Six companies at the Kempisch Bedrijvenpark in Hapert want to generate a lot of power together to relieve the crowded local power grid. With a so-called Energy Hub, the companies want to be much less dependent on the electricity grid and be more sustainable, according to the first plans presented on Friday.
On the west side of Eindhoven and the Kempen, the energy grid continues to squeeze. Since the beginning of this summer, hardly any new companies can be connected to the electricity grid. Major expansion plans have also been shelved since then. In addition, the supply of sustainably generated energy is no longer possible.
Provide each other with green electricity
The cause is the packed high-voltage grid in those areas. Due to the sharp rise in demand for electricity, the grid will reach its maximum capacity much sooner than expected. Expansion will take some time yet: the station in Hapert will only be next in two years’ time.
Reason for these first six large companies from the region and the Kempen municipalities to see if they can help each other out. For example, the companies want to investigate whether and how they can supply each other with green energy.
How does that work then?
Energy hubs are actually local power stations. The energy is generated within a relatively small area and consumed directly in the vicinity. Electricity can also be temporarily stored for when not enough electricity is generated. The energy generated comes, for example, from local solar panels or wind turbines and is therefore green.
An example: Company A consumes a little less electricity, but the factory hall is completely full of solar panels. His neighbor is just producing something, and therefore uses a lot of energy.
The power is then not returned to the grid through such a hub, but goes directly to the neighbour. This prevents the high-voltage grid from being unnecessarily loaded. Or even worse: that the solar panels fail, so that nothing is generated because the grid is overloaded.
Much less dependent
By setting up an electricity hub, the companies therefore want to become less dependent on the high-voltage grid. They also hope that this will enable them to make more use of sustainable energy.
The first six companies that want to participate are VDL Groep, Diffutherm, VGI Groep, The Schippers Group, Van der Heijden Transport and Logistics and Boerboom Hout. The Kempen municipalities, Brainport Development, the province and Enexis are also participating. It is still being examined whether such a local electricity hub is technically possible. The results of that study are expected in the course of next year.
Such an energy hub is not entirely new, incidentally. It is already being tested in the province of Overijssel, among others.