Blog / Mopabloem, the tulip producer, selects Energy Pool’s EMS/PMS to handle the complexity of its multi-energy system

Mopabloem, the tulip producer, selects Energy Pool’s EMS/PMS to handle the complexity of its multi-energy system

In the Netherlands, an integrated EMS and PMS enable a tulip producer to become an industrial prosumer on a saturated grid

The Netherlands now hosts more solar panels than residents. This rapid surge in solar capacity has contributed to a growing challenge: grid congestion. To support grid stability while maximising their own energy efficiency, prosumers can leverage flexibility resources such as energy storage and combined heat and power (CHP).

But to truly unlock this potential, they need the right tools, an Energy Management System (EMS) and a Power Management System (PMS) capable of orchestrating the complex interplay between their energy assets and the wider grid.

That’s precisely why Dutch horticultural producer Mopabloem turned to Energy Pool for a smart, integrated solution.

Industrial prosumers play a key role in tackling grid congestion in the context of growing renewable energy integration

As a European leader in solar energy production, the Netherlands provides a prime testing ground for solutions aimed at addressing grid congestion a situation that arises when network infrastructure, such as power lines, cannot accommodate excessive supply (for example, from solar panels) or demand at a given time. Congestion can lead to efficiency and reliability issues, such as line losses and power outages, and can also prevent the cleanest and most affordable energy from being delivered precisely where and when it is needed.

At times, renewable energy production must be curtailed, increasing the overall share of fossil fuels in the energy mix. Today, industrial prosumers are playing an increasingly vital role in alleviating these bottlenecks, helping to build a more resilient and sustainable grid. These non-residential users don’t generate energy primarily for resale, but rather for their own consumption. They often invest in assets such as thermal or battery-based energy storage systems and combined heat and power (CHP) engines to maximise self-consumption and feed any surplus energy back into the grid.

Industrial prosumers typically operate multi-energy systems. In the Netherlands, this complexity is further intensified by widespread grid congestion issues.

Smart and integrated Energy Management Systems (EMS) are essential tools for the prosumers of tomorrow

According to Gartner, energy optimisation and management solutions will be key to improving energy performance, as commercial energy users strive to balance short-term cost control with their longer-term transformation into prosumers and contributors to a net-zero energy future.

Dutch horticultural company Mopabloem turned to Energy Pool for an intelligent and integrated Power Management System (PMS) and Energy Management System (EMS) to manage a particularly complex energy set-up one that must simultaneously heat the company’s greenhouses and cool its tulip bulb storage facilities.

This multi-energy system includes:

- Gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) for heat production and surplus electricity sales on the spot market

- Heat pumps for cooling

- Solar panels


Previously, the company’s combined heat and power (CHP) plant was used to produce heat for the facility and electricity for sale on the spot energy market. The company wanted to add an energy storage system, but the short-term cost of batteries was prohibitive. As a result, they opted for:

- An electric boiler for electricity production from heat

- Additional water tanks for heat storage

- Potential batteries for future frequency containment reserve (FCR) purposes


When it comes to Mopabloem’s energy assets and their connection to the grid, several factors needed to be considered, including the mechanical constraints on machines (such as motor starts) and the limits on how much electricity can be fed into the grid at any given time. Energy Pool’s Power Management System (PMS), implemented during the first phase of the project, enables real-time management of the system in line with the current market conditions.

Energy Pool’s software provides market flexibility monetisation features, offering advanced forecasts based on data from multiple sources. This includes weather forecasts for solar production, market predictions, and information about the availability of on-site stored energy, enabling industrial prosumers to make more informed energy purchasing decisions each day, despite the complex arbitrage involved. This leads to increased self-consumption and optimised energy purchasing and tendering.

The future of prosumers: participation in flexibility schemes

Energy Pool’s software seamlessly integrates local energy management, energy optimisation, market optimisation, and flexibility market monetisation. The solution not only helps Mopabloem reduce its energy costs but also positions the company as a true prosumer, contributing to grid stability and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

In the future, industrial prosumers like Mopabloem, keen to offer their distributed flexibility resources to Transmission System Operators (TSOs) through incentivised flexibility schemes, could further boost their revenues.

For Energy Pool, Mopabloem serves as the industry benchmark for implementing an integrated EMS and PMS for a commercial consumer, particularly in the context of a highly complex grid.

If you're an industrial or commercial consumer, get in touch with Energy Pool today to find out how you can become a prosumer!