EcoGrid EU

The key idea of EcoGrid EU is to introduce market-based mechanisms close to the operation phase that will release balancing capacity, particularly from flexible consumption.

The demonstration will take place on the Danish island Bornholm with more than 50 % electricity consumption from renewable energy production.

Of a total of 28.000 customers on Bornholm, approximately 2000 residential consumers will participate with flexible demand response to real-time price signals. The participants will be equipped with residential demand response devices/appliances using gateways and "smart" controllers.

Installation of the smart solutions will allow real-time prices to be presented to consumers and allow users to pre-program their automatic demand-response preferences, e.g. through different types of electricity pipe contracts. "Automation" and customer choice is one of the key elements in the EcoGrid EU concept.


Real-time market concept

A real-time market concept will be developed to give small end-users of electricity and distributed renewable energy sources new options (and potential economic benefits) for offering TSO's additional balancing and ancillary services. To make the EcoGrid EU solutions more widely applicable, the market concept will be designed for existing power exchange(s). Because of the test site location on Bornholm, the real-time market concept will first be operational in the Nordic power market system.


Strong industrial participation

Strong industrial participation and innovative experiences from related European and US Smart Grids RD&D projects will contribute to the development and implementation of robust ICT platforms and information architectures. This is the key to allow all distributed energy resources to participate actively in the real-time power market.


Budget

The total budget for EcoGrid EU is € 21 million of which approximately half is financed by the EU. The project is running for 4 years from medio 2011.

 

Bornholm