De Princepeel Estate: Sustainable Business Practices Across 540 Hectares
- Wanroij
- Optimizing Self-Consumption
- Asset Monitoring
- Congestion Management
B.V. Landgoed De Princepeel is part of the Smits Group, a family-owned business based in Wanroij (North Brabant). The estate has a rich history dating back to the 11th century and was acquired by the Smits family in the mid-1980s. It covers 540 contiguous hectares and serves as the historic home base for the companies within the Smits Group.
The company’s operations are wide-ranging: arable farming on more than 500 hectares with over ten crops, a professional pig farm, a biogas plant that supplies green energy to more than 15,000 households, and Kwaliflex Recycling—one of the largest suppliers of green energy from biogas in the Netherlands. Sustainability isn’t just a marketing pitch at Princepeel; it’s at the heart of every business unit.
How do you manage and optimize multiple solar power systems on a 540-hectare estate—including congestion management on the local grid?
The Smits Group makes a long-term commitment to investing in renewable energy generation: from biogas to solar power. At the Boompjesweg site, grid congestion is also an issue: transmission capacity on the local grid is limited. Through a Capacity Limiting Contract (CBC) with the grid operator, the facility temporarily reduces its feed-in during periods of congestion—in exchange for compensation. Covolt coordinates this entirely, along with technical management and market participation across all six locations.
Covolt provides a comprehensive range of services from its agricultural portfolio for the De Princepeel Estate’s Boompjesweg location in Landhorst, organized into four pillars:
Congestion Management – Capacity-Based Contract (CSC)
- Management of the CSC with the local grid operator via GOPACS
- Forecasting and Allocating Transport Capacity
- Handling of power curtailment signals during grid congestion
- Additional returns for Princepeel from the use of the facility
Asset Monitoring
- Preventive and corrective maintenance of PV systems, totaling 1.6 MWp
- Component Health Monitoring and Troubleshooting Service
- Panel cleaning based on production data
Flex Trading Aggregation Services
- Market participation on behalf of Landgoed De Princepeel
- Balancing of available PV flexibility
- Optimizing Energy Yield in the Market
Power Control Nomination Services
- Daily nomination of expected production sites
- Production planning based on weather forecasts
- Complete relief from balance sheet liability
With Covolt, the De Princepeel Estate has a single partner for the full spectrum of solar power management and optimization across multiple locations—from congestion management to daily dispatch. This fits seamlessly into the Smits Group’s broader sustainability strategy.
The partnership enables Princepeel to professionally manage its solar portfolio while maintaining the company’s focus on crop farming, pig farming, and biogas production.
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Asset Monitoring
Real-time PV monitoring -
Power Control
Optimizing self-consumption and scheduling -
Flex Trading
Deploying flexible capacity in energy markets
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