AVG’s electricity community product is offered throughout the city of Aschaffenburg, with a project launch in a new development area. With the service of enabling prosumers to simply share their self-produced electricity with others, the Aschaffenburg-based energy provider AVG is pushing ahead with its transformation from a pure electricity supplier to an energy service provider. AVG relies on the Community-as-a-Service solution from coneva as the technological backbone of the project.
In detail, each participant in the energy community is a prosumer and has at least one PV system as well as a controllable consumption or storage unit (such as a heat pump, charging station or home storage). AVG also aims to operate a central battery storage (district storage).
2-level energy management system (EMS) locally and at community level as core
A major challenge is the combination of local energy management at the prosumer and central community operation. The modular SaaS solution from coneva connects the individual metering points using the coneva SmartBox Compact, balances the energy data and visualizes it for the participants via a customer-friendly frontend (app).
AVG and coneva implement a local EMS that performs a metering point-related self-consumption optimization based on the controllable consumption or storage unit. Energy surplus from the PV systems of the participants is fed to the community and balanced in the sum of all participants. By using the district storage as well as the controllable consumption and storage units of the participants, this grid-related community is actively optimized and the degree of self-sufficiency increased. Energy surpluses or residual energy demand in individual quarter hours are supplied and billed by AVG. The operation of the community also serves to analyze the effects of the community on the distribution network and on network nodes.
The project’s implementation started on June 1 with the signed cooperation agreements.
The technology service provider coneva has already successfully implemented community and district projects in Germany, the UK and Italy.
“We are delighted to have found a partner in AVG with whom we can implement our software-based decentralized supply approach. With the help of our solutions, we can enable energy suppliers to open up new business areas and actively shape the energy transition in their region,” says coneva CEO Jochen Schneider.
“We have been searching for a long time for a technology partner that is able to support our ideas of a local electricity market and we are glad to have found the right partner in coneva. The feedback from our customers encourages us to be on the right track with our idea. Our local electricity market highlights the real potential of decentralized energy generation, supports the local energy transition, helps customers to manage their energy consumption and allows us to take a further step towards becoming a solution provider,” says AVG Managing Director Roland Ebert.
About coneva
coneva connects private and commercial energy consumers, prosumers and producers and shapes the local energy markets of tomorrow. With our 360° solutions we support them analysing and optimizing decentralized energy supply, energy costs and their ecological footprint. We utilize the benefits of digital connectivity and apply smart technologies and data analytics as the basis of a resource-saving and cost-efficient energy system. coneva GmbH is a subsidiary of SMA Solar Technology AG, a leading global specialist for photovoltaic systems technology.
About Aschaffenburger Versorgungs GmbH
AVG’s guiding principle “Your municipal utility” combines the aspiration to be an economic and regional market leader with community-oriented independence. As a municipal company, AVG is citizen-owned and citizen-oriented – this is reflected in its customer orientation. As a municipal utility, they offer competence, promote the economic power of the region and create secure jobs. Attractive offers that demonstrate competence in price, performance and service are AVG’s strengths. They regard customer trust and satisfaction as their best reference. Investments flow into the provision of public services and not into profit maximization. Performance is based on motivated employees. Communication and information ensure a customer-friendly working atmosphere. AVG: a company of the citizens for the citizens.
