Liander – Value case on curtailment
Client
Liander (part of Alliander) is one of the largest grid managers in the Netherlands. Within the energy transition, Alliander has an important role in building the infrastructure for the energy system of the future. The reliability and affordability of the grid remain crucial factors in this respect. With the support of Impact Institute, Alliander has therefore been measuring, reporting and managing the social impact of its activities since 2015.
Project description
In cooperation with Liander, an exploratory impact analysis was carried out in 2020 on the social value of curtailment – limiting the feed-in capacity of customers with renewable generation in the event of occasional peak loads.
Why? Liander is running up against the limits of the grid’s capacity at various locations. Renewable generation locations require a relatively high transmission capacity in order to supply the grid during occasional peak loads. Liander is investigating the possibility of increasing the grid’s capacity by capping these peaks, also known as curtailment.
The analysis shows that, on balance, curtailment has a positive impact on society. In the case under consideration, curtailment brings the optimum to approximately 85% of the installed capacity. The extra costs for Liander (compensation) and the government (SDE subsidies) are lower than the value created by the accelerated connection of new sustainable production locations.
Benefits to the client
The results of the analysis give Liander a stakeholder perspective on the conditions under which curtailment can create broad social value.
The case illustrates the applicability of impact measurement to issues within the energy transition and helps Liander steer towards long-term social value creation.