Independence from huge power stations – a dream that many people have today. But is that possible? Also in Northern Europe, also in Winter, when the sun is weak and the wind not strong enough to blow the turbines? Moreover, in a rural area? “Let’s find out” was the approach of E.ON in Simris, a village in the south of Sweden.
Now the project has been appointed winner by an international jury as a good example of the use of smart power grids in the energy conversion.
The prize was awarded today by Swedish Energy Minister Ibrahim Baylan at the Clean Energy Ministerial Week in Copenhagen, where many of the world's Energy Ministers meet for a three days conference.
Customer demand
This is a clear evidence that we are in to something interesting in this field
“This project was born from a customer demand, and we were more than happy to make it work”, Johan Mörnstam, CEO of E.ON Energy Distribution, explains.
“This clearly shows that our customers appreciate smart solutions that help them to take the energy future into their own hands. We are very proud that the project has won this award.”
“It was a hard competition with projects from around the world. This is a clear evidence that we are into something interesting in this field”
Local energy system
The local energy system in Simris aims to test if it is possible to make a rural village self-reliant with electricity from solar cells and wind power for limited periods of time.
The project includes the balancing of the power demand and production in households. Important technologies are solar cells combined with batteries and smart control devices for heat pumps and water heaters.
The Simris project was initiated in October 2017 and every fifth week, the 150 households in the village are self-reliant for electricity and not connected to the national grid.