linux devices and come to Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam on June 28th !

In this 'mini-hackathon’, you will get to understand the KNX IoT development approach. You will utilize a free client-development solution to interact with the KNX installation to build Energy Management solutions for a cleaner, smarter world. Connect heatpumps, EV's, batteries and solar panels to the smart grid!

The workshop is free of charge. We have only 15 spots available, so apply now! For more information and subscription to the KNX IoT workshop on June 28:

KNX and FLEXCON2022 are hosting a free KNX Smart Energy & IoT development workshop on June 28, for 15 developers max.

Are you a developer who wants to build Smart Energy applications? Bring your RPi’s and other Linux devices and come to Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam on June 28th !

In this 'mini-hackathon’, you will get to understand the KNX IoT development approach. You will utilize a free client-development solution to interact with the KNX installation to build Energy Management solutions for a cleaner, smarter world. Connect heatpumps, EV's, batteries and solar panels to the smart grid!

The workshop is free of charge. We have only 15 spots available, so apply now! For more information and subscription to the KNX IoT workshop on June 28, check the link:

Across North West Europe, cities are increasingly investing in renewable energy production and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. However, the control systems for energy generation, energy utilisation, energy storage and electric vehicle charging work are currently separate from each other. This results in high costs and CO2 emissions due to energy inefficiencies.

Electric vehicles are mostly powered by fossil fuel generated electricity. At the same time, renewable energy is inefficiently utilised because production and demand are not synchronised across the city.

The project CleanMobilEnergy will integrate various renewable energy sources, storage devices, electric vehicles and optimisation of energy consumption through one unique smart energy management system. The development of this intelligent Energy Management System (iEMS) will increase the economic value of renewable energy and significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

The iEMS will assure the smart integration through interoperability based on open standards for data flows and analysis tools.CleanMobilEnergy will make it possible for renewable energy sources to be used locally, so electric vehicles can be charged with 100 % renewable energy offered at an optimum price. Electrical energy from the grid will only be required when prices are low or renewable energy sources are not available, the iEMS monitors and optimises the system 24hours a day, 7 days a week.

One generic transnational iEMS will be adapted to the 4 specific City Pilots, in Arnhem, London, Schwäbisch Gmünd and Nottingham. These pilots range from small towns to large cities. The 4 City pilots cover different types of renewable energy, storage and electric vehicles as well as different contexts and diverse city environments.

The City Pilots will utilise different state-of-the-art storage media in various environments, which are representative of North West Europe and are easily replicated in other cities across Europe. Specifically in London and Nottingham, for example, electric vehicles themselves will be used to power the buildings and depot by using innovative bi-directional chargers controlled by the integrated energy management system iEMS.

In Arnhem, on the other hand, renewable energy will be supplied to ships in the harbour adjacent to its industrial area. These pilots were chosen to represent a wide range of city sizes and environments, which are essential to developing a widely applicable system for future implementation across Europe.

📣 Rethink Energy: Join us on MAY 9 to co-develop the open source Shared Energy Platform

#Internet of #Energy, #digitaltwins, #opensource

Port of Amsterdam, Shared Energy Platform and FLEXCON 2022 invite you to
co-develop an Open Source Smart Energy Platform for industrial scale!

Scoping sessions formally encapsulate the expectations, success factors, and
high-level business requirements for a successful project, as well as
explain the needs, reveal previously unconsidered areas, and establish
risks.

The Scoping Session will be held from 13:00 to 15:00 CET on Monday, May 9th. Please register through this form: https://lnkd.in/eZTZtYpm

To get you more familiar with the topic, we have made a brief video of the
highlights discussed in the FLEXCON2022 webinar held on the 21st of
March.

Highlights of the Flexcon webinar – March 21st 2022: https://lnkd.in/e3RWcjP7

Registration for the scoping session on May 9:
https://lnkd.in/eZTZtYpm

Check the great line-up of the FLEXCON 2022 programme: https://flexcon2022.eu/

Thank you, and we are looking forward to having you there!

Het rijk geïllustreerde Kennisdossier Duurzame energie (150 pagina’s) is een compilatie van 75 artikelen en blogposts over de energietransitie. Je kunt het via onderstaande link gratis downloaden.

