Project: Market Models Denmark
Helle Juhler-Verdoner is managing director of Danish Intelligent Energy Alliance, part of Danish Energy Association. The alliance’s vision is to bring together and encourage collaboration between all stakeholders in the future smart energy system. The aim is to create a cohesive plan for the efficient integration of all system users, their behaviour and actions, and to optimise the power grid to provide an economically sustainable and secure energy supply that interacts effectively with wholesale and retail energy markets.
A strong existing Danish system
‘In Denmark, we are lucky to have a robust energy system. We already have a large share of renewables, predominantly wind but also an increasing volume of solar. We also have good existing interconnectors. Fifty percent of our energy comes in from the distributed grid and our system copes very well with that.’
A clear plan for the future
‘While our system is not under pressure right now, we do expect more challenges going forward related to additional renewables production and an increase in electrification, most notably from electric vehicles and combined heat and power. We expect to see the impact from these changes perhaps five years from now and so we have been planning for them for a while now’
In 2014, the Danish TSO, Energinet, began a project to identify how to activate demand response. This was superseded by our own project, part of which is to bring together all players to identify suitable market models and this is where USEF came in.’
Inspired by USEF
‘We were inspired by USEF’s existing models, which could be applied fairly easily to the Danish market. We also liked USEF’s balancing philosophies and the fact that their models were pan-European. As well as providing a common standard, USEF has also helped to provide a common language which helps everyone involved in the future energy system to communicate more effectively.’
‘Perhaps the greatest benefit of adopting USEF was actually unforeseen at the beginning. Naturally, our focus was primarily on the Danish and wider Nordic markets. While that work was underway, the European Commission released its Clean Energy Package. As USEF’s models are compliant with those measures, by nature of adopting USEF, so are we and we are therefore ahead of the game in that respect.’
My hope for the future
‘My personal hope for the future is the development of infrastructure that utilises smart energy and focuses on a solution – maximising flexibility, rather than a problem – increased consumption requiring more wires. I would like that system to recognise and benefits humans, by putting consumers at its heart, making it OK for them to use electricity as long as it’s green, and, like other stakeholders, to financially reward them for their positive participation. I believe these things are easily within reach.’
2018 – a formative year for the Aggregator
‘While integrating consumers into the system will take slightly longer, I hope that 2018 will be a formative year which accelerates the insertion of the Aggregator into the market. The EU’s adjusted Clean Energy Package certainly has the potential to make this happen in a fair way.’