Smart
Capital
Region
2.0

Smart energy from the north-east of Germany

Intro

Energy Transition

The driving force of our project is the transformation process initiated by the "German Energiewende" which aims to lead our current energy system based on fossil fuels towards a sustainable system relying on renewable energy sources.

It is against this backdrop, where politics, economy and science come together, that we are working on solutions for the "energy supply of the future".

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Heinrich Böll Foundation
National Geographic

Climate Protection

The goal of the Climate Action Plan 2050 adopted in 2016 is to achieve global greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. The medium-term target is to cut greenhouse gas emissions in Germany by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Restructuring the energy sector is a key aspect of the plan. In this sector emissions must be reduced by 61 percent in 2030 in comparison to the level in 1990 by means of further expansion of renewable energies and accompanying decrease of conventional energy capacities. These target figures are flanked by renewable energies expansion goals that should constitute 55-60 percent of gross elecrticity consumption by 2035. (Source)

2025

According to current numbers 31,7 percent of german gross electricity consumption in 2016 came from renewable energies. Since the introduction of Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) in 2000 its share increased from ca. 6 percent by 25,7 percent points. By 2025 the share must be increased up to 40-45 percent. (Source)

Fact!

In some of the grid areas in Brandenburg the amount of energy coming from renewable sources already accounts for over 100 percent. However, this doesn’t lead to a full supply but to days with extreme regenerative overproduction and to days when no ‘green energy‘ is generated at all. The task of balancing an increasing energy supply from renewable – weather dependent – sources with a fluctuating demand, becomes more complex, thus creating new challenges for the energy distribution network.

In the last 20 years

the amount of regenerative power generation has increased rapidly. In 2014, it accounted for 27,4 percent of the gross electricity consumption in Germany. The development of these renewable generation capacities took place very differently, depending on the region. It was also undertaken isolated from the local energy consumption and regardless of the transmission capacities of the grids.

Nearly every day

conventional and regenerative generators in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have to be slowed or even shut down ("forced interventions") in order to stabilize and relieve the local grids. This is caused by high regenerative feed-ins on one hand and low consumption on the other.

Just a few seconds

normally remain for the personnel at the grid control center to decide if, when and where conventional and regenerative generators have to be slowed or even shut down. The worst-case scenario involves a black-out.

Solution Smart Grid?

A so-called “smart grid” is formed by improving conventional grid infrastructure with an innovative information and communication technology. With the help of a smart grid, it is possible to manage a growing amount of decentralized power generators, storages and consumers. Smart Grids and Meters (EU Comission)

Project Details

What we do

In our project we investigate the impacts of a growing amount of regenerative generation, storages and flexible loads for electricity, heat, gas and electro mobility within Smart Grid. The project is conducted at the BTU Central Campus.


Project Letter SCR 2.0 (PDF)
Fact Sheet SCR2.0 (PDF)

Our smart grid...

...is located on the central campus of the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) Cottbus-Senftenberg in Cottbus. A photovoltaic station and a combined heat and power plant (CHP) are used as generators within the smart grid. A stationary batter, several e-cars, a Power-to-Heat (P2H) and a Power-to-Gas (P2G) installation serve as controllable loads. Detailed info on smart grid (PDF)

Part of a nationwide strategy

2016: Funding programme "Smart Energy Showcases - Digital Agenda for the Energy Transition" (SINTEG) has received grants from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The five selected showcase regions aim to develop and demonstrate model solutions that can deliver a secure, efficient and environmentally compatible energy supply with electricity being generated to a large extent from renewable energies. The solutions developed are then to be rolled out on a wider scale. The project makes an important contribution to moving forward the digital transformation and the energy transition.

WindNODE is one of the five selected showcase regions which incorporates SCR 2.0. WindNODE aims to efficiently combine renewable energy generation, electricity grids and energy users through digital networking. This model region spans five eastern German states plus Berlin.


SINTEG
WindNODE

We are charging bidirectional!

