Photo by Francisco Ghisletti on Unsplash
Piclo has secured its first international collaboration with the Slovenian electricity transmission system operator (TSO), ELES, on behalf of the Green Transformation Consortium, a group of Slovenian energy companies with a shared goal for accelerating Slovenian decarbonisation. The consortium will use Piclo Flex independent marketplace in their exciting pilot project in Slovenia, helping export our knowledge and expertise of the UK market to help unlock the potential of flexibility across Slovenia.
Members of the Green Transformation Consortium (GTC) are:
● ELES, the Slovenian TSO
● Elektro Celje, Elektro Gorenjska and Elektro Ljubljana: three DSOs who are users of flexibility at the distribution level
● GEN-I, retailer and aggregator who will bring knowledge of the consumer side.
Other parties supporting the development of the pilot include:
● EIMV, Milan Vidmar Electric Power Research Institute
● The University of Ljubljana, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, who together will support the project with research and development.
The goal is to develop a methodology for advanced grid planning taking into account flexibility sources as a substitute for reinforcement of the grid. The plan is to prepare methods and a proof of concept, including regulatory support for efficiency-related investments for TSO and DSOs by the end of 2020.
Piclo Flex will be the flexibility marketplace platform where several locations on low voltage level will be advertised and there will be competitions run to solve network constraints using flexibility sources. The TSO and distribution companies will use the same flexibility sources optimising individual needs and taking into account grid limitations. Involvement of three distribution companies using different operation and control systems ensures interoperability of the flexibility marketplace. Piclo Flex invites all flexibility providers to sign up to take part in this pilot project.
Piclo CEO and Co founder, James Johnston, said the trial aims are to enhance visibility, coordination, and procurement of flexibility for TSO and DSOs. As with all marketplaces bringing local flexibility providers to the platform will be crucial to success. “Without flex providers, you do not have a marketplace … we need to build a liquid market” said Johnston.
Uroš Salobir, Director of the Strategic Innovation Department at ELES said cross border energy trading in Slovenia “almost equals local consumption” by volume, with “huge price differences” between adjacent markets. He said the state had been involved in “extreme amounts” of demonstrator projects over the past decade, including many Horizon 2020 funded projects. “Time is right for flex markets across Europe; these were guided into powerful collaborations between TSO and DSOs from the outset – not just around flexibility but problem-solving and seeking advanced, more efficient infrastructure” said Salobir.
More information about Piclo and the pilot project in Slovenia will be available later this year. To register interest in participating in the trial, email the Piclo team at flexibility@piclo.energy.