In mid-October, Sunly began offering a manual frequency restoration reserve (mFRR) to the Continental Europe frequency management platform, which supports Estonia's supply security as the country prepares to desynchronise from the Russian power grid in February. Sunly is a qualified market participant with the Pikkori battery and more than ten solar parks. During the first ten days, Sunly's service was ordered over 100 times, proving that it is a critical resource for the functioning of the system.
According to Adam Enok, Sunly Estonia's energy storage project manager, private companies can now contribute more to meeting power reserve needs by investing in energy storage solutions. "Energy storage simultaneously helps to lower electricity spot market prices and to maintain grid frequency, thus reducing costs for our society," Enok said.
The joining of Baltic transmission system operators with pan-European MARI (Manually Activated Reserves Initiative) frequency reserve platform has increased the responsibility of local electricity producers to maintain a balance between production and consumption. One of the first Estonian companies to offer reserves to Elering (the Estonian electricity system operator) was Sunly AS's subsidiary Metsapäike 2 OÜ, which operates the Pikkori energy storage system. Pikkori battery participated on AMRI predecessor mFRR market already since April. Sunly has built an in-house storage management and trading team over the past year. The goal is to integrate storage solutions into as many solar and wind parks as possible, which, among other benefits, helps to keep electricity prices more stable for consumers.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will disconnect from the Russia-controlled frequency area called BRELL in February 2025 to enhance energy security. After joining the Continental Europe frequency area, pan-European digital market platforms MARI and PICASSO will be used for frequency control. MARI focuses on manual frequency restoration reserves (mFRR), while PICASSO manages automatic frequency restoration reserves (aFRR). The MARI IT platform enables more precise control of balancing energy. Thus, it is crucial that electricity producers are prepared to rapidly increase or decrease production as needed. Such capability benefits all electricity consumers, as it reduces the need for dediated backup power plants and lowers the fees charged to consumers.
Sunly is a renewable energy producer that develops and operates renewable energy projects in the Baltics and Poland and invests in startups contributing to electrification. Currently, Sunly has 294 MW of operational solar parks and 305 MW under construction, as well as a 2 MWh storage solution integrated with the Pikkori solar park in Estonia.