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Belgian Eco Energy (BEE) and Companion.energy join forces to help companies save.

Thomas Vyncke
July 31, 2024

New Record Set for Negative Electricity Prices

On Saturday, July 6, a new record was set in Belgium for negative electricity wholesale prices. Consumers with an hourly rate paid as much as €140/MWh at 3 PM for injecting solar energy. For reference, the average price in the first half of 2024 was about €60/MWh. (*Note: These are wholesale prices excluding distribution and transmission fees, taxes, etc.) Negative prices are becoming more frequent; the first half of 2024 counted 210 hours with negative electricity prices, which is about 5% of the time. In the summer, when it is hopefully often sunny, this is expected to occur even more frequently. This dynamic is particularly significant for companies and entrepreneurs who have heavily invested in solar panels. Rob Loos, the Sourcing & Portfolio Manager of BEE, states:

“Due to the rapid growth of renewable energy capacity, we expect such extreme prices to occur more often. This trend underscores the importance of flexible and smart energy management systems like the ones we are now developing and marketing.”

Smart Energy Management Helps Companies and Promotes Energy Transition

The "BEE HIVE" maximizes the energy flexibility of companies by using real-time data from digital meters, weather forecasts, and the various electricity price markets. By combining this data and predicting production and consumption, the system can automatically optimize energy production, storage, and consumption, leading to significant energy savings for BEE’s customers. Companies thus benefit from the advantages of dynamic energy prices without having to constantly monitor and adjust everything themselves. When energy prices are low (and more often negative!), this is the ideal time to inject less energy and consume or store more, for example, through batteries or thermal energy storage. When prices rise, the system can help spread energy consumption or return energy to the grid, depending on the possibilities at that moment. This optimization can lead to very significant savings on companies’ energy costs while also helping stabilize the electricity grid. Vicky Buyse, the Chief Operating Officer of BEE, says:

“The energy management platform ‘BEE HIVE’ enables us to better serve our customers and help them make optimal use of their energy resources. It is a smart platform to maximize the flexibility of our customers' energy consumption, reduce their energy costs, and promote the integration of renewable energy into the electricity system. Thus, we can achieve significant savings for our customers while contributing to a more stable and sustainable energy grid.”

Starting with Solar Panels, Many Expansions Possible

A first step for many companies is managing their solar panel installation. This has no impact on their business processes or employees. For companies that do not yet have a solar panel installation, it will also be mandatory in Flanders from next summer if their electricity consumption exceeds 1 GWh per year (equivalent to the consumption of about 375 households). In addition to the solar panel installation, the system can also be expanded to other energy systems such as wind turbines, batteries, EV charging parks, and other flexible processes and machines in companies. This can further increase the potential benefits.

A Step Towards a Sustainable Future

The collaboration demonstrates how technology and innovation can contribute to solving the challenges of the energy transition. Both BEE and Companion.energy are committed to making the energy market more sustainable and aim to provide reliable energy solutions for the future. Jonas Verstraeten, co-founder of Companion.energy, adds:

“Our collaboration with BEE represents an important step forward in how companies manage and use their energy systems. By aligning energy production, consumption, and storage with different market dynamics in real-time, we can not only save costs but also contribute to sustainability. Further investments in solar panels or other innovative energy applications are therefore made more favorable, benefiting the growth of these technologies.”

About Belgian Eco Energy (BEE): BEE is an integrated energy company founded in 2010, active in the production and sale of renewable energy. BEE develops, finances, builds, and operates renewable energy installations on company sites, helping businesses save on energy costs and meet climate goals. (www.bee.eu)

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