Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 03 | Page 56

COUNTRY FOCUS: GERMANY “ WITH THE E.ON SOLARCLOUD, WE ENABLE OUR CUSTOMERS TO CREATE THEIR OWN PERSONAL ENERGY WORLD, FREELY AND COMPLETELY INDEPENDENTLY. “Smart cities are the wave of the future,” said Siemens’ CTO, Roland Busch. “By providing innovative technology, we support Wunsiedel on the way to digitalisation.” Speaking about the energy storage system, Busch noted, “With its wide range of power generation components, Wunsiedel’s power supply is a prime example of a decentralised approach that is linked to the energy market. Our solutions incorporate renewable energy sources into the grid, ensure grid stability and combined with MindSphere, demonstrate optimisation and savings potential.” As part of this research network, the University of Bayreuth will provide support for a future “field trial lab for energy of the future.” At the same time, the ‘House of Future Energy’ is intended to provide citizens with information by offering many models for energy transition technologies and interactive presentations. “We want to set things in motion,” Krasser said. “The future of energy starts here!” For example, a central monitor displays the live data of the Wunsiedel distribution grid, including all relevant energy sources and loads. For teaching purposes, this data can also be modified in a simulation in order to explain the relationships between the renewable energy sources and the physical needs of the grid. “Wunsiedel is therefore more than just a festival city. It is also an energy city, making it a municipality on the way to becoming a smart city,” said Mayor Karl-Willi Beck. The event also marks the beginning of the biennial Wunsiedel Energy Days, as Mayor Beck points out. This event will take place every two years in Wunsiedel, providing an opportunity to discuss the latest issues relating to the energy transition and the results of the WUNsiedler Weg Energie 2.0 concept. However, unlike the Siestorage battery storage system, E.ON has diminished the need for batteries and has enabled energy innovation by storing solar power. E.ON stirs up the solar and photovoltaic market and is the first company to offer its customers the option of storing their own solar power without the usual battery. From now on, owners of photovoltaic systems can feed their energy directly into the E.ON SolarCloud without any limit. This virtual electricity account can be accessed not only for the energy demand at home, but also in other places. E.ON will be the first to offer this product innovation on the energy markets in Germany and in the next months in Italy. 56 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com