A 37MPp solar plant in Thuringia has become the first ground-mounted photovoltaic facility in Germany to be prequalified for the secondary balancing market, according to 50Hertz, Sunnic Lighthouse and Entelios.
50Hertz said the Schkölen project can now deliver both positive and negative secondary control reserve.
It added that more Sunnic Lighthouse assets in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt will follow once they are prequalified.
The companies said the move shows that weather-dependent wind and solar assets can contribute to system balancing.
50Hertz said secondary balancing services must be available within five minutes, with bids from 1MW accepted daily on regelleistung.net.
Dr Dirk Biermann, Chief Operations Officer at 50Hertz, said: “In the power system of the future, wind and solar will not only be the backbone of electricity generation, but with the phase-out of conventional power plants they will also have to gradually assume responsibility for system stability.”
He said: “The prequalification of the PV parks is an important first step in this direction.”
He added: “In cooperation with the direct marketer Sunnic Lighthouse and the flexibility provider Entelios, we will gain valuable practical experience for the successful participation of renewables in the balancing market.”
50Hertz said integrating wind and solar parks into the balancing market is demanding and requires high-quality forecasting, strong data systems and robust technical processes.
The partners developed a combined concept covering technical needs and regulatory requirements, including metering systems, data management and an AI-supported forecasting model at the PV sites.
50Hertz said the facilities will be able to reduce output during periods of high solar generation to deliver negative aFRR.
It added that they will also be able to increase output during shortfalls and negative wholesale prices to deliver positive aFRR.
Sunnic Lighthouse, a subsidiary of ENERPARC, markets more than 4.8GW of installed capacity, according to the company.
Entelios specialises in flexibility services through participation in balancing markets and intraday trading, the companies said.