The Horizon Europe research and innovation project CREATORS, which is offering sites across Europe early access to testing the future of dependable, net-zero local energy management – the community energy system. Selected sites will gain access to a free pre-feasibility study conducted by the EU-funded initiative to test whether an energy community could be a revenue-generating competitive advantage for their site. The open call closes on the 9th December.
To help site operators take a zero-cost first step towards a dependable, net-zero local smart grid, the Horizon Europe project CREATORS is offering a free pre-feasibility study on the setup of a Community Energy System.
The pre-feasibility study includes a technical assessment of renewable generation and consumption using a Digital Twin of your site, alongside economic and governance analysis.
The open call closes on the 9th December, and the CREATORS consortium are available to support your application if needed.
Why a Community Energy System?
Powering your site through local renewable assets is becoming a cost-effective and practical option for residential and industrial sites across Europe. But if sites want a net zero local energy supply that is dependable, grid-optimised and revenue-generating, local energy management is needed.
Unmanaged local assets – the case for an estimated 95% of solar inverters in Europe – constantly pump the maximum power they produce back to the grid. Not only do sites lose potential revenue from this mismanagement, but congestion in the grid can cause expensive damage to infrastructure. This problem scales with the amount of local generation, meaning that the more capacity installed on-site, the greater the risk for damage and disruption to energy supply.
To advance the state of the art for on-site energy management – which can generate revenue for site operators, reduce infrastructure damage and offer a competitive advantage in an electrifying world – the CREATORS consortium is developing the state of the art in Community Energy Systems.
A Community Energy System connects on-site generation into a coordinated system which links generation assets and consumption points on a site into a smart grid. Power can be directed around consumption points to maximise self-consumption and decrease dependence on selling excess energy back to the grid.
Understand how CES can transform your energy management with a free pre-feasibility study
It can be difficult for site operators to evaluate the value of the CES model for the specifics of their site. So to help site operators assess the precise value that a community energy system could generate for their energy management, the Horizon Europe project CREATORS, led by the Cordeel Group, is offering a free pre-feasibility study to sites who want to coordinate their local renewable assets.
The chosen sites will join 4 other sites – located in Barcelona, Lisbon and two further sites in Slovenia selected in a previous round of applications. The pre-feasibility study will replicate the findings of the CREATORS pilot sites in the Port of Barcelona, SIJ Acroni steel plant in Slovenia, a residential housing block in Tartu, Estonia, and Cordeel’s headquarters in Temse, Belgium.
Across the course of 2023 – 2024, participants will receive:
- A technical assessment of the generation and consumption assets, analysis of the energy flows within the community, and recommendations for the most suitable generation sources
- An economic assessment of the viability of the community as well as overview of funding options
- A governance analysis and guidance on the suitable legal forms and roles within the community
Sites can check their eligibility for a pre-feasibility study using CREATORS Maturity Self-Assessment tool. Sites that need further guidance can contact the CREATORS consortium for advice here.
What can a Community Energy System do for your site?
Port of Barcelona, a pilot site in the CREATORS project, shows sites what is possible with a community energy system.
The Port has invested in a sophisticated solar-powered energy community for its resident businesses. Connecting a chain of production and consumption sites, including its on-site fish market, fisherman’s huts, and ice factory, clusters of solar panels will generate electricity which will be routed around the site to promote self-consumption.
The Port’s fish market will have higher energy requirements during trading hours, meaning production sites will route power there during peak hours. The on-site ice factory will be equipped with Energy Management Software to shift its energy consumption when sunny spells lead to peak generation.
The Port aims for its collective self-consumption to reach 80%, minimizing dependence on the external grid and sheltering the Port from energy market fluctuations. Excess energy will be stored in an on-site battery to manage loads and optimize the opportunity to sell back to the grid or receive a discount on future energy bills.
Through the CREATORS project, the Port has already connected 29.5 kWp of coordinated capacity into their new smart grid through smart meters and gateways. This includes the recent installation of 29.5 kWp of flexible PV panels onto the site’s fisherman’s huts and the installation of three 20kWh batteries for energy storage.
Sites chosen in the open call will benefit from the learnings gathered in the Port of Barcelona and the project’s other pilot sites around Europe.
Apply to the open call by 9th December
To gain early access to the future of local energy management, sign up for the Open Call here before the 9th December.
