“The Netherlands is experiencing growing pains. We’re making great progress in the energy transition, but challenges remain. Many companies and producers of renewable energy are facing grid congestion as the system reaches its limits. This calls for new ways of collaboration and for smart use of flexibility,” says Len Wismeyer, Senior Business Developer at Next Kraftwerke.
As a virtual power plant, Next Kraftwerke controls over 15,000 assets across Europe — from solar and wind farms to industrial processes in sectors such as chemistry, waste processing and food production. The mission remains the same: to maximise value for customers by using their flexibility smartly across all markets. All assets in the portfolio can be controlled remotely. “This enables us to offer an integrated solution: trading, balancing and congestion services from a single platform. Congestion services are the key to achieving green ambitions. They’re no longer optional, but increasingly a prerequisite to help our customers realise their plans,” Wismeyer explains.
In congestion areas, Next Kraftwerke performs CBCs, Redispatch and ATRs on behalf of its customers. This helps them continue to grow, become more sustainable, and comply with all grid requirements. Wismeyer continues: “GOPACS is an important link in enabling congestion services for us. The steps towards harmonisation, for instance in matching auction platforms and congestion products, are crucial to make flexible capacity more accessible and efficient. An effective congestion management system requires clear, consistent and fair rules. We see that customers are increasingly asked to contribute to transport scarcity. This sometimes creates friction in their operational processes, or even in their business model.”
According to Wismeyer, strong collaboration is essential. “We work closely with GOPACS and the grid operators and we see important progress in harmonisation and product development. But there are also opportunities to further improve the system. Our customers don’t have direct contact with GOPACS; we fully take on that role for them. From that hands-on perspective, we’re missing one thing: GOPACS should have the actual mandate to act on behalf of all grid operators. That would be a major accelerator.”
That acceleration is much needed, Wismeyer emphasises. “When we have questions for individual grid operators, it’s often complex to address them to the right place. Moreover, it usually takes quite some time to get a response. In our view, contracting congestion services should be possible directly via GOPACS, instead of through separate discussions with different grid operators.” A central point of access would reduce complexity and ease the burden for both companies and grid operators.
Wismeyer is clear about what the ideal scenario should look like. He envisions GOPACS evolving into an agile “speedboat” that, regardless of organisational differences between grid operators, focuses on one core mission: relieving grid congestion. Such a single entry point would make the integration of flexibility both simpler and more effective. “Ultimately, everything for us revolves around one principle: working for the customer. They decide what happens with their asset; we advise where the most value can be created and execute accordingly. Congestion services are increasingly part of that — but they require clear rules and timely coordination. So know who your customer is, understand how they earn their money, and step into their world. Because only when you understand their processes can you see where and how value is created. With that understanding, we can jointly build a congestion management system that truly works — for both customers and grid operators.”
