Pilot: shared charging station in Waalwijk
The Local Energy Hubs project focuses on developing decentralised energy infrastructure with a view to optimising solar power, developing energy storage and installing charging stations for e-trucks and consumers of renewable energy on industrial sites. The shared charging station at Maiburg Hout, still under construction, will offer scope for the electrification of transport, thereby allowing trucks to be charged even when the network is under pressure. Working with all participants, Maiburg Hout and the local authority, a suitable location was found for installation of the charging station. It is expected that the charging station will be operational by mid-2024, with up to eight electric trucks able to charge at the same time. The pilot will run until the end of 2025.
Solutions for the future
When the 2020 Local Energy Hubs project plan was being put together, there were already signs of grid congestion in electricity production, but not yet on the offtake side. At the time, the project partners’ goal was primarily to prevent further strain on the grid in order to avoid grid congestion. Now, there is grid congestion in many areas of the Netherlands. Having a charging station in place for times of grid congestion is thus more topical than ever. It is essential to demonstrate future solutions now. Grid congestion does not occur all year round. With this in mind, Scholt Energy, working with various partners, is preparing alternative contracts and group transmission agreements (Group TA). This will make unused space on the electricity grid available and reduce waiting lists for businesses with a new connection or reinforcement. It will also mean that we can scale up faster and ensure that the sustainability of industry and logistics cannot come to a standstill as a result of grid congestion.
Virtual Power Plant
Flexibility is the use of processes and systems that better balance the supply of and demand for electricity. It provides a solution to grid congestion. Scholt Energy offers flexibility services for owners of installations such as batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, freezer systems and more. These so-called flexible sources are part of our Virtual Power Plant, where capacity can be deployed in the energy and balancing markets.
The individual systems on an industrial site are relatively easy to interconnect and can form a Local Energy Hub together. To combat grid congestion, we wish to develop our Virtual Power Plant and demonstrate more Local Energy Hubs through pilots. Firan, Solar Valley, Heliox and Scholt Energy are kicking off four pilots in Tilburg, Waalwijk and Zaltbommel.
The first sounding board meeting at the municipality of Waalwijk attracted TenneT, RVO, the Province of North Brabant, the Waalwijk local authority, BOM, Parkmanagement Waalwijk, the Waalwijk entrepreneur platform, Rabobank Waalwijk, Maiburg Hout, Refitech, Scale up Capital and ROC Waalwijk. The initiator, Scholt Energy, and partners Firan, Solar Valley and Heliox were also in attendance. Input from and discussions with participants helped with to refine the plan and to create a basis for further development. The Local Energy Hubs project came about thanks to a contribution from RVO with a MOOI-SIGOHE grant.
Would you like to know more about Local Energy Hubs?
If so, please contact one of our Energy Transition Specialists.
