Dairy farmers and energy farmers in the Netherlands

Challenge

Johan and Willem Loonen are two brothers who run a large dairy farm in the Netherlands, which they took over from their parents. Being a farmer means you have entrepenerial blood running trough your veins. The two borthers always keep their eyes open for smart business opportunities. But the enormous growth in renewable energy production is putting too much pressure on the power grid in the Netherlands. The Loonen brothers are one of the farmers who wanted to supply solar energy to the grid, but for whom this is not possible due to grid congestion.

Solution

But they are not letting this grid problem stop them. Alltough they are not be able to supply their solar energy to the grid, by adding a large energy storage system, they can still use the 'excess' solar energy themelves, at times the sun isn't shining. The energy storage system also acts as an emergency generator and will provide electricity to the farm in case of power uitage. Besides that, thanks to the energy storage they were able to reduce their grid operator's connection, which saves on costs. All in all, the combination of solar panels and energy storage provides so much benefit that the brothers are already looking to double their solar power and energy storage capacity. So besides being dairy farmers, these two can rightfully call themselves energy farmers too.