The floating energy community “Schoonschip” in the Netherlands has been connected to the energy and flexibility markets with 30 houses since January. A solution developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM enables real-time forecasts for consumption, local generation and price optimization. This enables the community to trade electricity at optimal conditions on the day-ahead market. At the same time, a trader markets the 30 battery storage units on the balancing energy market.
Schoonschip is an association of 30 floating houses with photovoltaic systems, heat pumps and battery storage in a side arm of the IJ canal north of Amsterdam with a jointly organized energy supply. The houses are networked with each other in a microgrid, but also have a shared connection to the municipal power grid. The energy management system developed by the Fraunhofer ITWM also uses battery storage systems to reduce grid peaks and thus lower grid usage fees.
“Our vision is for the technology to become accessible not only within the Schoonschip community, but also for private households and companies. Anyone who has a photovoltaic system, battery storage or other flexibilities such as a heat pump and electric vehicle should be able to connect and actively participate in a wide range of energy and flexibility markets,” says Matthias Klein-Schlößl, head of the “Green by IT” team at Fraunhofer ITWM.
© PHOTON
