Smart grids are crucial to being able to safely feed an increasing share of power generated from renewable sources into the network. E.ON has initiated a number of projects to explore the potential of these smart grids. The German Harz region is home to a rich collection of renewable sources ranging from wind farms and solar arrays to a hydroelectric power plant. These conditions are ideal for promoting the use of renewables. The projects “Regenerative Modellregion Harz” and “Harz.EEmobility” center on the issue of harmonizing the supply of green power, which is very much dependent on weather conditions, with demand. This includes finding incentives for customers to consume energy at other times than is currently the case. But storage is also a focus area.

E.ON is installing about 600 so-called load profile meters at plant operators and customers in the immediate vicinity of the Seebach transformation station in southern Germany. Meters transmit consumption data such as current strength, loads and supply or demand in real time. This provides E.ON with exact data on grid loads in regions where a lot of power is being fed into the network from photovoltaic arrays. Load profile data is also being recorded meticulously near the capital Berlin. The objective in this case is to measure the amount and fluctuation in wind energy being fed into the grid.

Feeding renewable power into the network causes voltage fluctuations. In a pilot project in the industrial region around Paderborn, Germany, E.ON is equipping conventional local transformer stations with smart, remote technology. Stations are then to be operated in a largely remote controlled process and voltage fluctuations minimized. In northern Germany, households are being converted into so-called smart homes. This involves the installation of cutting-edge technology such as photovoltaic arrays, air conditioning, modern lighting systems and smart meters. Residents will also drive electric vehicles, which will then store energy. E.ON is already creating the conditions today, which will be rolled out nationwide in years to come, and can analyze the impact on grid operations.