Dutch independent power producer DSG has entrusted Powernaut with unified management of its 350 MW solar and storage portfolio, against a backdrop of growing grid congestion across Europe.
Powernaut, a software start-up headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, has completed the full commercial deployment of its Energy Operations Workspace™ platform across the entire portfolio of DSG, a Dutch independent power producer (IPP). The portfolio comprises 350 MW of solar installations and battery energy storage systems (BESS) distributed across the Netherlands. The deployment allows DSG to operate hundreds of photovoltaic installations as a single coordinated fleet, centralising asset oversight, electricity market participation and operational performance. In a consolidating sector — where players such as Amarenco recently acquired 100% of Énergie Développement to strengthen its solar portfolio — unified management of distributed assets is becoming an increasingly critical operational imperative.
Grid congestion has emerged as one of the most significant obstacles to the energy transition in the Netherlands. In many regions of the country, businesses face lengthy delays in securing new electricity connections or expanding existing capacity. At European level, the European Commission estimates that €1.2 trillion of investment will be required in electricity transmission and distribution networks by 2040. Its Joint Research Centre (JRC) further suggests that up to 310 TWh of renewable generation could be curtailed in 2040 under a business-as-usual grid expansion scenario. The challenge of co-locating storage with solar is equally central for other operators, as illustrated by ReNew and Mitsui’s $730 million refinancing of a hybrid solar-wind-storage project.
For renewable portfolio operators, these constraints demand stronger real-time capabilities to monitor, control and coordinate distributed assets. Many large portfolios still rely on siloed systems for monitoring, trading and reporting. This fragmentation makes it difficult to manage an entire fleet cohesively as market and network conditions evolve continuously.
The solution deployed by Powernaut is built around a single workspace combining Asset Operations, Market Operations and Business Operations using shared data. Built on DSG’s existing hardware infrastructure, the platform does not require the replacement of equipment already in place. Unlike traditional aggregation models, DSG retains control of its operational data and trading activity throughout.
Martijn Vermeer, Chief Operating Officer of DSG, says the solution provides “much stronger oversight across the fleet and the flexibility to add new sites and participate in more electricity markets.” He notes that prior to the deployment, DSG lacked confidence that every site was operating as expected and that every activation was actually being followed through.
Florentijn Degroote, CEO and co-founder of Powernaut, describes the deployment as “an important commercial milestone” for the start-up. According to him, the DSG case demonstrates that an independent power producer can operate a large distributed portfolio across increasingly complex electricity markets without relying on a patchwork of separate systems or relinquishing control of its data. The company states the deployment represents “a strong reference point” to support other European operators moving towards more flexible operating models.
The deployment is now live across DSG’s full portfolio. Powernaut says it provides a foundation for future expansion, including the addition of new sites and battery co-location. Flexibility is steadily asserting itself as a structural pillar of the European electricity system, pushing renewable operators to equip their fleets with tools capable of integrating heterogeneous assets and participating in multiple markets simultaneously.
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