Studer Innotec and OIKEN are currently collaborating to create a virtual power plant, supported by The Ark Foundation. This project aims to leverage the flexibility of photovoltaic installations and storage batteries, thereby optimizing the use of intermittent resources. The partnership, based on their previous collaboration for the Autarcity project, aims to group small energy producers to form a Virtual Power Plant (VPP).
This project addresses the rapid development of decentralized energy sources, particularly residential photovoltaic power plants, thereby altering electricity grid management. Swiss statistics from 2022 show a significant increase in installed photovoltaic capacity. However, as solar production is not flexible, the need for an intelligent system is evident.
The deployment of smart meters and legislative developments in Switzerland are expected to enable dynamic pricing, taking into account grid balance. OIKEN and Studer Innotec anticipate these changes and aim to evolve technologically while respecting customer interests.
The project plans to demonstrate the technical and economic potential at three levels of use: at the local level, to improve self-consumption; at the neighborhood scale, to optimize self-consumption at the aggregation/neighborhood level; and at the regional level, to leverage and aggregate local flexibilities via a VPP solution.
A platform is currently under development to enable dynamic pricing, self-consumption optimization, and balance group balancing. Studer-Innotec and OIKEN are currently striving to make a concrete contribution to the energy transition in Valais, Switzerland, and beyond. The solution’s development is underway, with tests planned from 2024, and initial results are expected between late 2024 and early 2025, financially supported by The Ark Foundation.
