BAD OLDESLOE, Germany,
July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
In late June 2018, a delegation
of US senators, professors and business representatives met with
leading representatives of GDGE (the association of German green
power generators) and Energy2market GmbH (e2m) to discuss the
latest technologies and developments in generating and
trading biogas. Thanks to the energy
transition, Germany has
become a global pioneer in the expansion of decentralised renewable
energy generation from various sources. Therefore, the exchange of
experience focused on joint marketing by cooperatives, as well as
the bundling and controlling of such systems in a virtual power
plant.
With Minnesota being one of the
most agrarian states in the USA,
agriculturally based regenerative sources are at the forefront when
discussing concepts for the transition to renewable energies. In
Germany, biogas today accounts for
almost one quarter of renewable energy generated - making it
indispensable for the energy supply. Professional advice and
support for small generators and farmers - provided, for example,
by GDGE as a cooperative - as well as the optimised control of the
plants and revenue-optimized trading with an aggregator like e2m
facilitated this development. The senators, the representatives of
the US business community as well as of the universities
consequently want to use this tried, tested and highly successful
model to promote the gradual replacement of fossil fuels - and the
reduction of CO2 emissions - in the northern USA.
Moreover, the Minnesota
representatives were very impressed with the technological maturity
of the virtual power plant and the trading capacity: "The high
efficiency which can be achieved with biogas plants is impressive,"
explained Dr Sabine Engel, Director
for International Partnerships, University of
Minnesota. "The combination of GDGE advisory services for
the agricultural sector and the trading and technology expertise of
Energy2market definitely provides revenue-generating momentum for
this type of energy generation. It certainly forms an unparalleled
and very interesting business model."
"As a strong association, we are in a much better position to
promote our common interests," added Martin
Buchholz, member of the board of GDGE. "In particular,
biogas generators who often also operate their agricultural core
business can benefit from the support that a cooperative
offers."
"Energy generation must be profitable." This is the message
which Andreas Keil, managing
director of Energy2market GmbH, focuses on. "Flexibilised - i.e.
remotely controllable - biogas plants are agile generators and,
therefore, provide numerous interesting revenue options on the
energy trading markets. Moreover, in the long run, the energy
transition can only be successful if the investments pay off.
Thanks to our admission to all trading markets, as well as the
innovative concept of the virtual power plant, we can market the
energy generated by the biogas plants almost on an hourly basis
- and optimise revenue as a result."
GDGE eG - the Cooperative of German Green Energy
Producers:
In January 2011, producers of
green energy from all over Germany
came together and founded GDGE eG (the Cooperative of German Green
Energy Producers). As farmers wishing to preserve their autonomy
and independence, the members jointly market the power they produce
from biogas, wind and PV systems - since the cooperative offers
them the strength they need to establish a sound position for
themselves on the power market which is dominated by the large
energy corporations. Moreover, GDGE provides competent counselling
regarding flexible modes of operation and feed-in in line with
demand, in particular for, operators of biogas plants.
Energy2market GmbH:
As an independent power trading company, e2m specialises in
managing and optimising dynamic portfolios as well as marketing the
flexibility of decentralised generation and consumption plants. In
addition, with a marketed generation capacity of more than 3,500
MW, this aggregator is one of the biggest market access service
providers in Germany. The business
focuses on continuous management on the spot and intraday market as
well as the use of existing physical flexibility for position
balancing, as a trading product or a system service (balancing
energy). As the currently largest balancing energy pool provider in
Germany, e2m has the
infrastructure necessary for marketing flexibility as well as
market access to all German and, in part, international trading
markets. Moreover, it also benefits from the long-standing
expertise of its staff.
For a response to questions and photo requests, please
contact:
Dr. Jenny Matthiesen/
Referentin
Genossenschaft Deutscher GrĂ¼n-Energie
Erzeuger eG
Blumendorf 11
23843 Bad Oldesloe
Schleswig-Holstein
Germany
Phone: 01801-00-32-67
E-mail: info@gdge.org
SOURCE GDGE and Energy2Market