R&D programme

In recent years, many virtual power plants have appeared on the domestic and international market, but these solutions have been focusing mainly on CHP/CCHP and biogas small-scale power plants. However, the system integration of decentralized, weather-dependent electricity producers operating with variable production intensity has not been solved by any domestic virtual power plant.

The solutions that are capable of efficiently supporting the increasingly complex operation of energy systems and providing a high degree of flexibility to ensure their balance have become sought following to the massive expansion of weather-dependent renewable energy production. This solutions are particularly crucial when the production intensity is highly variable. As a result, virtual power plants have come into the spotlight. However, their future potential depends on whether they can offer a flexible, reliable, and sustainable solution for the system integration of renewable producers.

In the fall of 2011, VPP Magyarország Zrt. was the first to introduce an accredited virtual power plant solution in the Hungarian market. This development proved to be a unique business and technical innovation on a global scale, standing the test of time. In 2016, VPP launched a new virtual power plant development programme with the aim of once again being among the first to offer solutions to the most pressing challanges of the energy system. 

The objective of the R&D programme is to further develop VPP's virtual power plant solution. Thus, the new system becomes capable to centralize the operational control of up to hundreds of renewable producers in a way that not only "accommodates" them, but also automatically optimizes their production. The essence of the optimization is to ensure that the power plants operate at their own economic optimum, taking into account schedule obligations and balancing energy costs.

In addition, VPP has set the goal of involving solar and wind power plants in secondary regulation. With this, the VPP will provide access to alternative market opportunities that individual renewable producers could not use or could only use at a significant cost. During development, the developers of VPP pay special attention to the accuracy of the weather forecast, and to the examination of forecast errors and deviations.