Electrical grid decarbonisation: 24/7 clean energy becomes a reality

Author

Giacomo Bravaccini

Giacomo has an academic background in civil and environmental engineering (MSc) and is at the forefront regarding sustainability initiatives, focusing on enabling clean electrification. He blends his technical knowledge with experience & passion​ ​in​​ creating engaging narratives which connect energy and sustainability with the standards & policy​ global landscape and a customer-driven approach.
Published
May 19, 2021
Updated
July 26, 2021

EnergyTag, the independent industry-led initiative to accelerate the shift to 24/7 clean energy, is coordinating ten projects worldwide to demonstrate a radical new approach to track the source of electricity innear-real time. The report sets out how the world’s biggest energy consumers and producers can use hourly energy certificates to ensure they are getting clean energy 24/7. Eneco,

 

FlexiDAO and CertiQ will be testing time-based green electricity in the Netherlands to provide time-based certification in the future and to make possible a real decarbonisation of the electrical grid. The pilot project involves a digital link between the 120 MW Princess Amalia Wind Farm and Eneco’s 12 MW electrode boiler connected to The Hague’s Ypenburg district heating network. The project is one of six global projects testing the possibilities of time-based green power. The first results of the pilot project are expected this autumn.The link between Princess Amalia Wind Farm and the electrode boiler in Ypenburg, which together with a number of gas boilers provides heat for the local district heating network, enables testing of the measurements, procedures and software required to provide time-based certification in the future. Production and consumption of green electricity will be measured and certified every hour and quarter of an hour.

The Princess Amalia Offshore Wind Farm is located on the Dutch Continental Shelf at block Q7 in the Netherlands. The farm is located about 23km from the coast of IJmuiden. It is the world’s deepest offshore wind farm, constructed at a depth of 19-24m. It will contribute to prove how the decarbonisation of the electric grid is now possible, thanks to the 24/7 energy tracking provided by FlexiDAO.

More in line with future energy systems

The current certification system, which uses Guarantees of Origin (GoOs), does not support time-based certification. Using a time indication, a guarantee can be given that green electricity is produced and also consumed within a single hour – or even within a quarter of an hour.This is more in line with an energy system in which the balance between consumption and generation is becoming increasingly important as weather-dependent solar and wind power production increase, Eneco said.

A more transparent certification system gives private customers and companies more accurate insight into the sustainability of their electricity consumption. It allows them to make better-informed choices regarding which electricity they want to use, and companies can make their sustainability ambitions even more explicit towards a true decarbonisation.

FlexiDAO is providing its blockchain-based technology to monitor production and consumption 24/7, supported by measurement data made available by Eneco. CertiQ is legally responsible for certifying electricity and renewable heat. In this pilot project, CertiQ is investigating how a more transparent, time-based certification system can be integrated into the current sustainable energy certification system.

EnergyTag's Report

In this pilot project Eneco, CertiQ and FlexiDAO are investigating how data related to electricity production and consumption from different systems can be combined. They are also looking at how time-based green power certification can be integrated into the existing legal system of GoOs.

The project is one of six global projects testing the possibilities of time-based green power which are included in the Report. This is part of EnergyTag: an energy industry initiative in which over 100companies, governments and NGOs work together to create a more transparent certification system that better reflects the increase in the supply of weather-dependent solar and wind power. The goal is to accelerate the energy transition by offering certifiable green energy 24/7 and therefore foster a transparent, real decarbonisation of the electrical grid with the aim to mitigate climate change and dramatically reduce air pollution.

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Author

Giacomo Bravaccini

Giacomo Bravaccini has an academic background in civil and environmental engineering (MSc). Giacomo blends his knowledge in sustainability with a strong passion for marketing, which he developed in his past professional experiences at Ariston Thermo Group and Frigicoll (Midea).
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Published
May 19, 2021
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