Statkraft has launched a 1GW virtual power plant in the UK to help bolster grid flexibility.

The Norwegian state-owned energy giant says the infrastructure, which is made up of a mix of renewables, battery storage and flexible gas generation, will combine output from power sources in real-time and compare this data against the energy markets.

It says this will allow it to effectively match supply with demand in ‘seconds’ and to optimise and trade power on the wholesale market more efficiently.

Statkraft worked with energy & meteo systems, which developed the software connecting, coordinating and monitoring power outputs through a common control centre.

The companies aim to double the capacity of the virtual power plant by the summer, which will make even more room for intermittent renewables on the grid.

Duncan Dale, Vice President for Sales and New Products at Statkraft in the UK, said: “The increasing share of renewable energy in the UK will require a maximum of flexibility in the British power grid.

“By integrating batteries and engines into the virtual power plant and optimising their operations we can provide this flexibility reliably.”