Het bevat de volgende hoofdstukken:

1.   Feiten om te onthouden
2.   Bronnen van duurzame energie in Nederland
3.   Openstaande keuzen: Vier scenario’s
4.   Hoeveel zonnepanelen passen in Nederland
5.   Energietransitie mogelijk dankzij de zonnecel
6.   Van zonnepaneel naar zonnedak en zonnepan
7.   Zonnepanelen kunnen (bijna) overal liggen
8.   Recycling zonnepanelen: naar de maan en terug
9.   Manieren om netwerkverzwaring te voorkomen
10.  Smart grids: Waar techniek, digitale en sociale innovatie samenkomen
11.  Samenwerken in een energiecoöperatie
12.  Duurzaam maken van je woning: Voor jezelf en de aarde
13.  Naar een rechtvaardige energietransitie
14.  Zonder energieopslag geen energietransitie
15.  Aardwarmte
16.  Biomassa
17.  Verwijderen, opvangen en opslaan van CO2
18.  Kernsplitsing en kernfusie
19.  Waterstof
20.  Onze toekomstige energievoorziening

Gebruik #zonne-#energie optimaal!

Het tweede webinar in de #Smart #Energy #Community 2022 heeft als thema “Slim gebruiken en opslaan van zelf opgewekte zonnestroom: ontwikkelingen en toepassingen”.

Direct aanmelden voor 26 april:
https://www.flexmail.eu/f-a79d6d00a043b9fc

Nieuwe tariefstructuren: een prikkel voor slimme sturing?
De netbeheerders pleiten voor een nieuwe tariefstructuur waarmee het voorkomen van piekbelasting beloond wordt. Dit is nodig wegens de toename van zonnepanelen, warmtepompen en laadpalen. Fons Jansen van Enexis gaat in plannen voor een bandbreedtemodel: binnen de bandbreedte kan je zonder extra kosten elektriciteit afnemen, kom je erboven dan betaal je een hoger nettarief.

Twee inspirerende Powerpitches:
Brendan de Graaf van Lyv biedt bedrijven, particulieren en communities geavanceerde energiediensten, waarmee men een financieel voordeel kan behalen en
overbelasting van het stroomnetwerk kan vermijden. Het bedrijf biedt een
combinatie van Software-as-a-Service oplossingen in combinatie en met
batterijsystemen.

Joost Brand van Borg Energy maakt duurzame warmte-opslag schaalbaar en haalbaar. Op dagen met een overvloed aan zonne- en windenergie slaan ze warmte op in een buffervat, om deze op dagen met weinig zon en wind te gebruiken. Het eerste werkende prototype is de grond in gegaan bij de Green Village.

Collectieve zelfconsumptie van zonne-energie?
Woningbezitters met een eigen dak kunnen zelf opgewekte zonne-energie salderen, terwijl huishoudens in bijvoorbeeld een appartementencomplex met een collectief dak deze voordelen niet hebben. Aliene van der Veen van TNO deed onderzoek naar
mogelijkheden om dit eerlijker te organiseren. Zij presenteert het rapport
“Collectieve zelfconsumptie: een bouwsteen om het maatschappelijk draagvlak
voor de energietransitie te vergroten?”.

 Aanmelden voor 26 april:
https://www.flexmail.eu/f-a79d6d00a043b9fc

Meer informatie:
https://www.topsectorenergie.nl/agenda/webinar-smart-energy-community-build-together-8

The first Demo Days of 2022 were a success! On March 10 and 17, we gathered online to connect and inspire our partners and community on the topics Circular & Energy and Digital & Mobility. In this article, we share a recap of the topics and projects discussed during the 15th edition of our Demo Days.

About our Demo Days

The Demo Days are one of the tools we use to stimulate innovation and encourage connection between our partners and community. The purpose of the Demo Days is to present the progress of various innovation projects, ask for help, share dilemmas and involve more partners to take these projects to the next level. More information about the Demo Days can be found here.

Demo Day: Circular & Energy

Circular energy transition
With the changing global economy and shortages of raw materials, it is important to look at materials needed for the energy transition. How can we reduce the negative impact of products that have a positive impact on the energy transition? In this session, participants identified common challenges: think of regulations and logistics, but also behaviour. In addition, one of the conclusions is that education must join the transition. Now that the obstacles are clear, we must reach a joint approach. Do you want to be involved in our next steps? Contact francien@amsterdamsmartcity.com. 

The social side of smart grids – Mark van der Wees (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences) and Lennart Zwols (municipality of Amsterdam)
During the session led by Mark van der Wees and Lennart Zwols, participants discussed the social side of smart grids. Where does the ownership of a smart grid lie? And how can we involve citizens? The main take-out is that we need more knowledge about the broader societal costs, benefits and risks. Questions and input on the societal input of smart grids can be sent to Mark at: m.t.van.wees@hva.nl.

