Energetica Coop – March 2021
We had a talk with our partners at ECOOP to learn more about the virtual simulations in Valladolid (Spain) and San Cebrián de Campos (Spain), as well as the creation of solar energy communities in the two demosites.
In the upcoming months, MUSE GRIDS DSM and Multi-energy planning tool will be virtually tested in Valladolid (Spain) and in San Cebrián de Campos (Spain). Could you briefly describe these simulations and the main results you expect to achieve?
Energética is currently focused on the development of different energy communities, each of them at different stages. In the case of Belén district, several neighbours have already joined to the Solar Communities project, having installed PV self-consumption in their roofs. Some other installations are being designed and new users have already shown their interest in taking part of the project. In what concerns San Cebrián de Campos, we are still within the preliminary phases of the project, assessing how to proceed with the engagement of the citizens. In both cases there is still a lot of work to be done, and both approaches are completely different: residential neighbourhood of a city and small rural village. What we expect to get from these simulations is, in first place, to identify what are the available local resources and potential energy demand density, and then, how those resources can be used and integrated with local utilities.
How ECOOP will take benefits from the achieved results?
Energetica is a non-profit cooperative located in a scattered and unpopulated area. It is made up of members who are sensitive to environmental problems and active participation in the energy system in terms of both social and purely technical engagement. For this reason, the research carried out within the MUSE GRIDS project may help the cooperative to understand the user behaviour influence when it comes to apply demand response strategies and potential participation in a peer to peer market. This knowledge will allow us to define tailored business models considering different groups of consumers/prosumers.
Could you tell us a bit more about what you have done so far for the creation of solar energy communities in the two demo sites?
EnergÉtica has developed a service based on social participation and PV self-consumption installation. Its aim is to carry out neighbourhood self‐consumption campaigns in small geographical areas (districts, villages) to strengthen community’s ties and collective learning, promote renewable energy and reduce the costs of self‐consumption photovoltaic facilities, achieving savings up to 20%. These Solar Communities have been collaboratively defined by the staff of EnergÉtica and a group of neighbours of Barrio Belén from October 2019 to February 2020. After that, PV has been installed in the roof of 13 participants. In January 2021 we started the first contacts for the demo of San Cebrián.