Running 350 MW of solar and batteries across four markets from one workspace

Context

Grid congestion in the Netherlands is acute. New connections are paused in multiple provinces and solar is regularly curtailed. Independent power producers running large, distributed portfolios need to respond to these signals reliably while earning from the markets that reward that response.

Problem

DSG’s sites operated as separate units on an unstable legacy system that regularly dropped out, taking visibility and control with it. There was no single view of the portfolio and no reliable way to manage it as a whole.

Approach

Powernaut deployed across the full 350 MW portfolio on existing hardware, fast and without disruption. The two teams still work side by side, and DSG’s data and trading stayed in its own hands from day one.

The challenge

DSG owns solar and battery installations spread across the Netherlands. Running a portfolio of that size and spread means keeping every site healthy, reacting when conditions change, and increasingly, participating in multiple electricity markets at once. The ambition was there. The tooling was not.

The legacy data acquisition system was unstable. It dropped out frequently, and when it did, DSG lost the ability to control and curtail its sites. There was no single view of what the portfolio was doing, no way to confirm whether an instruction had actually been followed, and no foundation to build a multi-market trading operation on.

“We used to have a solution already for acquiring asset data from our sites, but the solution we had was not stable. So we had frequent issues or losing the ability to control and curtail our systems.”
Martijn Vermeer, Chief Operations Officer, DSG

The solution

Market operations

The same workspace connects DSG’s portfolio to day-ahead, intraday, congestion management and balancing markets. DSG does not need separate tools or separate teams per market. One interface, one portfolio view, every market that pays.

“It was clear from the beginning that all the different types of markets would be able to manage and control it with Powernaut. So we started very simple with day-ahead. We moved towards intraday, and next steps will be congestion exposed, redispatch, which are all part of congestion management. But also, the possibility is to act on the balancing markets.”
Martijn Vermeer, Chief Operations Officer, DSG

Business operations

Settlement, subsidy tracking and financial reporting run per asset on the same shared data. DSG can trace every kilowatt-hour from generation through dispatch to settlement without reconciling across disconnected systems.

The three layers are not separate products bolted together. They run as one loop on shared data, so a control action on an asset shows up in the market position and in the financial reporting without anyone having to stitch it together. One workspace, three views, the same data underneath.

Implementation

Powernaut deployed across DSG’s entire 350 MW portfolio on the hardware DSG already owned, without requiring new equipment or taking sites offline.

1. The existing hardware stayed in place. Powernaut connected to DSG’s inverters and monitoring infrastructure as it stood. No new boxes at the site. No downtime.
2. Full portfolio from the start. The workspace went live across the full portfolio at once, with no slow site-by-site rollout. DSG had a single operational view from day one.
3. The two teams keep building together. The Powernaut and DSG teams continue to work side by side. New markets, new sites and new capabilities are built together in a tight, iterative loop.

The impact

DSG’s assets went from scattered and manual to a single coordinated portfolio operating across four live markets.

Four markets run from one workspace

DSG trades its portfolio across day-ahead, intraday, congestion management and balancing markets from a single interface. No separate tools per market, no stitching data between systems.

Every kWh traced

Generation, dispatch, settlement and subsidy tracking all run on the same shared data. DSG can follow a kilowatt-hour from the panel to the market to the financial report without reconciling across systems.

DSG keeps full ownership

DSG’s data and trading remain its own, reachable over API and MCP. There is no profit share, no black box, and no third party taking the wheel. Powernaut runs the operational layer. DSG runs the business.

Collaboration

The relationship between DSG and Powernaut is built on speed, directness and mutual trust. Powernaut deployed fast on existing hardware. The two teams worked and continue to work hands-on together, iterating on new markets and new capabilities as DSG’s business evolves.

“I think it’s very clear that Powernaut will be able to assist us with that. And having that partnership and having that cooperation with a company you can trust in is very important.”
Martijn Vermeer, Chief Operations Officer, DSG

The future

The same workspace that runs DSG’s portfolio today is ready to grow with it. More sites, battery co-location, and deeper market participation are all ahead. The foundation is already live, and adding capacity or reaching new markets does not mean adding new tools or starting over.

DSG is building the operating model for the modern IPP: one workspace, every asset monitored and controlled, every market reachable, every kilowatt-hour traced from generation to settlement.