Power in the energy transition – Gijs Diercks (DRIFT)
Gijs Diercks facilitated a session in which we discussed a socio-political aspect of energy transition: namely, how unequal power limits change and reform. Gijs invited participants to discuss their experiences with power relations in energy projects. We often talk about a decentralization of power, but, power often ends up somewhere else. An interesting insight was that it would be good to talk more explicitly about power within concrete projects in the future.

Demo Day: Digital & Mobility

Webinar data management in practice - Arjan Koning (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences) and Huib Pasman (Johan Cruijff ArenA)
Prior to the sessions, Arjan Koning and Huib Pasman gave a webinar on data management in practice. What do you need to consider when working with data? And what do you need to arrange in order to properly deal with ownership and authorization of access?

The ownership and responsibility of data – Noor Bouwens (Province of North Holland)
Following the webinar, Noor Bouwens led a working session in which the participants were introduced to the developments, tasks and challenges that the Province of North Holland sees in this area. It turned out that challenges in the field of data governance are recognizable to the businesses, knowledge institutions and governments alike. The biggest challenge is the substantive management of project data and deciding who is responsible for this.

The smart charging square – Peter van Dam (SlimLaden)
In this session, the participants reflected on what the future of parking will look like based on the smart charging square case in Haarlemmermeer. The main take-out from the session is that a broader framework is needed around electric parking solutions. It is difficult for municipalities to predict the future when it comes to EV charging. Therefore municipalities are hesitant to formulate concrete plans. Hopefully soon, more pilots will be set up to take smart charging solution to the next phase.

Are you joining us?

Our next Demo Days take place on June 14 (Mobility & Energy) and June 21 (Circular & Digital).

Are you working on an innovative project that could use some input? Or are you preparing for an inspiring event that needs a spotlight?

If it fits within our themes, sent a message via trisha@amsterdamsmartcity.com or let us know in the comments. We are happy to talk with you to find out if it's a match! As soon as the program is determined, we will share it on the platform and give you the opportunity to join as participant.

The 20th episode of the Better Cities - The contribution of digital technology-series is about electrification, as part of climate adaptation. Based on this theme, both the role of digital technology and the relationship between digital and social innovation will be illustrated.

The Dutch government has dug deep into its pockets to get citizens and companies to cover their roofs with solar panels and to encourage the construction of solar meadows. Favorable tax facilities have been created and a generous so-called ‘salderingsregeling’ has been set up, and with success.

Solar energy and grid overload

Most citizens are very satisfied with solar panels and their impact on the energy bill. So far, no audit office has checked what the government pays for a kilowatt hour of electricity that citizens produce on their roofs. This includes the costs of the aforementioned (tax) facilities and subsidies, as well as the billions in investments in grid reinforcement resulting from the large-scale (re)delivery to the grid of decentral generated energy. In fact, when there is more supply than demand for electricity on the grid, the wholesale price of electricity is negative. In that case, thanks to the ‘salderingsregeling’, the electricity company pays back the full amount and also has to pay(!) companies that buy electricity at that time!

And now? Now the government suffers the consequences and is limiting the growth in the number of solar panels. Many requests for the large-scale generation of solar energy are waiting for a license because the electricity grid in large parts of the Netherlands is overloaded.

There are three ways to solve this problem. The first is to increase the capacity of the high-voltage grid. The second is large-scale storage of electricity, both for the short and the long term. The third is network management. The least elegant solution here is curtailment which means that the capacity of all solar meadows and wind farms is only used for 70%. A better alternative is the construction of smart grids; this is what this article is about. Smart grids have more to do with digitization than with extra cables. *A smart grid is an energy system in which PV panels, electric cars, heat pumps, household appliances, large but also small-scale storage systems and substations are intelligently connected.*However, more attention to energy storage is desperately needed too and high-voltage grid reinforcement will also be inevitable locally.

From centralized to decentralized electricity supply

Electricity infrastructure around the world is designed for centralized electricity generation, characterized by one-way traffic from producer to consumer. Now that many consumers have also become producers ('prosumers') and solar meadows and wind farms are being developed in many places in addition to the usual power plants, the network structure of the future must be decentralized. It will consist of two or three levels. Together, these will ensure a stable system in which much more electricity is used than today. This new structure is at the forefront of development. In 2016, approximately $47 billion was spent worldwide on infrastructure and software to make the electricity system more flexible, integrate renewable energy and better serve customers. The book Promoting Digital Innovations to Advance Clean Energy System (2018) is an excellent overview of these developments. This book can here be downloaded for free.

