Flexcity helps to build up the secondary reserve of the network managed by Elia and offers a new service to its partners.
The Transmission System Operator, ELIA, which is responsible for the balance of the Belgian electricity grid, has opened up its primary and tertiary reserve services to all players on the market for many years. The secondary reserve services have, until now, been reserved for large power plants only.
In order to improve the efficiency of its secondary reserve and to avoid the risk of "black out" mentioned in Belgium in previous years, the opening of this market by ELIA will make it possible to guarantee the supply of energy over the entire Belgian territory in a more inclusive manner. Consequently, this gives FLEXCITY the opportunity to offer new services to its partners while strengthening its participation in the balance of the network.
This decision by the grid operator results from the implementation of European ambitions for a transition towards the development of smart grids. It enables operators of assets, such as FLEXCITY, capable of delivering power up or down in 7.5 minutes to participate in balancing the network and thus receive additional remuneration.
FLEXCITY brings its expertise in energy efficiency to the aFRR market
Thanks to the launch of the pilot project organised by ELIA in 2017, FLEXCITY has already been able to demonstrate its technical performance by fully meeting the specifications of the secondary reserve - also called aFRR.
As the only aggregator to have developed a dynamic portfolio of cogeneration units (energy producers) and industrial pumps (energy consumers), FLEXCITY perfectly met the technical requirements imposed by ELIA.
"During the pilot project, we were able to meet the technical specifications of this new service, while at the same time meeting the challenge of using both electricity-consuming and electricity-producing installations.”, says Cedric Weyns, Country Manager for Belgium at FLEXCITY.
FLEXCITY positions itself as the first entrant in this new market. Several partners who have already entrusted FLEXCITY with the management of their electrical flexibility will participate in this new service. Cedric Weyns insists:
“For our partners, this market opening also represents a new opportunity to enhance the value of their installations and thus reduce their energy costs.”
FLEXCITY and its partners, both current and future, are thus participating in the balancing of the Belgian electricity network thanks to its recognised expertise in innovative electrical services. This balancing process encourages the integration of renewable energies into the network's electricity supply by compensating for their intermittent nature.
To find out more about aFRR, please do not hesitate to consult our webinar or contact us.
