· With the awarded capacity, Enel will hold 40% of the total demand response market in Ireland
Rome and Boston, January 30th, 2018 – Enel’s new advanced energy services division Enel X, through its US demand response services company EnerNOC, Inc., was awarded the delivery of 217 MW of demand response resources following the completion of Ireland’s first capacity market auction launched by the Transmission System Operators[1] (TSOs) of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
As a result of this award, Enel will hold 40% of the overall demand response market in Ireland. The total size of Enel’s virtual power plant in the Irish market is expected to grow by 60% year-over-year to the awarded 217 MW, from the current 136 MW, when the new capacity market starts at the end of May 2018.
Through the award, Enel will manage electricity demand from large industrial and commercial customers connected to the Irish transmission grid, informing those companies when the network needs them to reduce or increase their power consumption, with the aim to enhance grid stability.
“We are thrilled to secure the largest demand response market position in Ireland’s first-ever capacity auction,” said Francesco Venturini, Head of Enel X. “This market is going through a rapid transformation while adapting to the EU electricity system and our strong track record of delivering a wide variety of demand response products and grid services puts us in a unique position to help our Irish customers address this change and secure the most value from their participation in the demand response programme.”
Demand response programmes are set up to pay large energy consumers, such as manufacturing facilities, data centres, and commercial real estate companies, to adjust their energy consumption by either reducing or increasing their power consumption, with the aim to stabilise the grid. Demand response provides greater grid flexibility, stability, and more efficient use of power infrastructure, with a view to help maintain electricity prices as low as possible for all consumers. This demand response programme pays users year round for being on standby ready to respond in the event of a grid emergency, as well as providing incremental payments if and when they are dispatched.
This recent tender is Ireland’s first capacity market auction, although demand response programmes were already in place in the country, with Enel already managing demand response capacity through EnerNOC. The capacity market was launched in response to the EU Target Model for Electricity Integration, which is designed to integrate the electricity market of Ireland and the rest of Europe under a new wholesale market arrangement, the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM). The capacity awarded under the auction will be used on the I-SEM to create more opportunities for dynamic transactions and trading, to facilitate more integration of renewables onto the system, and ultimately, to drive more efficient wholesale electricity pricing across the region. These market changes are expected to benefit the Irish electricity sector as a whole in terms of network stability and revenue generation for customers, while Enel will help its Irish demand response customers maximise the value they can achieve through participating in this new market opportunity.
In addition to the launch of the capacity auction, EirGrid also plans to continue to introduce more demand response opportunities to support its effort to deliver 40% of Ireland’s generation from renewable resources.
EnerNOC, an Enel Group Company, partners with enterprises to reduce costs, manage risks, increase sustainability, and maximise the value of emerging energy technologies through customised energy management strategies. EnerNOC is the global leader in demand-side flexibility services, providing large energy users access to more demand response and demand management programmes worldwide than any other provider. In addition to its flexibility solutions, EnerNOC’s technology-enabled advisory solutions help large energy users create value through strategic energy procurement, energy management, and utility bill management software as well as services. For more information on how to join EnerNOC’s demand response network and begin earning payments for your flexibility, please visit www.enernoc.com/ireland.
Enel X is a new Enel global business line dedicated to developing innovative products and digital solutions in sectors in which energy is showing the greatest potential for transformation: cities, homes, industries and electric mobility.
Enel is a multinational power company and a leading integrated player in the global, power, gas and renewables markets. It is Europe’s largest utility in terms of market capitalisation and figures among Europe’s leading power companies in terms of installed capacity and reported EBITDA. The Group is present in over 30 countries worldwide, producing energy with around 86 GW of managed capacity. Enel distributes electricity and gas through a network of over 2 million kilometers, and with over 65 million business and household customers globally, the Group has the largest customer base among European competitors. Enel’s renewables arm Enel Green Power already manages around 40 GW of wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydropower plants in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and has recently arrived in Australia.
[1] EirGrid plc, transmission system operator of the Republic of Ireland, and SONI Limited, transmission system operator of Northern Ireland, both part of the EirGrid Group.