First virtual power plant operated by Siemens and RWE Energy on line

On October 31, 2008, the first virtual power plant operated by Siemens Energy and RWE Energy came on line. In a first phase nine hydroelectric facilities operated by Lister- und Lennekraftwerke in Sauerland, North Rhine-Westphalia, were integrated in the plant linkup. The capacity of these distributed generating facilities ranges from 150 kW to 1100 kW. The total capacity of all the plants amounts to approximately 8600 kW.

With the virtual power plant sales channels can be utilized which would otherwise not have been available to the operators of the individual facilities. In the linkup the plants can be operated even more efficiently and thus more economically than before – thus providing benefits for the operators of the distributed generating facilities. RWE will also be marketing the electricity generated on the EEX power exchange.

In the virtual power plant distributed energy management and communication with the generating facilities play a special role. By deploying existing products from Siemens Energy’s portfolio such as the distributed energy management system DEMS and the DER (distributed energy resources) controller it was possible to realize the virtual power plant in a very short time: The DEMS is the central feature of the virtual power plant. With this system it is not only possible to implement an intelligent linkup of the distributed generating facilities but also to achieve cost-effective, eco-friendly unit commitment. The DER controller used for communication is specially geared to meet the requirements of distributed generating facilities.

With this pilot project Siemens and RWE Energy will demonstrate the technical and economic viability of virtual power plants and accumulate findings for further possible applications. In the course of the project further distributed generating facilities such as engine-based cogeneration plants, biomass and wind power plants are to be integrated into the linkup. In addition to economic benefits the aim of the coordinated utilization of distributed generating facilities is above all to make a contribution toward the improved market integration of these facilities.

The Siemens Energy Sector is the world’s leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of power and for the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and gas. In fiscal 2007 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had revenues of approximately EUR20.3 billion and received new orders totaling around EUR28.5 billion and posted a profit of EUR1.8 billion. The Energy Sector had a work force of 73,500 at the beginning of fiscal 2008.

RWE Energy is the RWE Group’s sales and grid company for Continental Europe. In a total of 12 regions, including six abroad, RWE Energy offers electricity, gas, water and related services from a one-stop shop. Customers include residential households, commercial operations, business and industrial customers as well as municipal and regional utilities. Supraregional electricity and gas grid operations as well as the storage of gas are handled by independent companies. Together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, RWE Energy supplies 15.5 million customers with electricity and 7.6 million customers with gas. In 2007, sales totalled 168.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 258.0 billion kilowatt-hours of gas. With its 28,323 employees, RWE Energy generated total revenues of € 28.5 billion in 2007, which makes it one of the leading utility companies in Europe.

Siemens AG
Press Office Energy
Alfons Benzinger
Tel. +49 9131/18-7034
Fax: +49 9131/18-7039
mailto:alfons.benzinger@siemens.com
Reference Number: EPD 200810.005 e