Taking a dynamic curtailment approach can double the hosting capacity for renewable energy and vastly reduces the amount of curtailment required by existing dispatch methods.

Scottish software specialist Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) is expanding into Europe after completing successful trials with a German utility company.

SGS's German trial demonstrated "dynamic curtailment," where very small amounts of electricity produced by renewable energy generators like wind farms or solar parks is reduced if too much power is pumped into the grid.

Taking a dynamic curtailment approach can double the hosting capacity for renewable energy and vastly reduces the amount of curtailment required by existing dispatch methods.

SGS's Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) technology also allows DSOs to reduce connection times and the requirement for grid upgrades, improving customer service, increasing efficiency and reducing customer bills.

The same technology can now be applied across Europe thanks to regulatory changes introduced by the EU's Clean Energy Package.

SGS is seeking to capitalize on its success and ensure the same benefits can be offered to other German and EU DSOs.

Alan Gooding, co-founder of SGS, will lead the expansion as European general manager, in addition to his responsibilities as UK general manager and EVP of channel and partners.

He said: "The time is right for the move: the need exists, regulation is enabling it, the technology is mature and proven, and - most importantly - we see customer pull.

"Only last week we hosted a European DSO in the UK, running through the use cases that can be supported by our products and how they deliver value to DSOs."

SGS will work with distribution system operators (DSOs) moving from passive grid operation as an asset operator to actively managing their network using Distributed Energy Resources (DER).

In the past, large coal and gas-fired power stations were connected to the main national transmission network, with their electricity fed down into local distribution networks.

Now, many renewable energy generators are connected to distribution networks, meaning power flows in both directions on the grid, triggering the need for DSOs to implement new forms of control and system flexibility.

SGS's software can also be used to control other distributed energy resources that are connected to distribution grids, including batteries to store energy and machinery that can be turned on or off to match periods of peak demand or low power generation.

SGS's software is already adding around 1.3GW of renewable energy, battery storage and flexibility services to global electricity grids.