Intelligent Data Centres Issue 05 | Page 37

FEATURE Generating and using What exactly does the arena use the stored energy for? This is first of all to compensate for the mismatch between the moment of generation and the time of use. The 4200 solar panels on the roof of the stadium generate electrical energy during the day, while many sports matches and concerts, for example, require energy in the evening hours. These are serious amounts of energy. If the arena is running at full speed in the evening, the energy stored in the www.intelligentdatacentres.com batteries is sufficient to meet the energy requirements for an hour. If not all systems are actually switched on, the arena can extend this period to three hours. Outside this period, energy will have to be taken from the grid. It is interesting to note that it is of course not necessary to draw maximum electrical energy from the batteries every evening. At times when there are no events planned Amsterdam Energy Arena BV can use the storage capacity in other ways. Think of energy services that are delivered to the grid. This will give the local grid operator more and better opportunities to keep the grid in balance. This can be done by temporarily storing energy from the grid in the batteries of the arena or by drawing energy from them and transferring that electrical energy to the network. Peak shaving However, the Amsterdam Energy Arena also provides other services; for example, electric or hybrid cars can be charged via bi-directional charging stations in the Issue 05 37