Challenge
Fresh Park Venlo aspires to be as self-sufficient in energy as possible. An obvious investment is the installation of additional solar energy. Unfortunately, there is no space for supplemental feed-in in the short term, as the grid in the area is congested. The challenge is to relieve the congestion problem in the short term and find and introduce solutions to meet the longer-term goals of Fresh Park Venlo and its owner, Hines. Spectral has been involved in finding solutions since October 2022. We are currently gathering all the data and insights needed to define appropriate solutions. An essential part of this search is to find opportunities to increase self-consumption at the business park level. A very promising feature of this area is the large cooling and freezing plants, as their demand largely coincides with solar production.
Approach
This is a Grid Edge Consulting project. With a congestion challenge like this, we take an approach that has been proven in the field. Together with Hines & Enexis, we conduct a thorough investigation of the local situation. We gather all relevant information such as consumption patterns, production patterns, reports on congestion, planned (grid) expansions, the type of sites, their synergies and more. With this input, we identify and compare the mismatch between supply and demand at the building and business park level with the given capacity constraints. From there, we can evaluate different solutions, create scenarios, and thus test the feasibility and profitability of each solution.
Outcome
With this project, Hines & Fresh Park Venlo aim to solve the congestion hurdle. This is the first step to becoming a business park where energy is shared locally and traffic congestion is avoided. The goal is to fully power the site to enable sustainable operations. This is a key project for Hines and its funds that will also contribute to its net-zero carbon goals. This project is ongoing and the outcome is still pending.
