ENNA Next qualifies for balancing Croatian power system as aggregator

ENNA Next has passed the prequalification phase and became an active participant in balancing the Croatian power system, under the supervision of transmission system operator HOPS.

After receiving an aggregation license from the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA) last year, ENNA Next has now prequalified for the provision of auxiliary services, including automatic (aFRR) and manual (mFRR) power reserve services.

ENNA Next, part of Croatia-based ENNA Group, also operates a virtual power plant, as an aggregator. Aggregators and virtual power plants are an energy transition novelty. Their role is to provide flexibility in the system and help integrate renewable energy sources more efficiently.

ENNA Next contributes to grid stability by performing mFRR and aFRR services

The firm said it actively participates in balancing by utilizing its portfolio of electricity producers and consumers. They are switched on or off depending on the balance in the system, it explained.

ENNA Next, which contributes to the stability of the power grid with mFRR and aFRR services, is currently in the prequalification process with its technical units to be able to include power from renewable sources – solar power plants, wind power plants, biogas plants, and battery energy storage systems.

The automatic frequency restoration reserve (aFRR) is for an automatic adjustment of energy production or consumption within minutes to tackle a frequency deviation. It is a continuous backup system for grid stability.

The manual frequency restoration reserve (mFRR) is activated manually when larger adjustments are required. The reserve allows transmission system operators (TSOs) to intervene in a targeted way to ensure balance.

Additional income for participants of the virtual power plant

As an aggregator, ENNA Next also operates a virtual power plant (VPP). Through a digital platform, it bundles consumers (for instance, industrial facilities or refrigeration or air conditioning chambers), producers (solar power plants, wind farms, biogas facilities, cogeneration plants), and battery energy storage systems (BESS), the company explained.

Through constant communication with HOPS, ENNA Next optimizes the production and consumption of energy within the virtual power plant. At the same time, it provides additional income to the partners within the VPP by participating in the auxiliary services market.

Eight companies have aggregation licenses in Croatia: ENNA Next, NGEN, KOER, GEN-I, which recently added the largest wind farm in the country to its VPP, Nano Energies, IE-ENERGY, Duplico and Solaris Pons.