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Press Release15 May 2019Smart InfrastructureZug
Siemens expands green energy potential with virtual power plants
Siemens expands green energy potential with virtual power plants.
The new virtual power plant (VPP) service platform – a digitized demand-response system – makes it possible for the first time to combine the small electrical loads of buildings or industrial sites, so that building operators can sell energy back to the reserve market, with the ultimate goal to increase the flexibility of the electricity market as a whole.
"We are shaping a new market at the grid edge with this technology," explained Cedrik Neike, Chief Executive Officer Siemens Smart Infrastructure. "Together with the State of Finland, we are pioneering a model for decentralized energy systems to benefit utilities, business and society. The complexity of balancing loads across buildings, the grid and even with eMobility infrastructure requires deep domain expertise in the demand and supply areas."
The VPP service helps balance power consumption, to decrease the need for reserve power and, consequently, cutting carbon dioxide emissions. The Finnish national grid operator, Fingrid, compensates property owners when the VPP feeds energy into the public grid. Finland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is providing a grant of 8.4 million euros for the required technology investments.
Siemens already has two pilot customers for its VPP approach: Finnish Railways will connect the iconic Helsinki Central Station as well as two train depots in a microgrid to create a virtual power plant.
"Renewable energy is challenging the entire energy system. We want to prepare for these changes now," says Juha Antti Juutinen, Director of Real Estate at Finnish Railways.
Lappeenranta, a city of 75,000 inhabitants close to the Russian border, will kick off with nine public buildings, scaling up to connect 50 more buildings to a city microgrid.
"The virtual power plant service decreases the environmental impact of the city and provides additional income," says Markku Mäki-Hokkonen, development manager of the City of Lappeenranta.
Siemens' VPP platform leverages the company's successful energy optimization project at Sello shopping mall, a property of 100.000 m2 space located in the suburbs of Helsinki. Sello's microgrid combines energy efficiency, storage, optimization of peak loads, and its own electricity production. In addition, supplying extra energy to the reserve market has led to annual income of around 650,000 euros annually for the Sello property owners.
For further information on Siemens Smart Infrastructure, please see
www.siemens.com/smart-infrastructure
www.siemens.com/smart-infrastructure
For this press release
Siemens Smart Infrastructure (SI) is shaping the market for intelligent, adaptive infrastructure for today and the future. It addresses the pressing challenges of urbanization and climate change by connecting energy systems, buildings and industries. SI provides customers with a comprehensive end-to-end portfolio from a single source – with products, systems, solutions and services from the point of power generation all the way to consumption. With an increasingly digitalized ecosystem, it helps customers thrive and communities progress while contributing toward protecting the planet. SI creates environments that care. Siemens Smart Infrastructure has its global headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, and has around 71,000 employees worldwide.
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. The company is active around the globe, focusing on the areas of power generation and distribution, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, and automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. Through the separately managed company Siemens Mobility, a leading supplier of smart mobility solutions for rail and road transport, Siemens is shaping the world market for passenger and freight services. Due to its majority stakes in the publicly listed companies Siemens Healthineers AG and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and digital healthcare services as well as environmentally friendly solutions for onshore and offshore wind power generation. In fiscal 2018, which ended on September 30, 2018, Siemens generated revenue of €83.0 billion and net income of €6.1 billion. At the end of September 2018, the company had around 379,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.
Contact
Catharina Bujnoch-Gross
Siemens AG
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