On Tuesday, 24 May, BTC City Ljubljana hosted a delegation of the representatives of partners cooperating in the European CREATORS project, which includes the participation of 17 partners from several European countries, including the BTC Company. In BTC City, which is involved in the project as a tier 2 pilot site, the delegation visited the locations from where test and simulation data are drawn, and the location of the forthcoming solar power plant, which will be installed with a view to establishing an energy community. Launched in September 2020 and funded in part by the EU’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Development and Innovation, the project envisages the development of applications and service packages to create viable local energy communities. In addition to the BTC Company, the Slovenian partners in the project include the Jožef Stefan Institute, SIJ Acroni Jesenice and Elektro Gorenjska.

Representatives of the partners of the European CREATORS project gathered at a plenary session in Slovenia, held between May 23 and May 25. On Tuesday, May 24, they visited BTC City Ljubljana, which is included in the project as a tier 2 pilot site. They toured the location where a new solar power plant will be installed with a view to establishing a community energy system, as well as the location from which the data for digital twin simulations are drawn. A digital twin is a virtual model mirroring the real environment in digital form, so it represents a virtual copy of physical devices, premises or processes. In CREATORS, this involves the digital mapping of the real energy grid of a given location (from which data is extracted), which enables data analysis, testing and simulation, and consequently also readiness in diverse situations.

The BTC Company is participating in the project as one of the 17 partners (corporations, research institutes, development and education institutions) from several European countries. It provides BTC City Ljubljana as a pilot site for the development and testing of new solutions developed in the scope of the project. As part of the project, simulations of the operation of various energy systems (solar plant, peak load management, provision of ancillary services, etc.) will be carried out in BTC City Ljubljana in order to lay the foundations for creating advanced community energy systems.

In addition to the main purpose, which is to help achieve the required share of renewable energy sources in total energy use by 2030, the BTC Company is pursuing three key directions in the frame of the project:

• active and coordinated management of all energy vectors (to achieve a reduction in total energy consumption and consequently better services for business partners – tenants),
• active cooperation with other stakeholders (public utility companies, sellers, energy buyers) to achieve rational energy use and the exploitation of new synergies between different sectors,
• use of urban areas and the testing of new technologies (CREATORS simulation and emulation technologies) to generate new local renewable energy sources for local stakeholders.

“We are proud to contribute our share to the energy transition by participating in the CREATORS project, which also brings answers to the current energy crisis. We will help achieve this transition by increasing the share of renewable energy sources and reducing overall energy consumption, specifically by using our BTC City pilot site to test new technologies. We’re excited to be able to help create new solutions for the green energy of the future with our ecosystem in collaboration with the most advanced European corporations and development institutions. We want the project to encourage as many other stakeholders as possible to invest in sustainable energy sources,” explained Tomaž Damjan, Head of Energy at the BTC Company.

Members of the delegation included coordinator of the CREATORS project Christof de Knop, Director General of the Energy Department at Imtech Belgium, who expressed excitement about the scope and ambition of the plan for the implementation of an innovative and sustainable energy system.

The Slovenian partners in CREATORS are coordinated by the Jožef Stefan Institute’s Energy Efficiency Centre (JSI-CEU), which also manages the development of advanced tools needed to create energy communities. During the delegation’s visit to BTC City, Dr. Boris Sučić, project manager at the Jožef Stefan Institute Energy Efficiency Centre, said: “Our wish is to improve energy efficiency at all pilot sites and connect sectors at the level of energy supply, demand and storage. We want to confirm in practice that the transition from environmentally unfriendly technologies based on fossil fuels to a sustainable and environmentally friendly development requires policies and solutions based on excellent knowledge of alternative development options and especially awareness of new opportunities for alternative fuels and renewable energy sources in an urban environment. In cooperation with the BTC Company, we want to prove that ambitious environmental goals can be achieved through active participation of local stakeholders and the implementation of advanced projects. I expect that we will soon open the first local energy community in Ljubljana in the area of BTC City. I’m very proud that by implementing advanced projects, the BTC Company is actively working to improve the quality of life in Ljubljana.”

The three-year European project CREATORS (Creating Community Energy Systems), launched in September 2020, aims to develop applications and service packages to create commercially successful energy communities. In the scope of CREATORS, project partners are committed to accelerating the integration of community energy systems across Europe. In addition, they want to enhance the commercial readiness of energy communities as well as grid flexibility and local grid balancing. Last but not least, two important objectives of the project are the activation of local renewable energy generation and the empowerment of consumers and prosumers.

Additional information about the project: https://www.creators4you.energy/.

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