Spectral

Republica Papaverweg is an area development of 15.000 m2 located in Buiksloterham, Amsterdam North, consisting of a large hotel, three residential buildings, two commercial buildings, and a large parking structure. Following a comprehensive feasibility study, which demonstrated a positive business case for the development of a smart microgrid within the project, Spectral successfully acquired the RVO’s Experimenteerregeling, which is a 20 year regulatory exemption for the site. Together with its partner, INNAX, Spectral is responsible for the engineering of an integrated electrical and thermal microgrid, including a WKO (ATES), local renewable energy production sources, EV charging points, large centralized batteries, smart energy management systems, and a private distribution network (for both heat and power). The project is currently reaching the conclusion of the V.O. engineering phase with construction planned to begin in early 2019.

The City of Groningen has an ambitious vision to be energy neutral by 2025, with all the energy used in the city originating from renewable sources. Their goal is to be a powerful example of sustainability to other cities in the Netherlands and part of this vision is the “Energie delen met je buren” (“Sharing energy with your neighbours”) project for which Spectral was selected to implement the technical solution, to advise on the regulatory changes needed to scale the solution and to support the city in getting local communities on board.

Phase 1 involves households (including prosumers) in the Reitdiep neighbourhood, exchanging energy with each other using blockchain as the key supporting technology. In phase 2, this energy exchange will be scaled up to neighbourhood level within Groningen with the Selwerd neighbourhood participating alongside Reitdiep. In the subsequent phases, when the social, economic, regulatory and technical challenges have been addressed, the goal is to scale this sustainable solution to province and, eventually, national level.

Spectral’s technology development incorporates both hardware and software. Our new tamper-proof, small-scale device for writing energy data to the blockchain will be connected with the smart meter in each participating household. Accompanying software will enable the local market for energy transactions which will then be visualised for all participants. In the long term, as the project scales, these local markets will be connected with the wholesale and balancing markets, thereby facilitating a blockchain-enabled platform for a fully-integrated, decentralised energy market.

Spectral was commissioned by INNAX and BAM Energy Systems in order to develop an integral plan for a high performance smart-grid for the Bijlmer Bajes Kwartier development project. The project will consist of more than 1.350 new apartments, several commercial buildings, and a school, amounting to more than 135.000 m2 of newly developed real estate. The energy concept for the area includes local renewable generation systems based on PV, wind, and biogas, large-scale centralized battery systems, smart heat pumps combined with an aquifer thermal storage system, and intelligent coordination of local supply and demand via Spectral’s energy management system (SEMS).

In May 2018, the Triple B consortium, which includes Spectral, LENS, and Ymere, launched a real-world pilot to explore opportunities for empowering local energy communities to take control of their own energy supply and to actively participate in the market. According to Article 16 of the upcoming EU Clean Energy Package, energy communities should be able to: “…own community networks and autonomously manage them [and] to access all organized markets.” With the upcoming regulatory changes, the increasingly important role of energy communities, and the growing demand for sustainable and affordable energy for prosumers, new market mechanisms are required. As a result, Triple B is developing innovative business models that leverage the latest capabilities of smart energy technology to allow energy communities to actively trade on the energy markets, while using shared assets such as PV and batteries to keep their collective supply and demand in balance.

“Blijburg” is a beach complex located in Amsterdam East which consists of two restaurants, a snackbar, and an events space. Spectral was responsible for the design and implementation of an advanced microgrid at Blijburg. As part of the project, Spectral delivered a pre-integrated energy storage system which ensures that all of the solar energy is consumed in-house. Furthermore, Spectral’s energy management system schedules and controls the battery, heat pumps, and the largest appliances in the building in order to manage peak power demand, enabling Blijburg to considerably reduce their demand charges by using a smaller, “kleinverbruikers” grid connection. One of the innovative aspects of the microgrid is the integral VRV heat pump system, which combines space heating, hot water, cooling, refrigeration, and heat recovery ventilation all into one system. Thus, the waste heat from the beer coolers and walk-in refrigerators is used directly for Blijburg’s heating needs, allowing for the highest levels of thermal efficiency possible. Aside from providing a highly positive business case for Blijburg, the project also resulted in more than 65.000 kg in yearly CO2 emissions reductions.