Bidirectional charging means that vehicles are capable of feeding energy back into the grid if needed. By doing so, they turn into ‘rolling energy storages‘. With our present technology we successfully have demonstrated this important stage concerning the evolution of electro mobility, thus positioning ourselves within this field of research.

Visitor venues

BIENe: Our smart grid is set up in close proximity to our ‘Visitor Center Smart Energy Grids‘ (German short version ‘BIENe‘). People who are interested in our work can explore its different components by following an interactive ‘tour of signs‘ that is set up around BIENe. Visits are possible upon arrangement.

PSS: Power System Simulator!

PSS: Power System Simulator is a simultenous network control system with modular grid calculation for continuous illustration of physical network activities. Visits are possible upon arrangement.

Visions

Electro mobility in Germany

“In the next years we will see a slowly but growing number of plug-in hybrids on Germanys roads. The routes that can be covered by electric drive will also increase up to 60 km. The main car manufacturers already sell battery-electric vehicles with a slowly increasing battery capacity. Different concept cars have been introduced with battery capacities that range from 350 to 500 km. These cars will be available in the upcoming years.”


Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Schwarz

Energy distribution in Germany

„An enormous expansion und modification of the power grids has become necessary but due to local resistance this process is only very slowly moving forward. A growing amount of cabling is economically disadvantageous due to its high costs. From a ‘power supply operational‘-point of view, it also has to be considered difficult. However, regenerative generation will grow further and will keep on increasing beyond the peak load. Conventional generation will be continuingly forced out of the market but has to be kept connected to the grid in order to serve as a ‘spare capacity‘ in times with no regenerative feed-ins. This ‘stand-by-modus‘ is to be financed through the electricity price itself.”


Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Schwarz

Energy region Brandenburg

„From an academic perspective Brandenburg serves as an excellent ‘real-time laboratory‘ to research the interactions of different players in the energy sector. It’s a state in which conventional and regenerative generation are equally high. To add to that, the amount of regenerative energy in its grids already covers 100 percent of the power consumption. Around here we are facing a situation of what reality will look like in the rest of Germany in about 30 years from now.”


Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Schwarz

Beyond SCR

“As part of the ‘Berlin-Brandenburg National Showcase for Electromobility‘, SCR has contributed to research the future situation within the last three years. The projects topic will be further developed and thus will continue as part of the program ‘Showcase Smart Energy – Digital Agenda for the Energy Transition” of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy until 2020.”


Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Schwarz

Team

Prof. Dr.-Ing Harald Schwarz

Chair Holder & Project Leader

T: 0355/ 69-4502
E: harald.schwarz@b-tu.de

Dipl.-Ing. Bastian Garnitz

Project Manager

T: 0355 / 69-5578
E: bastian.garnitz@b-tu.de

M.A. Khrystyna Shakhmatova

Stakeholder-Dialogue & Results Transfer in AP3

T: 0355 / 69-4044
E: shakhmatova@b-tu.de


Dipl.-Ing. Enrico Jende

Thermal Installations

T: 0355 / 69-5576
E: enrico.jende@b-tu.de

M. Sc. Yang Li

Network Operator Data

T: 0355 / 69-5575
E: liyang@b-tu.de

M.Sc. Marcel Kaßner

Micro Grid

T: 0355 / 69-5574
E: marcel.kassner@b-tu.de

SCR 2.0 is undertaken at the Chair of Energy Distribution and High Voltage Engineering at the Brandenburg University of Applied Science Cottbus-Senftenberg. The project is mainly supported by the staff of the chair, especially by Dipl.-Ing. Dirk Lehmann, Dr.-Ing. Klaus Pfeiffer, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Lothar Kleinod and Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Holger Häusler.

Media

Smart Grid Tour

This tour of our 'Test Field Smart Energy Grids' offers detailed information concerning each smart grid component. (PDF)

Publications

Article in an international journal "Frontiers of Energy" February 2017

Press Kit


Project Letter SCR 2.0 (PDF)
Fact Sheet SCR2.0 (PDF)

Partner

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