Due to grid congestion, new companies are currently unable to establish themselves in Groningen. To reduce the pressure on the power grid, entrepreneur Jan Berends wants to share power with his neighbor. But that is more difficult than expected.
Sustainability was Jan Berends’ approach when he bought solar panels for his metalworking company in the Bovenstreek in Groningen five years ago. The goal: to become energy neutral. For example, the tons of metal that the company produces are used to build factories. And that requires a lot of power.
But because he managed to reduce his electricity consumption by using lighting differently, he turned out to not need two-thirds of all the energy he generated. The remaining electricity was pumped back into the power grid. “That’s a shame, because it can make money, but it can also cost money.”
Then he came up with the solution: selling his remaining electricity to his neighbors. Not only would he earn money from this, but at the same time he would also be able to relieve the power grid and thus reduce grid congestion. But he discovered that from a legal perspective this is easier said than done.
What is grid congestion?
The power grid can be seen as a major highway. Grid operators ‘drive’ the electricity from their power stations to, for example, the company or home. People with solar panels also add traffic to the roads by returning electricity.
Because power consumers often need electricity at the same time, traffic jams occur on the road, just like during the morning and evening rush hour, resulting in bottlenecks. So not everyone can get power at that time.
This problem is called grid congestion. There are also major problems with ‘electricity traffic jams’ in Groningen. This crowding currently means that new companies cannot establish themselves and existing companies cannot expand or become more sustainable.
Grid congestion is one national problem. The province of Utrecht announced last week that it would fall back on natural gas when building new homes due to the overcrowded power grid. More than fifty companies in the municipality of Groningen are on the years-long waiting list to be connected to the grid. There are three possible solutions for the municipality of Groningen: reinforcement, collaboration and the use of batteries.
Solution 1: Make it heavier
There are plans to strengthen the power grid. The technical term: weighting. Grid operator TenneT is building a new high-voltage substation near Meerstad. The station, with an area of more than six football fields, should remove the bottleneck by 2029. In the highway metaphor: from a single-lane highway to a four-lane highway.
But why didn’t grid operators widen the road sooner? According to Groningen councilors, the blame lies partly with the years of cautious attitude of grid operators. Enexis believes this is a wrong picture is outlined, because grid operators are not allowed to make pre-investments due to legislation and regulations. They point to the Empire.
Now that the size of the problem is clear, grid operators can strengthen their power network. In 2023 alone, Enexis invested 1.4 billion in this. But the necessary reinforcement will take years, says Greetje Bronsema, strategic advisor to grid operator Enexis for Groningen and Drenthe. “We will not be able to get rid of grid congestion in the coming years. Many companies and organizations want to become more sustainable, for example by switching to solar panels, but we cannot meet this increasing demand in the coming years,” says Bronsema.
Berends does not want to wait that long with his company, because thanks to his sustainable investment he sometimes also has to buy electricity. This not only burdens the power grid, but he sometimes also has to pay four times the cost of electricity. “What is on my roof now, no matter how good I think it is, costs me money.”
Solution 2: Collaborating Companies
The electricity cables underground can also be seen as a road network. Every company on an industrial estate has a connection to a road. When the road from company 1 ends up on the same road as company 2, they are in a so-called loop on the power grid. Companies in this loop have the opportunity to collaborate.
That is why Bronsema states that in addition to strengthening the power grid, companies must also work smarter, for example in partnerships. For example, companies that are in the same loop and need a lot of electricity at different times could light up the grid by using each other’s energy. ,, We have always had electricity here, that has never been a problem. But that time is now over. We simply use too much at the same time.”
The municipality also thinks collaboration is a good idea. The Groningen Stroomt Door (GSD) initiative has been set up to guide companies in this. “We map the loops and see which companies are open to collaboration,” says Hanna van der Heide-de Vries, project manager at GSD.
Together with Enexis, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, business associations and the municipality, we examine which companies fall into the same group and can therefore work together. “For example, if company one uses a lot of power at a different point than company two, they could work together to lighten the power grid,” says Van der Heide-de Vries.
GSD started the project with an inventory at the Westpoort industrial estate in Groningen and is now working on the Zuid-Oost industrial estate. Companies in both areas are open to cooperation. But Van der Heide-de Vries warns that the inventory takes time, and plans must also be drawn up to secure the finances. “You cannot arrange such a collaboration overnight, it takes time.”
Berends likes the collaboration. His neighbor on the industrial estate, a trading office, wants purchase his electricity. That is why Berends would like to supply electricity, which neighbors can then tap. “Then I put my unnecessarily generated electricity into a battery and then other companies can, for example, charge their electric truck or car via charging stations.”
But the required 200,000 euros is a significant investment, and Berends wants to earn it back. Yet the entrepreneur would like to supply his unused energy to other companies. “If I am allowed to implement this plan, I will keep the power in this area instead of pumping it back into the network. That could help with the problem of grid congestion.”
Solution 3: public batteries
Another proposal floating around in the Groningen city council is the use of batteries. These are now often used by commercial companies for profit purposes, such as the batteries of entrepreneur Berends. But if they are installed with public money, they can also serve as a possible energy tap and storage point for companies.
For example, if company one with a roof full of solar panels produces too much electricity in the morning and afternoon, it can be stored in the battery. Company two then produces in the evening and uses the stored energy. This way, company one’s excess energy can be used and no power from the grid is required. Ultimately, a public battery could also be installed in a residential area and thus provide houses with electricity.
“As a grid operator, we are still keeping our eye on this at the moment,” says Bronsema. “We are not allowed by law to invest in commercial batteries.” That is why Enexis does not install batteries itself and leaves this process to the market. Bronsema also states that batteries do not have the capacity to absorb all the power generated: “The battery becomes full before the peak is reached.”
GSD has also received signals that the council is interested in the use of batteries. Although (commercial) batteries are also known to cause grid congestion, Van der Heide-de Vries does see possibilities. “With public batteries we see opportunities to keep the problems on the power grid manageable. We will definitely look into it.”
Tags: stuck traffic jams electricity electricity time
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