Project MéryGrid Esneux
What have we implemented?
CDC – Cabins De Ciney delivered a precast concrete cabin for the MeryGrid project. For this realization, the precast concrete enclosure was finished with a wooden bardage. In this way, this choice of cladding is fully in line with the sector in which the MéryBois wood processing company operates.
It is an innovative pilot project setting up one of the country’s first smart energy networks in Méry, Belgium. Three companies are working together to optimize their energy consumption and production, using solar and hydroelectric power. The project aims to test the benefits of local self-consumption and improve interactions with the public power grid.
For this project, SGC SwitchGear Company supplied the medium voltage cells that form the link between the public electric distribution grid and MéryGrid, which forms a kind of microgrid.
Innovative smart grid pilot project in Belgium
The companies MéryBois, MeryTherm and CBV are supplied with power via MeryGrid, which was stored in 190 batteries. This energy was obtained from solar panels located on the roof of MeryBois and from a hydropower plant operated by MeryTherm in the nearby Ourthe River.
Only in the event that the batteries can no longer provide power will power be automatically provided through the public distritbution grid operator Ores.
MeryGrid is a pioneering pilot project launched in 2017, in partnership with Nethys, ULiège and Sirris. The main objective is to set up one of the first Smart Grids in Belgium, focusing on local self-consumption of energy.
Location and Partners
The microgrid is located in Méry, on the edge of the Ourthe River in the Liège region. Three partner companies are connected in this grid: Mery bois, Meytherm, CBV.
Collaboration project
Mery Bois: A lumberyard with a 60 kWp photovoltaic system.
Meytherm: A company specializing in the thermal treatment of metals, equipped with a 200 kVA hydropower plant.
CBV: Active in industrial fans and a major electricity consumer, like the other two companies.
Together, these companies produce 1,200 MWh per year and consume 800 MWh per year.
Project Objectives:
The main goal of MeryGrid is to test the benefits of local self-consumption at the scale of a microgrid. This is done by:
Maximizing local energy exchange:
The three complementary companies share energy among themselves, which increases efficiency.
Optimize interactions with the public power grid: Making better use of renewable energy sources such as solar and hydropower, and deploying a storage unit, reduces dependence on the public grid.
