“There are two solutions to the changes and challenges facing the electricity market: innovation and business development. We are proud to be partnering up with Nord Pool in developing the power exchange of the future. New technology will solve tomorrow’s energy challenges by enabling us to use our existing resources more intelligently. We believe that the key to future power systems is flexibility, and we have already developed a working concept together with Microsoft. We see the need for a new marketplace that puts a value on flexibility, regardless of where in the system it is found. Its leading expertise on developing and managing a marketplace made Nord Pool a natural partner for us”, says Agder Energi’s CEO Tom Nysted.
Erling Thiis, Acting CEO of Nord Pool, continues: "As Europe's leading power market Nord Pool is proud to be working in partnership with the industry experts at Agder Energi to help bridging the gap between current wholesale power markets and local flexibility markets. Through its pilot project Agder Energi has developed a proof-of-concept that works. This is the start of a solution that we strongly believe will address the challenges seen with an increasingly decentralised power sector - where local power production and consumer flexibility need to work efficiently together. Nord Pool has 25 years of power market experience built on offering flexibility, transparency, innovation, greater choice and participation to our customers. These important principles are also at the core of this project with Agder Energi.
Quick facts about the project:
New technology makes it possible to connect entities at different levels of the power system. A digital platform based on cloud technology can use advanced analytics and machine learning to optimise our existing resources. In order to exploit available flexibility, we need a new transparent and independent marketplace, capable of providing a link between supply and demand and performing transactions in real time. Using available flexibility can offer an alternative to investing in grid. It also creates opportunities for customers by providing new services and enables greater integration of renewable energy. A flexibility market is therefore, in our view, an important contribution to Europe’s green transition. The goal of the project is to create a transparent marketplace open to all potential market participants.
About Agder Energi
Agder Energi is Norway’s third largest energy group in terms of hydroelectric production. The group’s 49 wholly and partly-owned power stations produce around 8.1 TWh of renewable energy on an annual basis.
Agder Energi is a vertically integrated energy company, with operations in the whole value chain from production to distribution and sales of electricity. In recent years Agder Energi has also invested in assets in Germany and the Nordics, and have a regulatory division in Brussels.
Agder Energi is owned by the 30 Agder municipalities (54.5%) and Statkraft Industrial Holding AS (45.5%). The company’s head office is based in Kristiansand
About Nord Pool
Nord Pool, Europe’s leading power market, delivers efficient, simple and secure trading across Europe. The company offers day-ahead and intraday trading, clearing and settlement to customers regardless of size or location. Today 380 companies from 20 countries trade on Nord Pool’s markets.
Nord Pool operates markets in the Nordic and Baltic regions, Germany and the UK, and is a Nominated Electricity Market Operator (NEMO) in 15 European countries, while also servicing power markets in Croatia and Bulgaria. In 2016 Nord Pool had a total turnover of 505 TWh traded power. The company has offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, London and Berlin.
Lysaker, 21 December 2017
For further information, please contact:
Frank Håland, Business Area Director for Operations in Agder Energi: +47 990 92 776, frank.haland@ae.no
Stina Johansen, Director Communications Nord Pool: +47 916 50 603, stina.johansen@nordpoolgroup.com