Enel X's three core capabilities accelerate Taiwan's energy transition_Interview with Roger Chen, Director of Enel X Taiwan

2021 can be said to be the year of Enel X Taiwan, whose parent company Enel Group is one of the world's top 100 companies with its business coverage in various power fields, currently manages about 50GW of installed renewable capacity, with footprints in 31 countries across five continents, and is recognized as the leading renewable energy company in the world.

Roger Chen, Director of Enel X Taiwan

By Xin-En Wu

　　Enel X was founded to "create new value through innovative energy use" to help customers use technology to transform energy into reliable new opportunities. Since July 23, 2020, Enel X has been providing services in stabilizing the power grid for Taiwanese enterprises with virtual power plants (VPP) to help to accelerate Taiwan's renewable energy transition.

　　In October 2021, Enel X's collaboration with Gogoro drew the public's attention to the operation of the V2G market(Vehicle to Grid). Roger Chen, the director of Enel X Taiwan, who is also the driving force behind this cooperation believes everything is just about to start. "Our goal is to make the complex simple," said Chen.

Shaping a cleaner and More intelligent future: the establishment of a successful V2G model

　　Enel X is a global leader in virtual power plants and energy services, it is also one of the first companies to join the Energy Trading Platform established by Taiwan Power Company. The partnership between Enel X and Gogoro demonstrates the possibility of using and dispatching distributed energy resources in Taiwan. Also, It has further enabled Taiwan's industry to make substantial progress toward a clean energy future.

　　"Taiwan has a reputation for its vast amount of scooters, over 90% are powered by gasoline. As we head towards the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, we need to accelerate energy transition by balancing more renewable energy on the grid, and welcoming the trend of electric mobility in the near future," Chen said.

　　Chen explained that Gogoro's network of GoStations (battery swapping stations) that provide batteries for e-scooters are power resources that can be aggregated into Enel X's VPP. The GoStations take part in Enel X's VPP and support the grid in two ways: by curtailing energy load (pausing charging temporarily), or by exporting energy to the grid.

　　"V2G technology is proven to be feasible and has been discussed for years, the collaboration between Enel X and Gogoro has proven that mobility companies can join the energy transition and become part of Taiwan's clean energy future." Chen indicated.

The use of intelligent technology platform assists customers to smoothly participate in dispatch events

　　"I have been with Enel X for five years. I am the head of business development and currently leading the Taiwan team." Prior to his role at Enel X, Chen was the Managing Director at Longtide Technology, a power ecosystem company. The ecology of the whole power system is no stranger to him.

　　"Enel X has 7.7 GW of energy capacity under management with over 15,000 users connected to our VPP in 16 countries. We entered Taiwan in 2016 and Enel X is no doubt a leading aggregator in the energy market today," indicated Chen.

　　Chen further explained that the concept of VPP is a collection of distributed energy assets including onsite equipment, batteries, and backup generators that are aggregated by a robust technology platform to dispatch capacity to support the grid. These distributed and dispatchable capacities enhance the resilience of the grid and help to support the generation of electricity that integrates renewable sources such as wind and solar. Moreover, businesses contribute their capacity by being flexible when they use grid power, they do this by either powering down or switching to backup power sources in response to a grid signal. This enables more efficient use of energy infrastructure, and helps to guarantee power quality and grid security while reducing electricity costs to improve economic efficiency.

　　Enel X is the first aggregator in Taiwan that completed a 138MW Demand Response dispatch under the Taiwan Power Company (TPC)'s audit, and the first to participate in TPC's Day-Ahead Market. Enel X has proven that Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) support the stability and security of the grid at all times.

One of the biggest advantages of a sophisticated virtual power plant platform is that it can have a high degree of performance and reliability at a lower price, and achieve more effective use of existing resources by integrating the resources behind the meter (BTM), including battery and storage systems, demand response, and charging station of the electric vehicle.

 

　　"Since June 2020, Enel X has collaborated with TPC for more than 55 dispatch events, delivering a performance average of 138%. Our operational expertise is thanks to our local staff who are supported by our state-of-the-art Network Operations Centre that operates 24-7-365," said Chen.

　　The Energy Trading Platform for the Ancillary Service programs that kicked off in 2021 signifies that Taiwan now officially has an open energy market where aggregators can enter and participate. Enel X is also a Qualified Servicing Entity in TPC's Energy Trading Platform. Although Taiwan's energy market is still in its infancy, it has a strong foundation with proven capabilities. Chen believes now it's the best time to expand the energy market.

The three driving cores of Enel X: electrification, decarbonization, digitalization

　　"Enel X is an enterprise driven by electrification, decarbonization, and digitalization," indicated Chen. "We see two megatrends driving the energy industry across the APAC region. Firstly, the renewable transition is accelerating, with 1.4TW of new wind and solar capacity to be built in APAC during the next decade. Secondly, APAC's energy markets are rapidly deregulating." Chen points out that the Electricity Act that passed in 2017 specifically deregulated the retail sector for renewable energy traders in Taiwan. In January 2021, the Major Electricity Consumer regulation kicked off, which requires major energy users to install 10% of renewable energy power sources within five years. Therefore, Taiwan is in a unique position in terms of the energy transition, with new regulatory changes supporting the advancement of renewable updates, and more to come.

 

 

　　Net-Zero is a global movement and a generational investment. According to BloombergNEF's New Energy Outlook 2021, 173 trillion dollars is the scale of investments needed in the energy transition that will have to hit between now and 2050. To achieve this, the annual spending will have to more than double in the next three decades. However, whether it's for the benefit of the businesses or a better future for the world, investing in Net-Zero is a must-do that can't be avoided.

　　"Enel X's goal is to support businesses in their energy transition, as Taiwan is striving towards our goal of reaching the energy mix of 20% renewables, 30% coal, and 50% natural gas by 2025. We believe that supporting businesses to leverage their existing energy assets to participate in ancillary service programs can help to accelerate Taiwan's energy transition, which is essential if we are to achieve NetZero." Chen has a strong belief in it.