As the power market undergoes rapid evolution, Volue's Smart Power software suite can offer valuable solutions for power producers and traders. Camilla Thorrud Larsen, Senior Vice President of Energy Solutions at Volue, shares insights on leveraging automation, optimizing assets, and addressing challenges in the industry
Volue's Smart Power software suite can offer valuable solutions for power producers and traders. (Credit: Volue)
All those operating in the energy sector will be aware that power markets are constantly evolving, in turn presenting new challenges and opportunities for market players. The increasing penetration of intermittent renewable energy has created an environment with more weather-dependent market fluctuations, higher price volatility and the consequent need for changes in European market designs.
This situation means that the successful management of power generation assets has become more critical than ever. Optimal utilisation of flexible generation, in interaction with the increasing shares of renewables, is key to reliably balancing supply and demand and, thus, enabling a sustainable energy transition. To meet the new challenges of power generation planning and trading, Volue recently launched our groundbreaking Smart Power software suite earlier this year. Volue Smart Power optimises asset portfolios and connects them with the power markets, resulting in maximised value and increased efficiency.
Volue Smart Power fully automates and optimises the production planning and trading processes, enabling energy companies to capture the full value of their assets in the power markets. By leveraging advanced mathematical methods and algorithms, our software suite ensures efficient calculation times while accommodating complex constraints and relations associated with large and diverse power generation portfolios.
Its integration into European physical markets allows seamless connectivity between assets and relevant trading platforms. This integration not only streamlines the bidding and trading processes but also ensures compliance, enabling the automation of advanced trading strategies in short-term markets. With Smart Power, trades can be executed quickly, effectively, and automatically, maximising profitability for energy companies.
Creating a competitive advantage
This automation of optimisation and trading processes provides power operators with numerous competitive advantages. Not only will its use enhance operational efficiency by streamlining tasks and reducing errors, but it also directly enables real-time decision-making based on market conditions and data analysis. We strongly believe that this will support the development and execution of successful trading strategies, both now and in the future.
Another benefit of full automation is that it improves risk management by monitoring market conditions, implementing risk controls, and ensuring regulatory compliance. This is supported by a platform that offers scalability and flexibility, allowing operators to handle large-scale operations and adapt to changing market dynamics. We recognised and took time to understand what the market requirements were and introduced Smart Power to meet these head on. Simply put, by utilising automation, we can help power operators to stay ahead of their competitors by maximising profits, minimising risks, and maintaining a strong competitive position within their respective markets.
Challenges remain but can be overcome
The ongoing energy transition introduces uncertainty and complexity into production planning and short-term trading, as market participants need to constantly adapt to changing conditions and adjust their strategies accordingly.
Data management and integration have over time become more important as well. Effective decision-making within production planning and short-term trading requires accurate and timely access to data from various sources, such as asset performance data, market and weather data. Integrating and managing this diverse and growing amount of data can be challenging, as it often resides in different systems and formats. Successfully collating and analysing this valuable data to derive meaningful insights for decision-making continues to be a critical challenge for market participants.
Overcoming these challenges requires advanced technologies and sophisticated analytical tools. The development and adoption of software solutions, like Smart Power, that leverage automation, optimise algorithms, and provide seamless market integration to address these challenges, will be of vital importance going forward.
Volue Mesh
At the core of Volue’s Smart Power suite is Volue Mesh, an open and flexible object-oriented data management solution. Mesh provides a comprehensive framework for modelling relevant objects, attributes, time series, and their interconnections within a portfolio. This contextualised data modelling approach enhances data availability, maintainability, and accessibility, empowering users to make informed decisions. Mesh is also equipped with APIs that enable seamless integrations and the development of a customised overall solution landscape.
Mesh can be tailored to meet specific requirements and offers a preconfigured starting point for modelling power production assets, facilitating asset optimisation and trading processes. Whether it’s hydro, wind or thermal, we’ve made it easier for energy operators to model their assets within Mesh and leverage its capabilities to optimise their operations and trading strategies.
Conclusion
By recognising the paramount importance of automation in optimising and trading processes, we have illustrated our commitment to empowering power producers to maintain their competitive edge. Smart Power not only ensures optimal utilisation of power generation portfolios, but also highlights our strong focus on sustainability and resource efficiency.
I believe that Volue’s Smart Power software suite comes at a crucial time; a period when power market complexities are on the rise. However, by embracing automation and asset optimisation, it’s possible for those in the industry to navigate an ever-changing landscape with confidence. With our cutting-edge solution, I would argue that the future of power production planning and trading is set for a transformation. This transformation will drive increased revenues for energy companies across Europe and beyond, supporting a sustainable energy transition in the process.
This article first appeared in International Water Power magazine.