Most prosumers supply an average of 65% of the generated electricity back to the main grid. Own storage capacity is part of the solution and creates a mini grid that significantly reduces the need to supply back. Otherwise, there are times when the main grid benefits from supplying back locally generated power. Therefore, the next step is for main and mini grids to communicate with each other. In this case we speak of a smart grid: The management of energy production in large-scale power stations (including wind and solar parks) will then take place in conjunction with the regulation of the inflow and outflow of electricity from the main grid to the mini grids. This may also include signals to households to charge or discharge batteries, turn on the boiler, postpone charging the car or stop the production of energy. An automated monitoring and control system is a necessary enabler here.

The exchange of data between mini grids and the main grid has many privacy aspects, especially if the grid operator can influence what goes on 'behind the meter'. An intermediate layer between main and mini grids offers a solution. We then speak of a microgrid. This is a kind of switch between the main grid and the micro grid, that enables the micro grid even to function autonomously in the event of a failure of the main grid.

A microgrid contains three elements:

1. Installation(s) for local energy production for more than one user (usually a neighborhood): solar panels, wind turbines, cogeneration, heat pump(s), biomass power station, hydropower turbine and possibly an emergency production system (generator).

2. A storage system: home and neighborhood batteries and in the future also supercapacitors and chemical latent heat storage.

3. A digital management system to guarantee the balance between the production of and the demand for electricity, to determine how much energy is taken from or returned to the main grid and which calculates the costs and benefits per household.

The micro-grid

In a micro grid, households can exchange their surpluses and shortages of electricity without the direct intervention of the grid operator or the electricity producers. These are solely related to the surpluses and deficits of the entire microgrid, eliminating the need to interfere in the mini grids of individual households. Thanks to the real-time monitoring of electricity production and consumption, the price of electricity can be determined minute by minute. For example, the households that are part of the microgrid can agree to purchase as much electricity as possible when the price is low. At such moments, home batteries, electric cars, any neighborhood battery and boilers and hot water barrels will be charged and heated. This can be done fully automated. For example, the Powermatcher, an open-source application developed by TNO, which now employs 1000 people in the Netherlands. This video illustrates how a microgrid works.

A microgrid gains extra value if the users form an energy cooperative. Here it is possible to decide about the algorithms that regulate the circulation of the current in the microgrid. A cooperative can also take care of the management and maintenance of the solar panels of other collective facilities such as a neighborhood battery, local energy sources (wind or solar park or geothermal heat). The cooperative is also a good means of negotiating with the network operator and the energy company.

The virtual power plant

By linking heat pump technology, energy generation and energy storage at the district level, a significant step can be made with the energy transition. Here are some examples.

The Amsterdam virtual power plant
An almost classic example of a microgrid is the Amsterdam virtual power plant. Here, 50 households produce electricity with solar panels, store it in-house and trade it according to availability when the price on the energy market is most favorable.

Future Living Berlin
This is a nice small-scale practical example developed by Panasonic. Future Living Berlin consists of a neighborhood with apartment buildings for a total of 90 households. The residential buildings are equipped with 600 solar panels that, together with a collective battery system, provide a constant flow of sustainable energy. Among others, to power the seventeen central air/water heat pumps, of which two to five per residential building are installed in a cascade and provide heating and hot tap water. The shared cars and communal washing machines are good for the environment, and they also promote neighborly contact. The Internet of Things also plays a role in controlling the heat pumps. Installers maintain remote access to these systems via a cloud platform.

Tesla's Virtual Power Plant
Tesla has built a virtual power plant in Australia for 50,000 households. Every household has solar panels, with a capacity of 5 kilowatts and a Tesla Powerwall battery of 13.5 kilowatt-hours. As a result, the power station has a capacity of 250 megawatts and a storage capacity of 675 megawatt-hours. Here too, every household charges the battery and possibly the car with self-generated energy and with cheap energy if the supply is large, and they supply the energy they have left to the electricity companies at the market price. In this way the participants save 20% of the annual energy costs.

