It is bright over Bæjarháls

Guðjón Hugberg Björnsson, CTO of ON Power, gave a lecture last week at Netorka's 20th anniversary conference where he spoke about ON's innovation project, Birta á Bæjarhálsi, and its first results. The lecture was entitled “It is bright over Bæjarháls!” and shed light on how the integration of solar power, battery solutions and fast charging for electric cars can create new opportunities in the development of the electricity system.

Despite the Icelandic electricity system being based almost entirely on renewable energy sources, local constraints and peak loads are increasingly bigger challenges. The experience from Birta á Bæjarhálsi suggests that distributed, hybrid energy solutions may be a key factor in addressing those challenges and supporting the ongoing energy transition.

Birta á Bæjarhálsi is part of ON's work to develop conventional charging stations so that the production, storage and use of energy can take place in an integrated way. The aim is, among other things, to reduce peak loads in the electricity system, improve local energy utilization and increase flexibility in the distribution grid.

In his talk at the conference, Guðjón presented the first figures from the project, which indicate that the interaction of solar power generation, a battery and charging demand works better than expected, even under Icelandic conditions where seasonal fluctuations are large. The results support the view that such hybrid energy systems could play an important role in the development of future charging infrastructure, especially in light of rapid electric vehicle adoption and increased load on the electricity system.

In the lecture, the key question was also raised whether solar power generation is suitable in Iceland. The technology has advanced far enough to be used under Icelandic conditions, output meets expectations and the potential for further utilization is great. However, there are challenges in developing such systems and there is a need for clearer regulation and guidance and greater knowledge and experience in the sector. It is also necessary to review feed-in charges.

In the future, ON Power intends to use the lessons from the project in the development of next-generation charging stations, with increased energy storage, smart energy management and further service integration. The goal is to build cost-effective energy systems that meet the needs of users and society in a rapidly changing energy environment.