Next Kraftwerke GmbH  operates a large-scale Virtual Power Plant (VPP) that works like a power plant operator. By linking its clients’ power-producing and consuming units, Next Kraftwerke has created a sizeable digital platform from which it can smartly distribute supply and demand, trading power for profit. The company started up in 2009, and now bundles around 3,000 medium and small-scale power-producing and power-consuming units. Among other energy sources, it uses biogas, wind, and solar power generators. Next Kraftwerke has around 184 million euros in sales and trades around 9 TWh of power annually.

• Further reading: CLEW factsheet Volatile but predictable: Forecasting renewable power generation, CLEW factsheet Germany's electricity grid stable amid energy transition
• CLEW reseach tour: The Energiewende - Decarbonising Europe’s industrial heartland
• Date of publication: July 2016