The ultimate step: autarky
Companies that want to use solar panels and supply the surplus of energy back to the grid are also increasingly encountering the capacity limitations of the main grid. The result is that an increasing number of businesses take power supply into their own hands and even completely refraining from being connected to the grid. Commercial solutions for local virtual power grids are now available, for which companies such as Alfen and Joulz are involved. One of the options is Energy-as-a-service, where the business customer does not invest in an installation but pay a fixed amount per month.

The use of blockchain

Blockchain enables exchanging surplus energy between prosumers without human intervention. Brooklyn Microgrid is a 'benefit corporation', to which every resident who has solar panels can connect and buy energy directly from or sell energy to another user (P2P), without the intervention of the electricity company. Blockchain provides a secure, transparent, and decentralized ledger of all energy production and consumption data and transactions based on 'smart contracts'. These are self-executing programs that automate the exchange of value (here, the amount of electricity) on bilaterally agreed terms. Home and neighborhood batteries, individual and collective heat pumps and charging stations for cars can also be connected to this system.

A similar pilot with blockchain is taking place in the southern German town of Wilpoldsried. Project partners Siemens, grid operator AllgäuNetz, Kempten University of Applied Sciences and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (FIT) have jointly developed the platform and an app, considering the given load capacity of the grid.

Digital twins: need for oversight

Smart grids, ranging from local mini and micro grids to regional applications, are a substantial alternative to grid reinforcement. At the same time, they create new electricity flows, especially where there is a direct exchange between smart grids and the main grid. That is why there is a growing need to map these flows and regulate them where necessary. Digital twins can be helpful here.

Delft University of Technology has developed a small digital twin for a quarter of the Dutch high-voltage grid. This will gradually be expanded to encompass the entire network. To this end, the existing high-voltage hall of TU Delft will be converted into an Electrical Sustainable Power Lab, which will mirror the electricity network, including high-voltage pylons, sources of wind and solar energy, energy storage and distribution networks. This allows, for example, to simulate the effect of linking a new wind farm. As a result, it provides an overview of all bottlenecks and thus lays the foundation for better network management or the choice for grid reinforcement.

But there are also many promising developments at the local level. For that we must be in the US for the time being. The Cityzenith company, together with Arizona State University, has developed the SmartWorldOS digital twin and is making it available to Phoenix, Las Vegas and New York. Each of these cities is building a digital twin of a part of the center. The twins comprise all the buildings, transportation systems and infrastructure of the affected areas and are powered by sensors sent over a 5G network. They aggregate 3D (space) and 4D (time) data about the actual energy use and visualize and analyze it. Subsequently, the impact of other forms of lighting, heating, but also electricity generation with solar panels on the roof, on the facades and in the windows can be simulated and measured and a decision can be made about their implementation.

I have compiled a dossier on many aspects of the use of solar energy. This dossier deepens this article in several respects. Innovations in solar panels, the use of window glass to generate energy, the growth of solar energy in the Netherlands and the storage of electricity are discussed. Those who are interested can find this file by following the link below.

De stad Amsterdam groeit hard, de samenleving digitaliseert én we willen zo snel
mogelijk overstappen op duurzame energiebronnen. Deze factoren samen veroorzaken letterlijk spanningen op het elektriciteitsnet, onder andere in Amsterdam-West.

In het voorjaar van  2021 organiseerde de gemeente Amsterdam daarom samen met netbeheerder Liander een marktconsultatie. Het doel: creatieve en innovatieve ideeën ophalen om ons elektriciteitsnet zo flexibel, efficiënt en toekomstbestendig mogelijk te maken.

Hieronder vind je een greep uit de behaalde doelen en resultaten:
· Het bedrijfsleven denkt oplossingsgericht mee over de uitdagingen rondom de
elektriciteitsvoorziening
· Verkenning en inventarisatie van technieken die een bijdrage kunnen leveren aan het
versterken van ons elektriciteitsnet
· Inzicht in de laatste stand van zaken betreffende bekende technieken
· Update van actieve marktpartijen op het gebied van flexibiliteit

De volledige terugkoppeling van de marktconsultatie vind je via de link onder dit artikel.

Vervolgstap: voorbereiding aanbestedingsproject
De marktconsultatie heeft er mede toe geleid dat netbeheerder Liander voldoende kansen en mogelijkheden ziet om de uitdagingen rondom de elektriciteitsvoorziening in Amsterdam-West succesvol aan te pakken. Het bedrijf is daarom gestart met de voorbereiding van een aanbestedingstraject.

