Launched in June 2023, the COPOWER – Community-based Virtual Power Plant project aims to research, design, and validate operational models related to small and decentralized energy production systems that can be centrally controlled as if they were a single large power plant. COPOWER seeks to improve the balance between energy production and consumption and enhance the efficiency of energy networks, ideally without the need for new construction in local energy distribution infrastructure. The goal is to develop five different sustainable business models to support virtual power plants in rural communities across Northern Europe.
The University of Oulu hosted the fourth biannual COPOWER project event on January 21–22, 2025. This rotating event, held in the participating project countries, brought together COPOWER partners once again. In addition to the usual discussions on project management, communication, and funding, the meeting focused on pilot sites for community-based virtual power plants, particularly their technical details and software platform requirements.
One of the key presentations at the event covered optimized smart energy management for single-family homes and outbuildings with direct electric heating. The presentation demonstrated how to achieve smart electricity demand flexibility without compromising living comfort.
The pilot site is a single-family home built in the 1980s, along with its outbuildings, all equipped with direct electric heating. The heating system includes a 1,200-liter electric water heater, water-circulated underfloor heating on the main building’s ground floor, and direct electric radiators and underfloor heating cables on the upper floor and in the outbuilding. These buildings were chosen as a pilot site because district heating is limited in the area, and many houses in the town still rely on electric or oil heating.
The pilot project aims to validate the economic and operational benefits of modernizing the heating system at both room and building levels. By using cost-effective, mass-produced components and open-source software, the traditional manual heating system is transformed into an intelligent energy management system. The total cost of the modifications is estimated to be around €2,000.
Modernizing the heating system is expected to generate significant long-term savings on energy costs while maintaining a high level of living comfort. Additionally, a solar power system with battery storage will be installed at the site.
Fabian Sander from Centria University of Applied Sciences presented a farm-scale biogas plant at the event, where a battery energy storage system is integrated into a virtual power plant. He explained how energy storage and smart software can be used to balance energy supply and demand.
The farm is located in Härkäneva, Toholampi, and is owned by Ilpo Wennström, also known as Finland’s "Gas Emperor." His farm currently operates two biogas reactors: one that generates heat and electricity for the farm’s own needs and another that produces transport-grade biogas as a renewable alternative to natural gas for vehicles.
The farm’s energy consumption varies between 50–150 kW. The biogas reactor has a production capacity of approximately 70 kW year-round, making the farm nearly energy self-sufficient. To further improve energy efficiency, a battery energy storage system (BESS) will be installed, allowing surplus electricity to be stored for later use or sold to the grid when market prices are favorable. The system is regulated by an automation software developed within the COPOWER project, which operates separately from the biogas production automation.
During the two-day visit, COPOWER project partners had the opportunity to explore the Hybrid Laboratory at Oulu University of Applied Sciences, where cutting-edge energy solutions are developed and tested. Participants also visited Jahotec Oy’s biogas plant in Liminka and Volter Oy, a manufacturer of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems that utilize thermochemical gasification to generate energy from wood chips.These visits provided valuable insights into sustainable energy innovations and their practical applications.
Community-based virtual power plants (cVPPs) are being developed and implemented throughout 2025. At their best, they can optimize and integrate multiple decentralized energy production solutions by collecting and analyzing predictive and real-time data from various sources, such as energy consumption, weather forecasts, and energy price estimates. This enables households to achieve verifiable cost savings.
The inspiring pilot projects in northern climate conditions and the site visits highlight the future potential of renewable energy technology in community development and building a sustainable energy future. A total of 20 partner organizations are collaborating on the COPOWER project, including six core project partners and 14 associate partners.
Alongside Oulu University and Centria University of Applied Sciences, the project partners include ERNACT and Donegal County Council from Ireland, Nólsoy Energy Ltd from the Faroe Islands, and the University of Iceland. The project is part of the Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme and has a total budget of nearly €1.5 million. It will run until May 31, 2026.
Read more about the COPOWER project and its development here.
Author: Markku Kananen, M.Sc (eng), project manager, COPOWER project, University of Oulu Kerttu Saalasti Institute, Future Manufacturing Technologies (FMT) -research group
Photo: ERNACT (Irlanti)
Contact: markku.kananen@oulu.fi
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