The Smart Business Area of the Future
: Engie Electrabel, Quares, Intervest and Continental
: € 5,044,033
: € 1,979,841
A feasibility study in 2018 responded positively to two key questions:
- Can the consortium of 4 partners in the Mechelen Noord business area establish a renewable energy community (REG), exchange energy, and guarantee a more stable distribution network?
- Can the storage capacity of electric vehicles, combined with local energy storage, be used as a reliable peak power plant?
The pilot site was launched in early December 2019 to demonstrate that sharing and valorising green energy will increase the penetration of renewable energy sources, reduce the social cost of electrical storage, and avoid network congestion on the distribution network. Mechelen Noord (8.5 ha) has 20 medium-voltage cabins, a peak capacity of 5.2 MW, an annual consumption of 23 GWh, and 3200 parking spaces.
Within the project consortium there is broad enthusiasm to establish an energy community between participating members at Mechelen Campus. Currently, the mapping of their usage profiles in combination with the installation of charging infrastructure is ongoing and solar panels will be connected a subsequent phase.
Simultaneously, a business area in Herentals currently being constructed by Intervest has also shown interest in becoming an energy community. The site also offers a faster transition to placing specific assets, such as solar panels.
A great deal of attention is also paid to the legal completion of these energy communities. To date, there are still a number of legal restrictions concerning energy communities in the region, but involvement with the grid operator, Fluvius, and regulators is helping to come up with an appropriate and working structure.
At present, the installation of the hardware components (digital meters and sensors, PV installations, EV charging points) is being finalised while data capture and processing has already begun.
At a later stage, the energy management system, with the billing system and the business model, will be tested and implemented.
