The Avermieden grid connection, which allows Novar to act as its own distribution grid operator, will soon connect the first phase of a solar project that should become the largest solar park in the Netherlands.
The Dutch green energy company Novar has created its own grid connection for a solar park in the Netherlands.
The Avermieden grid connection, located in the province of Groningen in the Northern Netherlands, is a closed distribution system (CDS) that functions as a private network.
Sander Daniëls, head of Realization at Novar and project director of Avermeiden, explains pv magazine That work on the project was developed because the local distribution system operator (DSO), the Dutch state-owned company Enexis, did not have the capacity to connect projects that would supply power to the congested medium-voltage network.
Thanks to Avermieden’s CDS, Novar can instead act as its own DSO, by connecting directly to the high-voltage grid of transmission system operator TenneT.
The CDS consists of underground cables and a transformer station. It transports electricity from the connected assets via a 33 kV cable to the transformer station, where it is connected to an 8 km long 220 kV cable that runs from the transformer station to TenneT’s high-voltage substation.
“The power cable itself is designed for 650 MVA, so it can accommodate significantly more than 200 MVA of solar energy,” Daniëls explains, adding that there is capacity in the system to develop a maximum of three transformers in total.
The first phase of the Eekerpolder solar project, totaling 87 MW, will soon be connected to the GDS.
The solar park, a joint collaboration between Novar and Coöperatie Eekerpolder, is spread across the municipalities of Midden-Groningen and Oldambt, with the Avermieden transformer station in the middle. Once completedIt is expected to have a capacity of nearly 200 MW, making it the largest solar project in the country to date.
Its development will take place in three phases, Daniëls said, with each phase of the solar park receiving SDE++ support in a different year of the Dutch sustainable energy scheme. The solar park should be ready next year.
It is planned that battery energy systems will be connected to Avermieden in the future, while other private companies may also have the opportunity to connect to the private electricity grid. According to existing legislation in the Netherlands, no more than 500 users may be connected to the CDS network, including no households.
A statement from Novar explains that CDS Avermieden is designed to ensure that supply and demand are continuously balanced by supplying electricity directly to TenneT when demand is high and storing excess energy in batteries when demand is low.
Daniels said pv magazine that now that the energy transition in the Netherlands is already at an advanced stage, the grid connection also offers innovative solutions for new and persistent challenges.
“This is a great way to offer more advanced products that really fit in with the energy transition,” he says. “Both from an impact perspective and from a financial perspective, you can really try to optimize your assets to ensure that you are protected from all negative business case impacts, such as negative hours blocks.”
During the development of the Avermeiden project, Novar collaborated with the Dutch sustainable energy company Emmett Green, as well as with a wide network of specialized partners.
In September, the Dutch government proposed changes to its Environmental Decree to accelerate the licensing of electricity transmission and distribution projects above 21 kV, with the aim of expanding grid capacity and reducing congestion until 2032.
In addition, Dutch electricity transmission system operator Tennet is investing €13 billion ($15.1 billion) to expand the national high-voltage grid. The plan includes the construction of 40 new high-voltage stations on land in every province.
In January 2019, Tennet and Enexis warned for the first time that there is very limited capacity for more solar energy in the provinces of Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel.
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