Iberdrola-led iGREENGrid project seeks to boost renewable energy integration

Spain-based Iberdrola has launched the iGREENGrid project in Europe, in collaboration will 11 major electricity distribution companies and research institutions in the region.

The aim of project is to understand, define and collect procedures, technological advances and the best practices that will help in increasing the capacity of electricity grids in order to receive distributed generation from renewable energy sources.

Under the auspices of the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme for Research (FP7), the project is led by Iberdrola via its Networks Business, with participation from ERDF of France; Enel and RSE of Italy; Gas Natural Fenosa of Spain; RWE of Germany; Energy Netz, Salzburg and AIT of Austria; Hedno of Greece; and ICCS-NTUA, Tecnalia of Spain.

The three-year iGREENGrid project has been allocated €6.5m, and it will combine and coordinate research efforts in leading renewable initiatives of these countries.

The PRICE initiative in Spain has been selected as the pilot project for rolling-out smart grids in Madrid, and is expected to benefit over 500,000 people.

Iberdrola will lead this project along with Gas Natural Fenosa, and will involve the participation of 22 partners including technological and industrial firms, centres for research, universities, Red Eléctrica de España and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

iGREENGrid is considered to be one of the most crucial studies in the area of smart grids.

In France, 99% of renewable energy is connected to the medium voltage grid, while in Germany, generation from renewable energy sources and connected to medium and low voltage grids accounts for over 50GW.