Especially in recent years, RENEXPO® INTERHYDRO, which is held in Salzburg, has evolved into what amounts to Europe’s most innovative hub event for hydropower.

Last year’s RENEXPO® in November had an excellent turnout and was exceptionally well received. This and the high re-booking rates among exhibitors show that the exhibition with its selection of topics manages to perfectly capture the spirit of the industry . One of the most exciting focus topics this year is “Virtual Power Plants, Control Energy and Flexibilisation” and related benefits for large and smaller-sized “eco-power” producers. The eighth edition of RENEXPO® INTERHYDRO will be held on 24 – 25 November 2016 at the Salzburg Exhibition Centre.

The European electricity market is changing. Along with the gradual progress of de-carbonisation, energy producers are shifting their focus away from large-scale and ‘mammoth-sized’ facilities towards smaller, decentralised structures. One such structure that is playing an increasingly important role in this process is the so-called “virtual power plant”. Contrary to what the name might suggest, this type of power plant is anything but non-existent. In fact, the name refers to an association of multiple de-centralised ‘clean energy’ producers that can provide required amounts of electrical power. Sometimes also referred to as ‘DEA cluster’, this association can pool their various renewable energy sources, which may range from photovoltaic technologies to wind power and hydropower facilities. Crucially, virtual power plants’ have certain competitive advantages over large-scale facilities. Especially in cases where load peaks would exceed the capacity of a large-scale power plant, the overall load can spread across multiple decentralised power generating structures to meet the demand.

PERSPECTIVES FOR THE CONTROL ENERGY MARKET
The ongoing vast expansion of wind and photovoltaic energy capacities in Germany, in particular, has imposed higher standards on the power grid with respect to fluctuations. These fluctuations are particularly strong whenever an unpredictable rise in the demand for electricity occurs. Control energy or controlled output power is therefore provided to prevent the grid from breaking down in such cases. This on-demand supply can compensate for sudden peaks in demand within a matter of seconds. High-performing pumped storage power plants play a crucial role in sustaining the power supply this way. Thanks to virtual power plants, modern mini-hydro facilities are able to join this market as well. Today, most large-scale providers are already connected to virtual power plants. By now most of them have also acquired the necessary know-how to find their way around the control energy market. From the small-scale power plant operators’ point of view, however, things look quite different. Small-scale operators still need to gain the required market insight and share relevant knowledge. That was reason enough for this year’s RENEXPO® INTERHYDRO in Salzburg to make this issue a focus topic. The two-day exhibition and conference will provide ample opportunity to discuss relevant technologies and services, and to demonstrate specifically how small-scale hydropower operators can profit from them.

PUMPED-STORAGE IS STILL IMPORTANT
As another focus of this year’s event, RENEXPO® INTERHYDRO will once again highlight the topic of pumped storage. In Germany, the accelerating energy turnaround is expected to require at capacity of around 200 GW from wind power and photovoltaic technologies alone to fully overcome the dependence on fossil fuels by 2040. Both of these resources are rather volatile. As a result, they require not just an appropriate power grid, but also a huge storage capacity. Overnight compensation alone will require up to 500 GWh, even for sunny days, according to the German Department of Commerce and Energy. Germany’s overall pumped storage capacity, however, amounts to approximately 40 GWh. As a result, not just the expansion but also the flexibilisation of electricity and energy storage are going to be high on the agenda for many years to come. Battery systems will also have a significant role to play in this scenario, without destabilising the position of the important pumped-storage power plants in the Alpine region. The issue of possible scenarios and perspectives, as well as the need for technical development in this area will also be covered at the Pumped-Storage Conference at RENEXPO® INTERHYDRO in Salzburg.

EXHIBITORS REMAIN LOYAL
The exhibition’s high-profile Advisory Committee held their meeting already in early February. With respect to last year’s event, visitor response was very positive indeed. Participants particularly appreciated the well-balanced selection of topics – an achievement that organisers intend to repeat this year. Plans this year also call for a two-day International Small Hydro Conference, which is to be held in a German-speaking and a non-German-speaking setting. As before, this will take place in the form of a two-day forum for hydropower operators, with a clear focus on practical issues. Individual topics such as pipe laying, inspections, etc. are consolidated into small groups of sessions. Once again, issues centred around “water-friendly hydropower” will feature prominently as well. As a side event, the program includes an excursion to an interesting hydropower facility. Considering that hydropower is currently in urgent need of political support, the EU lobbying sessions will also be given appropriate weight. According to feedback from participants at last year’s conference, this particular item on the agenda added valuable impulse to the support issue. With this in mind, the organisers are only too happy to comply with the wish to keep to the same organisational format for this public relations platform. Although it is still early into the sign-up process, 40 exhibitors have already registered for the event. This, too, is a clear sign that RENEXPO ® INTERHYDRO Salzburg is set to maintain its high ranking within the European hydropower industry.

For more details visit www.renexpo-hydro.eu