In4Energy is the consortium of corporations and organisations responsible for the implementation of the field trial Slim Net in Duurzaam Lochem. Within several weeks of start-up the citizen’s initiative "LochemEnergie” over 1000 aspiring members joined up to actively cooperate and accelerate the transition to clean renewable energy. By involving the local residents this project does not only consider the production side of energy management, but also specifically considers the demand side and a balance between both. A smart grid contributes to a sustainable Lochem and eventually a sustainable energy supply chain across the globe.
The field trial is mainly funded by the Innovatieprogramma intelligente Netten (IPIN). IPIN strives to accelerate the introduction of smart grids by providing necessary boundary conditions, increasing collaboration between stakeholders on a local and national scale and gathering and spreading knowledge. In 2012 IPIN started twelve field trials for smart grids across the Netherlands, in which research and experiments are conducted in the area of new technologies and ways of collaborating between different stakeholders. Slim Net in Duurzaam Lochem is one of these twelve field trials, in which the corporation with the local residents is a central theme.
The corporation and collaboration of the local residents is of major importance, as the smart grid facilitates two-way traffic of energy both between producer and consumer and consumers amongst themselves. Examples include a household generating energy through photovoltaic (PV) which they feed back into the grid or a farmer producing biogas which is fed back into the gas network. Residents are so called prosumers (producers and consumers combined) and therefor they play a pivotal role in this field trial and the transition to sustainable energy in general.
More info: https://www.in4energy.nl