PowerField expands Balancing Service Provider role with aFRR

Greater flexibility for the electricity grid

As BSP, PowerField provides balancing capacity to TenneT. This refers to the ability to temporarily store electricity or feed it back into the grid when supply and demand are not in balance. Through FCR, this response is fully automated and activated when frequency levels suddenly drop or rise, keeping the grid frequency stable at around 50 Hz.

For larger or longer lasting imbalances, aFRR is activated. PowerField then receives a signal from TenneT and adjusts electricity delivery or storage within one minute, allowing the grid balance to be restored gradually.

Eelco Rondhuis, Head of Energy Management at PowerField, explains: “The energy transition is leading to a rapidly growing share of renewable energy on the Dutch electricity grid. This is a positive development, but it also requires flexibility. Electricity supply does not always align precisely with demand. To keep the grid stable and reliable, supply and demand must be continuously balanced. PowerField is playing an increasingly important role in this process.”

Fully automated process

For both FCR and aFRR, PowerField submits automated bids to TenneT indicating how much capacity is available. When TenneT requires capacity, electricity is automatically supplied or stored to maintain balance. The entire bidding process has been fully automated and integrated into PowerField’s operations. An algorithm calculates available capacity, determines an appropriate bid price and completes the bidding process independently.

“Every fifteen minutes, we automatically make our flexibility available to TenneT in order to contribute as effectively as possible to grid stability. Over the past months, we have successfully executed thousands of bids,” says Eelco Rondhuis. “We aim to make optimal use of our solar parks and battery energy storage systems. This allows us to continuously steer on value, flexibility and stability.”

In December, PowerField submitted more than 2,000 aFRR bids, of which over 1,000 were activated by TenneT. During this period, more than 600 megawatt-hours of electricity was automatically delivered or stored to support grid balance.

The addition of aFRR forms an important part of PowerField’s broader strategy to combine solar generation, energy storage and trading in an integrated approach. In this way, PowerField contributes to a reliable, green and future-proof energy supply in the Netherlands.