The two companies have now concluded a technology partnership to offer power supply companies and network operators the necessary technology for implementing virtual power plants.
Within the framework of this operation Siemens will increase the presence of its decentralized energy management system DEMS in the US market because Viridity is combining the system with its own applications so it can offer innovative energy solutions and services in this market.
In a virtual power plant, various distributed power generation systems such as small hydro power plants, wind turbines, photovoltaic systems and biogas plants are combined into a network and controlled as a single power plant. The core element is a decentralized energy management system such as DEMS.
With DEMS, distributed generating plants can be networked into a smart grid and operated economically with less ecological impact. Network solutions from Viridity also offer market players functions that allow them to manage the availability of energy in the grid more effectively.
Viridity offer operators of distributed power generation plants a method of interconnecting their plants and allows optimized operation of controllable loads at large consumers such as universities, industrial companies and public authorities. Using the Siemens DEMS system, Viridity sets up virtual power plants adapted to the specific requirements of the operators.
Energy efficient and ecological solutions for setting up smart grids are part of the Siemens environmental portfolio with which the company earned revenues of nearly EUR19B (US$28.8B) in fiscal 2008, equivalent to about a quarter of Siemens’ total revenue.
