Overview
With renewable energies that only generate electricity when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, the situation is becomming more and more tense - especially because the demand for electricity is also simultaneously increasing. The European Horizon project ENFLATE aims to manage these peaks with digital consumer-centered trading platforms on which participants can offer their flexibility in power consumption in exchange for money. From Switzerland, CKW AG and St.Gallisch-Appenzellische Kraftwerke AG (SAK) are participating with their own sub-project under the leadership of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in cooperation with EPEX SPOT.
The expansion of decentralized renewable energy sources is changing the flow of electricity. However, the grid coping with this is still the same and usually not designed for this. That is when flexibility can be used, especially during peak-load periods. Flexibility describes the ability to ramp up or down electricity consumption depending on the situation on the grid. One of the tools used in the Swiss demonstrator of the ENFLATE project is a trading platformed specifically designed to make this possible
The project does not aim to reinvent the wheel, but to build on existing platforms. The 48-month European project will feature demonstrators in different countries. ENFLATE brings together a consortium of 30 organisations: transmission and distribution system operators, market operators, regulators, service providers, manufacturers, academia and other stakeholders. The members aim to promote clean energy in Europe, while reducing the cost of the transition and increasing its economic benefits. Ultimately, ENFLATE shall deliver the means for effective control of power trading at regional, national, and international interconnection points, better communication among distributed energy sources, increased consumer/prosumer participation in the energy trading process, and sustainable development of new multi-sectoral business models harnessing the participation of consumers/prosumers in cost-effective power trading.
