| Transmission & distribution


Huge growth in ancillary service needs in Denmark


Meanwhile, in Denmark, there is a growing need for ancillary services to balance the grid. Towards 2040, Energinet expects the need for ancillary services to increase by approximately 150%. A new report highlights this, prompting a search for flexible megawatts to balance the future power system.


Reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar farms, combined with fewer conventional thermal power plants, makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the balance between electricity consumption and production. Energinet therefore anticipates that the need for ancillary services to balance the power grid will grow significantly in the coming years. “We will need substantially more megawatts for ancillary services in the future power system. By 2030, we’ll be heavily reliant on fluctuating renewable energy sources. This will challenge security of supply,” says Thomas Dalgas Fechtenburg, Senior Manager at Energinet. Energinet has just published a report, Outlook for ancillary services 2024-2040, which projects Energinet’s ancillary services needs towards 2040. Energinet says these projections provide its best estimates for ancillary grid services requirements in a still greener energy system where solar and wind create larger fluctuations in electricity production, and where electricity consumption is expected to increase as heat pumps, electric cars, etc, replace fossil fuels. Thomas Dalgas Fechtenburg says he and his Energinet colleagues “have a solution to restore and maintain the balance in the power system, ensuring a stable and secure supply on a calm, frosty January weekday as well as on a windy, sunny July afternoon.


“We need everyone with flexible electricity production or consumption to participate. Energinet can guide and support you through


Energinet’s growing need for ancillary services (summed average procurement across all ancillary services) (Image: Energinet)


market entry. But it’s essential that everyone contributes to the green transition and makes their flexible megawatts available. Every megawatt counts, and companies providing ancillary services to Energinet will gain on both the financial and green bottom line,” he notes, emphasising that ancillary service providers can profit from helping to keep the power grid balanced.


Also, he stresses that it is not just “classic” market players like power plants that can provide ancillary services. “Electric vehicles, supermarket refrigeration, greenhouses, and various industries can also contribute. The possibilities are vast, and Energinet hopes that many will see the potential to get involved.”


Fortunately, more and more companies recognise the economic benefits of flexibility in


their electricity production and consumption. However, the ancillary service markets are far from saturated, notes Energinet.


Synchronous condensers for Brazil Brazil is also grappling with the problem of accommodating a growing share of fluctuating renewables on its grid and Andritz reports that it is helping to enhance Brazilian grid stability by supplying synchronous condensers. New regulatory requirements and a cleaner, more diversified energy mix pose new challenges for grid operators tasked with maintaining a stable power supply, the company says, noting that synchronous condensers have positioned themselves as a reliable, proven, cost-effective and smart solution for these issues, and are bolstering grid resilience, “which is negatively impacted by wind and solar power plants worldwide.”


Specifically, Andritz has signed two contracts to supply new synchronous condenser systems to Brazil, with both projects including the supply of a 330 MVAr machine. “The installation of these systems is an important step towards balancing and stabilising the Brazilian power system,” says Andritz, “improving its efficiency, and ensuring a more reliable power supply for the future.” One of the synchronous condensers will support the transmission lines between Bahia and Minas Gerais, and the other will support the Ceará Crateús region.


Sérgio Gomes, Sales Director of Andritz Hydropower in Brazil, said the existence of the Andritz manufacturing hub in Araraquara, São Paulo, played a central role in the winning of these contracts thanks to its ability to produce “high-quality synchronous condensers that meet the demanding requirements of modern power grids.”


Manufacturing of synchronous condensers at the Andritz facility in Araraquara, Brazil (photo: Andritz)


The Andritz scope of supply, as well as the two 330 MVAr synchronous condensers, includes mechanical and electrical auxiliaries, automation, protection, step-up transformer, field assembly services, and commissioning.


www.modernpowersystems.com | March 2025 | 29


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