Dutch energy company Eneco and three partners are creating a network of home batteries that can supply reserve capacity to the power grid of the Netherlands.
Eneco, Testa, SolarEdge and Swiss startup Ampard are offering the new home storage service consisting of Tesla Powerwall batteries.
The first step of the service, named CrowdNett, is to create a network of 400 batteries that will qualify as reserve capacity to be used by TenneT, Eneco said.
Home batteries will play an important role in balancing the national and international power grids, according to the Dutch company.
It said that, while TenneT and other European grid operators purchase additional capacity mainly from gas and coal fired power plants, they are increasingly looking for flexible and sustainable alternatives.
“We invest substantially in renewable energy, and, at the same time, work on developing smart solutions for when there is no wind or for unexpectedly sunny days,” Eneco innovation manager Dirk-Jan Middelkoop said.
“Home batteries already form a part of these solutions, but using these batteries for grid balancing purposes offers even more advantages,” he said.
“Grid operators will be able to replace backup capacity provided by physical power plants by capacity provided by a virtual power plant,” he added.
Image: Eneco
Storage starts at home for Eneco
New CrowdNett service will be able to supply reserve power to TenneT
By EBS