The Italian energy company stated that it will increase its virtual power plant by about three times in the Japanese market to 165MW from the present 60MW. After the commencement of new programme will begin this July, the company's market share is expected to 17%.
Through this tender win, Enel will manage electricity demand from large industrial and commercial customers connected to the utilities’ grids and will inform such customers to reduce their power consumption, when the need arises. This is expected to create a balance reserve that will help in stabilising the utilities’ grid.
The tender was part of the country’s market liberalisation effort and a transitional step towards a market for ancillary services, which could be in place by 2020. EnerNOC has been present in Japan since 2013 through a joint venture with Marubeni.
Enel X Head Francesco Venturini said: “This award further secures our growing presence in the demand response market, on the heels of our recent success in Ireland’s first capacity market auction, and confirms us as a leading provider of advanced energy management solutions.
“With this tender, we look forward to providing Japan’s increasingly competitive energy market with our expert service offerings to support a stable power supply in the country.”
In late January, EnerNOC won a contract to deliver 217MW of demand response resources in Ireland. The contract was won during the capacity market auction held by the Transmission System Operators of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Image: Enel to provide electricity demand response in Japan. Photo: Courtesy of Eli Ratner/FreeImages.com.