Volue Smart Power goes into operation at Italy’s largest power producer

Volue, a leader in technologies and services that enable its customers to succeed in the energy transition, has successfully completed the software implementation of its Smart Power software with Enel Italy, part of the multinational Enel Group.  

Enel uses the software for production planning, input to bidding strategies and real time power plant dispatch. It was introduced in October 2023 on all its Italian power plants, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  

Smart Power provides Enel with comprehensive multi-asset support, the economic and physical dispatch of complex power assets, and scalable data management. The portfolio modelled in Volue Smart Power comprises several hundreds of generation assets (hydro, thermal, storage systems, and renewables) with a total production of about 48,4 TWh in 2022. 

The Enel Group’s total capacity is more than 89 GW and approximately 75% of the energy produced is zero-emission. This is distributed over a network of around 2 million kilometers, supplying it to over 61 million households and businesses.  

Volue Smart Power is a next generation software solution that automates and optimises production, planning, bidding and trading. It was developed and introduced to address the ever-increasing complexity of the power markets. This latest deal will see Enel use the software to optimise its assets, balance renewable portfolio fluctuations and unlock unexploited flexibility.  

Trond Straume, CEO, Volue, said: “Smart Power continues to support our customers to take advantage of growth and profitability opportunities, reshaping operational activity in the process. I am delighted to see that our close collaboration and strong working relationship with Enel has led to such a significant partnership.  

“Our flexible software is now being used to cover comprehensive production planning and optimisation processes across Europe, illustrating our ability to deliver standard software solutions for different companies operating within varying markets.

“By embracing automation and the strategic optimisation of assets, our customers can confidently navigate an ever evolving and volatile energy market, boosting their revenues from power production, and facilitating the wider transition towards cleaner sources of energy.” 

Carmelo Brunetto, Head of Short-Term Management, and Gabriele Portobello, Project Manager for Volue software implementation, at Enel Energy & Commodity Management Italy, said: “By using Smart Power, we have the capability to exploit our hydro production flexibility through the optimisation of the entire portfolio, maximising our assets’ value in each market session.” 

Davide Passuello, Project Manager for Volue software implementation at Enel Green Power O&M Hydro Italy, said: “With Volue’s solution, we cover O&M production processes for our entire hydroelectric fleet. We both optimise the real time dispatching in all our aggregated watercourses and share data for the Enel portfolio optimisation, leveraging on Volue’s detailed modeling capabilities.” 

Paolo Sasso, Head of O&M Hydro Italy Enel Green Power, said: “This implementation is strategic and allows us to be prepared for the changing energy scenario. Hydropower has a long story and will play an important role in the energy transition of Italy.”