Alstom to provide DERMS for Smart Grid Vendée project

Alstom has received a contract to deliver distributed energy resources management system (DERMS) for the Smart Grid Vendée project located on the west coast of France.

A €28m consortium-led demonstration project, Smart Grid Vendée will last five years and will pilot a range of smart grid technologies to manage the changing energy landscape, integrating renewable energies and enhancing the electricity distribution grid.

Led by the Union Department of Energy of Vendée (SyDEV) and ERDF the French Distribution Grid Operator, the consortium comprises RTE, Alstom, Cofely Ineo, Legrand, Actility, and CNAM.

Alstom Grid’s Network Management Solutions vice president Karim El Naggar said Alstom is at the forefront of Smart Grid development, supporting the Smart Grid Vendée project.

"Renewable power is fast-growing, and expected to make up almost a quarter of the global power mix by 2018," Naggar added.

"Today, Alstom’s e-terraDRBizNet solution enables more than 10,000 MW of demand response globally, representing over 1,000,000 end-user residential customers and over 10,000 commercial and industrial customers."

The Distributed Energy Resources (DER) integration in the distribution grid at an optimal infrastructure cost requires the deployment of new information and operation technologies, the company said.

Alstom is involved in more than 30 grid innovation projects, financed by private and public funds, such as the recent Nice Grid smart solar district project in Nice, France.