Lots of sunshine, strong winds: The conditions in spring are ideal for renewable energies. Almost too ideal, as the Pentecost weekend 2016 demonstrated. An oversupply in the grid feed-in from solar and wind energy led at times to negative energy prices. Situations such as this make it clear that setting up an intelligent energy system, which optimally connects and controls energy producers, storage systems, consumers and grids, is essential for the energy supply of the future.

Munich, June 9, 2016 - Lots of sunshine, strong winds: The conditions in spring are ideal for renewable energies. Almost too ideal, as the Pentecost weekend 2016 demonstrated. An oversupply in the grid feed-in from solar and wind energy led at times to negative energy prices. Situations such as this make it clear that setting up an intelligent energy system, which optimally connects and controls energy producers, storage systems, consumers and grids, is essential for the energy supply of the future. The Smart Renewable Energy Forum at Intersolar Europe, the worlds leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners, demonstrates how this can be achieved. Experts are set to present and discuss technologies and solutions from June 22-24, 2016 in hall B2, booth B2.131.

Over Pentecost, a stiff breeze was blowing on the German coast, the sun was shining in southern Germany, and industrial demand was low, as it was a public holiday. The result: For a short time, Germany initially came close to meeting its entire energy needs with energy from renewable sources. On Sunday (May, 8) between 11:00am and 12:00pm, solar and wind energy installations alone generated an output of over 48,000 megawatts (MW), equivalent to around 75% of the energy consumption. Altogether, renewable energies were able to cover 87% of the energy consumption - a milestone for the energy transition. The massive expansion of photovoltaic and wind power sites also causes problems, as many, particularly old, conventional power plants, cannot be controlled quickly enough. The consequence: At times, the price of power on the Leipzig Energy Exchange fell below zero. This means that anyone feeding electricity into the grid effectively had to pay their customers for taking the electricity off their hands.

The Mercom Capital Group (Austin, Texas, USA) is expecting a worldwide photovoltaic deployment of around 64.7 gigawatts this year, which is equivalent to an increase of just under 12% compared with the previous year. The greater the expansion of renewable energies, the more important it becomes that the market participants work together to regulate energy flows - in buildings, in cities or in power grids. Associations, companies and universities are set to present the newest technologies for intelligently connecting the energy supply at the Smart Renewable Energy Forum, taking place this year for the first time at Intersolar Europe.

Prosumer - producer and consumer in the energy supply system
Consumers and companies are increasingly turning into so-called prosumers. This means that they do not just use electricity, but also generate it themselves with solar installations, for example, and feed the excess energy into the public power grid. Find out how prosumers can regulate their power supply efficiently at the Smart Renewable Energy Forum on June 22, 2016. Experts will be introducing current prosumer solutions for private households and businesses from 10:30am to 17:30pm, for example at Prosumer Solutions - Optimization of Self-Consumption from 11:00am to 12:30pm. The focus here in on intelligent energy management - from operating a PV installation in combination with a heat pump in a single-family house, to storage system technologies for optimizing on-site consumption.

Digitalization - Intelligently connected
Because renewable energy sources such as sun and wind are not always available, it is essential to coordinate energy supply and demand intelligently using digitally connected solutions. This will make it possible in the future to draw solar power from nearby PV installations and storage devices, or to offer self-generated solar power to other consumers for storage or use. Integrating electric vehicles into the system as additional consumers and storage devices facilitates an even more efficient use of solar power. The smart grid, the intelligent power grid of the future, steers and oversees the generation, storage, distribution and consumption of electricity. In this context, smart meters take on a significant role. By capturing all the important data on electricity consumption, they become data interfaces between private households, grid operators and energy suppliers. Visitors can learn how production and consumption data are collected and exchanged in buildings to enable intelligent management of the grid and resources at the Smart Renewable Energy Forum on June 23, 2016 from 10:00am to 17:15pm. From 10:00am to 12:00pm, the focus is on the digitalization of the energy industry and the smart meter rollout.

Highlight: Model regions
At the Smart Renewable Energy Forum, visitors can find out about model regions where renewable sources already make up 100% of the energy supply, and learn how a clean and reliable energy supply works. The Smart Villages project in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate demonstrates how climate protection and adding value regionally through intelligent development in rural areas can be realized. The Technical University of Munich is set to introduce a project exploring battery storage systems in local grids. The sessions take place on June 24, 2016 from 11:00am to 3:00pm.

Wind meets Solar and Storage
Wind turbines are the ideal supplement to solar energy, as good wind conditions often prevail when the sun does not shine. Innovative energy storage systems can use this combination to bring the fluctuations in energy generation under control, leading to optimized energy systems and reduced electricity costs. The Wind meets Solar and Storage presentation series at the Smart Renewable Energy Forum on June 23 reveals how this clean and reliable energy supply can work. The session accompanies the special exhibit with the same name at ees Europe, Europe's largest exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, which is taking place at the same time. The future prospects and possibilities for the combination of wind, sun and energy storage are up for discussion in the session titled Integration Strategies (June 23, 2016 from 1:30pm-3:00pm). The Virtual Power Plants presentation series (Thursday, June 23, 2016, from 3:00pm-5:15pm) introduces options for digitally connecting and controlling PV installations, wind power plants, micro CHP plants and other electricity producers and consumers.

The forum is sponsored by: Siemens AG, SMA Solar Technology AG, E.ON Energie Deutschland GmbH, Fronius International GmbH and Viessmann Photovoltaik GmbH.

Intersolar Europe 2016 takes place from June 22-24, 2016 at Messe München.

Further information on Intersolar Europe can be found at www.intersolar.de/en


Partners of Intersolar Europe
Intersolar Europe is supported by the leading solar industry associations: the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar) as an exclusive partner, the German Solar Energy Society (DGS), SolarPower Europe (formerly EPIA), the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF), the International Solar Energy Society (ISES), SEMI (Europe), and the platform for photovoltaic production equipment within the German Engineering Association (VDMA-PV).

About Intersolar
With events spanning four continents, Intersolar is the worlds leading exhibition series for the solar industry and its partners. It unites people and companies from around the world with the aim of increasing the share of solar power in our energy supply.

Intersolar Europe is the worlds leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners. It takes place annually at the Messe München exhibition center in Munich, Germany and focuses on the areas of photovoltaics, energy storage and renewable heating, as well as on products and solutions for smart renewable energy. The accompanying Intersolar Europe Conference consolidates selected exhibition topics and showcases international markets, financing and pioneering technologies. Since being founded, Intersolar Europe has become the most important industry platform for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, service providers and partners in the global solar industry.

With 25 years of experience, Intersolar has the unique ability to bring together members of the solar industry from across the worlds most influential markets. Intersolar exhibitions and conferences are held in Munich, San Francisco, Mumbai, São Paulo and Dubai. These global events are complemented by the Intersolar Summits, which take place in emerging and growing solar markets worldwide.

In 2016, ees Europe, Europe's Largest Exhibition for Batteries and Energy Storage Systems, takes place in parallel to Intersolar Europe for the third time. Together with the accompanying ees Europe Conference, the exhibition covers the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies.

For more information on Intersolar Europe, please visit: www.intersolar.de/en