Smart energy sharing prevents grid congestion at Schiphol Trade Park

Sixteen companies on four power grid connections: is that possible? Yes, says sustainability manager Jan Jaap Blüm at Schiphol Area Development Company (SADC). Jan Jaap is area coordinator of Schiphol Trade Park, the most sustainable logistics business park in the world. You won't find concrete skyscrapers and dreary asphalt roads here; you will find flower meadows, mini climate forests and picking gardens.

“When you think of a green working environment, you don't immediately think of an airport,” Jan Jaap begins, “But the land around Schiphol is actually suitable for ecological area development.”

Anyone driving past the vacant, neglected site in the late 1980s could not have imagined what a special initiative would emerge here. The province of North Holland, the municipalities of Haarlemmermeer and Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport joined forces at the time for an ambitious plan: strengthening the international business climate and sustainably developing the airport environment.

From vision to reality
To realize the plan, SADC was founded, with the main task: to develop the greenest business park in the world. The organization came up with a unique ecological business vision, in which nature plays a full role stakeholder is represented by ecologists and nature organizations.

“Everything revolves around promoting a sustainable living environment that is attractive to people and animals,” Jan Jaap explains. “Biodiversity is central: local flora and fauna are given plenty of space. This even goes so far that the area has more plant and animal species after the development than before.”

Grid congestion? No problem
Green energy is an important prerequisite within the ecological vision. During his presentation At the Power Electronics & Energy Storage event Jan Jaap explains how this works. “Schiphol Trade Park is the only work location in the Randstad without grid congestion. We use an innovative virtual network with which sixteen companies jointly share the transport capacity of four connections. A first in the Netherlands.”

“Smart software and dashboards continuously monitor the energy needs of all connected parties,” he continues. “Based on real time data we match supply and demand. This creates an even power consumption and prevents peak loads with possible grid congestion as a result. There is even room for expansions in the future.”

Energy under control
All companies are affiliated with the Energy Cooperative Schiphol Trade Park (Ecos) and generate their own energy with solar panels. Jan Jaap: “We divide the free energy space of 3.8 Megawatt among ourselves, so that each company has sufficient capacity. We store surpluses in batteries for later use, to limit return delivery. Agreements have been made about this with the grid operator. As a back-up, there are a few gas generators in the area, so that we also remain within the Liander limit values in emergencies. In this way, we keep everything well under control.”

Highest certification
The efforts have not gone unnoticed, because the business park has had the highest BREEAM-NL area certification for years ('outstanding'). This means that Schiphol Trade Park can call itself the most sustainable logistics business park in the world. Jan Jaap attributes the success to the unanimity of the participating parties. “Everyone is on the same page. That is a strict condition for being able to participate in this initiative. Everyone sees the advantages of a sustainable environment.”

And those benefits are great, especially in the long term. Jan Jaap: “A green working environment increases employee satisfaction and productivity, strengthens your company’s reputation and contributes to the European reporting obligation for sustainability.”

Smarter together
“As soon as companies understand the benefits of energy sharing, they want to participate,” Jan Jaap continues. “That initially requires a lot of effort, but perseverance pays off. It was more difficult to make an appointment with the grid operators and to get the regulator ACM on board with the plans. Something like that had never been done before. In the end, Liander agreed with our vision. The site now has the predicate pilot. That gives us the space to experiment and deviate from the beaten track. For example, we now determine ourselves how we use the contracted transport capacity – instead of Liander. The collective takes responsibility for this.”

“If you organize the boundary conditions well, it is perfectly possible to set aside individual interests and to create added value for nature and people together,” Jan Jaap concludes his story. “And that literally and figuratively gives positive energy.”

Come to the lecture
Are you curious about Jan Jaap's lecture and the learning experience of Schiphol Trade Park? Then register for the PE&ES event free of charge and be inspired by this sustainable leader.

Photo: SADC / © The Flying Dutchmen