Case Study – OEM – Virtual power plants, Germany

Background:

The German company TBS is a virtual provider of energy that connects various generators throughout Germany to local power grids on the basis of designated contracts.

In order to operate these systems, the company needed real-time monitoring and control systems that enable it to send accurate data at predefined times (every minute, during the first ten seconds of the minute) to the purchasing electric company.

In the initial stage, Exor purchased the hardware from RealiteQ and supplied it to the customer, while TSB purchasing the service and software directly from RealiteQ.

Project Description:

In 2007 RealiteQ was asked to provide a solution to TSB, which at that time was entering the field of virtual power plants, and sought an advanced system for real-time monitoring and control.

The hardware was installed on the various generators and the software interfaced with the generator’s IO models, as well as through the RealiteQ portal and using Reali OPC software (OPC Server program) to their management software, which is connected to the power companies' centers to which the electricity was provided from the generators.

Unique Capabilities:

The distinction of RealiteQ’s solution was its interface with the generator systems via concurrent local and IO communications, connection to external management software via the OPC interface.

This project showcased RealiteQ’s ability to broadcast data in real time, reliably, consistently and with high determination and precision (always in the first 10 seconds of each operating minute) – from a number of different sites at the same time, and through various cellular providers.

Summary and Results:

The system has been operating successfully for a decade, and at its height handled dozens of sites at the same time, depending on how many contracts and active generators TBS had.