By Vivian Bullinger, Solar-Log GmbH, Product Marketing
01.08.2024 - 3 min reading time
Feed-in management is a key component of energy management. It refers to the control and optimization of the feed-in of renewable energies such as wind and solar into the electricity grid. It now plays a central role worldwide in the integration of renewable energies into the electricity grids. In some countries, it is firmly established and has been proving its worth for several years. Other countries are following suit and adopting some of the regulations and technology that have already been tried and tested.
In Switzerland, feed-in management is regulated by the "Energy Act" and the "Electricity Supply Act". Switzerland pursues the goal of a sustainable and secure energy supply with a high proportion of renewable energies. Grid operators are obliged to purchase renewable energy and ensure grid stability. Particular challenges arise due to the geographical conditions and the strong dependence on hydropower. The expansion of photovoltaics and wind energy places additional demands on feed-in management. Smart grids and flexible consumption controls are becoming increasingly important in order to optimize the load on the grid.
K.R. Pfiffner AG, a Swiss machine manufacturer with high energy consumption, has opted for a photovoltaic system to significantly reduce its ecological footprint. This step improves sustainability, reduces dependence on fossil fuels and strengthens energy resilience.
The specific aim of this project was to make over 60% of K.R. Pfiffner AG's solar power production available for production. The PV system was installed on over 4000 m² of roof area and comprises 1100 kWp. The main objective of the project was to use more than 60% of the solar power generated for production purposes. This in turn leads to a remarkable reduction in electricity costs and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions of 69 tons per year for the next 25 years. The remaining approx. 40 % is marketed directly in accordance with Swiss regulations and thus fed into the public electricity grid. The feed-in control is implemented via telecontrol technology by the Swiss company BKW Energie AG. BKW supplies a gateway that controls the system by command and actively reads values from the Solar-Log controller and transmits them to the control center. The gateway communicates with the BKW control center via IEC protocol and transmits commands and data to the EZA controller via Modbus TCP. The active power of the PV system is controlled by the control center by command, whereas the reactive power is controlled by a Q/U control. Here, the EZA controller measures the voltage and converts voltage changes into inverter commands based on a predefined curve.
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