Bijeenkomst aanbesteding Westhaven
In het verzorgingsgebied van verdeelstation Westhaven is sprake van congestie. Als tijdelijke oplossing zal Liander in dit gebied congestiemanagement toepassen totdat het netwerk verzwaard is. Om bestaande en nieuwe klanten, dienstverleners en marktpartijen te informeren over het oplossen van de congestieproblematiek en de aanstaande aanbesteding, organiseert Liander een informatiebijeenkomst.

U bent welkom op woensdag 23 maart van 15-17 uur in de PRODOCK-ruimte van Port of Amsterdam (Moezelhavenweg 9, 1043 AM Amsterdam). Met vragen over de bijeenkomst kunt u terecht bij Stef Lammers (stef.lammers@alliander.com).

The city of Amsterdam is growing fast, society is digitizing and there is an urgency to switch to sustainable energy sources as soon as possible. Together, these factors are pushing the electricity network to its limits, also in Amsterdam-West.

In the spring of 2021 the City of Amsterdam, together with grid manager Liander, organized a market survey. The aim was collecting creative and innovative ideas to make the electricity network in Amsterdam as flexible, efficient and future-proof as possible.

Below is a selection of the goals and results that were reached:
·   The business community agreed to think along solution-oriented lines about the challenges surrounding the electricity supply
·   An exploration and inventory of technologies that can contribute to strengthening our electricity network was made
· Insight into the latest state of affairs regarding known techniques was gathered
· An update of active market players in the field of flexibility was provided

All information about the market consultation can be found here

Next step: preparation of the tender
One of the results of the market consultation was that grid manager Liander now sees sufficient opportunities and possibilities to successfully tackle the challenges surrounding the electricity supply in Amsterdam-West. The company has therefore started preparing a tender process.

Meeting about Westhaven tender
There is congestion in the catchment area of Westhaven distribution station. As a
temporary solution, Liander will apply congestion management in this area until
the network capacity is enhanced. Liander is organising a meeting to inform
existing and new customers, service providers and market parties about solving
the congestion problem and the upcoming tender process.

You are kindly invited in the PRODOCK room of Port of Amsterdam (Moezelhavenweg 9, 1043 AM Amsterdam) on Wednesday 23 March from 3-5 pm. If you have any questions regarding the meeting, please contact Stef Lammers (stef.lammers@alliander.com)

📣 #Rethink #Energy: Internet of Energy, Digital Twins, Open Source !

Port of Amsterdam and SEP have joined FLEXCON2022. In anticipation of #FLEXCON2022, they will host a multiple-day Design Sprint: you are invited to join us to #Rethink #Energy for industrial scale!

Join us to co-develop the open source Shared Energy Platform. The kick-off is the webinar on 21 March, 15.30 - 17.00. Register now, and be part of the sustainable energy revolution.

We have set up a program with great speakers to discuss to the efficiency and resilience of energy production and grid systems:

• Arash Aazami (Unify.energy): Internet of Energy
• Wilbert Prinssen (Phase to Phase): Digital Twins
• Nicolas Höning (SEITA - Open software for energy flexibility): Open Source and Smart Energy
• Derek Hardwick (Ampact Consulting): Design Sprint fundamentals

Our hosts:

• Thomas Hermans – Port of Amsterdam
• Robin Schipper – Shared Energy Platform

Please note: the webinar will be in English.

Register here for the kick off on 21 March 15.30 - 17.00: Subscription form.

📣 #Rethink #Energy: Internet of Energy, Digital Twins, Open Source !

Port of Amsterdam and SEP have joined FLEXCON2022. In anticipation of #FLEXCON2022, they will host a multiple-day Design Sprint: you are invited to join us to #Rethink #Energy for industrial scale!

Join us to co-develop the open source Shared Energy Platform. The kick-off
is the webinar on 21 March, 15.30 - 17.00. Register now, and be part of
the sustainable energy revolution.

We have set up a program with great speakers to discuss to the efficiency and resilience of energy production and grid systems:

• Arash Aazami (Unify.energy): Internet of Energy
• Wilbert Prinssen (Phase to Phase): Digital Twins
• Nicolas Höning (SEITA - Open software for energy flexibility): Open Source and Smart Energy
• Derek Hardwick (Ampact Consulting): Design Sprint fundamentals

Our hosts will be

• Thomas Hermans – Port of Amsterdam
• Robin Schipper – Shared Energy Platform

Please note: the webinar will be in English.

Register here for the kick off on 21 March 15.30 - 17.00: Subscription form.