This is a 15-minute conversation between Paul Niggli, the crisis manager at Swissgrid, and Tobias Oertle, the operator of the wind tunnel Windwerk in Winterthur, Switzerland. It is wholly in German and focuses exclusively on what can be done to optimize the price for energy (in the operation of a wind tunnel). Granted, the subject matter is rather dry and following the conversation through nearly endless subtitles is a challenge – but staying with it despite of that should be worth your time.
Just a few more explanatory observations before you get started with the video.
Swissgrid is the backbone to, and the sole distributor of, electrical energy in Switzerland
Grid usage includes the transporting, transforming and distributing of the electrical energy from the power plant to the customer.
Energy prices have a tendency to fluctuate drastically and are affected by various external factors.
The grid is exposed to heavy fluctuations and thus to the resulting imbalance between electricity generation and electricity consumption.
Grid stability can be ensured by storing and retrieving control energy.
Let's go!