VDMA: Decentralized energy supply poised for growth spurt

According to the findings of the new VDMA ‘Strommix’ study, the share of decentralized engine systems in electricity generation in the EU will grow from 5.7 percent in 2007 to 6.7 percent in 2020 and to 9.3 percent in 2030. "The new capacities additionally built up to the year 2030 will amount to around 78 gigawatt. This corresponds to an investment sum of approximately Euro 60 billion, i.e. about Euro 3 billion a year will be invested in the EU 27", stressed Thorsten Herdan, Managing Director VDMA Power Systems, during the opening press conference at BioEnergy Decentral and EUROTIER, both being held in Hanover from 16 to 19 November 2010.
 
"The main drivers of this development are the perceptibly growing sector of biogas plants as well as the natural gas market that has almost doubled", says Herdan. He added that the replacement and modernisation of the plants played a major role here. It was not least the distinct improvements in plant engineering efficiency in recent years that had contributed to accelerated replacement of the facilities. BioEnergy Decentral presents an excellent opportunity for obtaining a comprehensive overview of the innovative technologies.
 
Although the German Government's energy concept does not include any clear statements on decentralized energy supply, experts agree that the future of power supply will be more decentralized. The use of renewable and fossil energy sources, primarily in co-generation (heat and power) plants, represents the key pillar of such decentralized supply.
 
By contrast with the operation of large-scale power stations that is today based on prognoses, decentralized facilities can respond very flexibly to deviations in power demand and electricity supply. The growing trend observed among today's electricity users (consumers) to develop into producing users (prosumers) is also reinforcing the demand for decentralized energy supply. Modern small co-generation plants operating on the basis of internal combustion engines, and increasingly often on the basis of fuel cells too, offer the necessary sophisticated technologies for this purpose. "Once the prerequisites for information technology linking of facilities in power distribution grids, also known as "Smart Grids", are created, the growth of decentralized energy supply will probably accelerate further", explained Herdan. The forecast in a study by the international Boston Consulting Group presented in July 2010 lies even well above the figures set out in the VDMA-Strommix study. It predicts a rise in the share of decentralized energy supply in the EU’s installed power station capacity to 40 percent in the year 2020.
 
A further advantage of decentralized solutions is that detailed knowledge of the local demand for power and heat can be included already in planning the construction design. This fundamentally alters the balance of power in the energy market. Municipal energy suppliers, i.e. public utilities, as well as private providers of decentralized concepts hold the key in their hands – in other words direct contact with the consumers and "local knowledge". Moreover in view of the investment requirement for decentralized plants which lies in the range of single-digit million figures, such investments can also be realised under local initiatives.
 
What is frequently still lacking today is understanding among and between the actors, as well as knowledge about the state of the art in technical developments. An event such as BioEnergy Decentral 2010offers an indispensable platform with multi-faceted opportunities for discussions with all actors along the value chain. Taking often widely varying business models within the context of the "marketplace for decentralized energy supply" as examples, the event aims to improve understanding between the actors. If agriculture and forest management increasingly see themselves as "energy farmers" too, they must develop a fundamental understanding of the manner in which energy markets will develop in future. The energy industry too must develop understanding for market nuances in the field of agriculture and forestry if it wants to succeed in realising feasible joint projects. At the end of the day, both markets – the power industry on the one hand and agriculture and forest management on the other – will be facing major challenges in the next few years. If they manage to exploit change as opportunity, both sides can profit from the unavoidable alterations.
 
"In order to support this process, DLG and VDMA have substantially increased their cooperation with VKU, the association of municipal utilities. As a ‘triad for decentralized energy supply’ we shall continue to collaborate in advancing this field", summarised Herdan.