Renewable Energy Help Desk

Renewable Energy Grid and System Integration Help Desk

Welcome to the SAGEN Renewable Energy Grid and System Integration Help Desk. This feature of the SAGEN website allows members of partner organisations to interact with a pool of experts on specific, concise questions around the topic of renewable energy grid and system integration.

However, if we discover that answering a specific question is more complex than anticipated it may be considered to include such question into existing studies or create new work packages on the topic.

For example, such questions could be:

What ancillary services are defined and how are they procured in the United Kingdom?
What are the most common use/business cases for utility scale battery energy storage systems internationally?
Which international standards deal with the grid connection of distributed generators?
How much base load has to be maintained in Germany for safe and reliable system operation?

If you have a question you can post it to our international pool of experts using the below form. The experts have a wealth of experience in system integration of renewable energies as well as power system planning, modelling and operation. Please also look at the “meet the experts” section below the form.

Once an enquiry has been submitted the administrator will forward it to the most expert most qualified to answer the question. A ticketing system is used so that you are kept up to date about the process all the time. Unless the questions require more detailed research or analysis, they should be answered within a week.

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Meet the Experts


Dr. Markus Pöller Dr Markus Pöller has more than 24 years of experience in the areas of power system planning, power system operations, power system analysis and power system modelling in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Since he came to South Africa for the first time in 1998, Markus Pöller was regularly involved in power system projects in South Africa and Namibia. Read more... Read more... Dr Pöller is Managing Director and co-founder of the German-British consulting company M.P.E. Before he founded M.P.E. in 2012, he was joint Managing Director of DIgSILENT GmbH and responsible for the development of the power system analysis software DIgSILENT PowerFactory (since 1995). He holds a Dr.-Ing. degree (Ph.D.) from the University of Hanover, Germany, a Dipl.-Ing. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany and a Dipl.-Ing. degree in Electronics and Telecommunication from Telecom ParisTech, Paris, France.	Dr. Peter Lilje Dr Peter Lilje has more than 27 years of experience in the areas of power system modelling and analysis, power system operation, power system failure investigations and generator testing & commissioning. Read more... Read more... Dr Lilje has been with M.P.E. GmbH in Germany since 2014 as lead engineer. His responsibilities include the management and execution of power system studies in international consulting projects. He was with DIgSILENT GmbH from 2006 to 2013 as power system consultant, where he worked on many projects related to generation from renewable energy sources and the integration of such generation into power systems. Before 2006 he was with Eskom in South Africa in numerous positions and departments, including System Operator and Generation Engineering. He obtained the degrees of B.Sc. Electrical Engineering from the University of Natal in Durban, B. Comm. Business Management from the University of South Africa and Ph.D. in Power System Stability from the University of Cape Town.	Dr. Jonathan Horne Dr Jonathan Horne has more than 18 years of experience in power system stability, modelling, grid code development, generator testing & simulation compliance, power system operations and planning. Read more... Read more... Dr Horne is Managing Director and founder of M.P.E. LTD, the U.K. branch of M.P.E. He is responsible for the operation of the U.K & Ireland based activities of M.P.E. together with supporting many of M.P.E.’s international projects. Before joining M.P.E. in 2013, Jonathan worked as a Grid Connection Manager with the offshore wind developer - Ørsted (since 2012), Power System Engineer with the SO & TO in Great Britain - National Grid (since 2005), and the Northern Irish system operator - SONI LTD (since 2002). He holds a PhD in Power System Stability from Queen’s University Belfast (2011), and a BEng (Hons) degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering also from Queen’s University Belfast (2002).

Crescent Mushwana Crescent Mushwana has more than 20 years of experience in the power sector, primarily power system planning and substation design for Eskom and Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Read more... Read more... Mr Mushwana holds the position of a principal engineer and research group leader for Energy Systems research group of the Energy Centre at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). His research focus is in energy systems planning and operation, microgrids and smart grids, with a special focus on research and technical studies for public and private clients aimed at transitioning the current energy system to a low-carbon energy future. He holds a M.Eng. Degree in electrical engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.	Geeven Moodley Geeven Moodley has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of power system modelling and simulation, renewable energy integration, power system stability and grid code compliance. He is also actively involved in developing and presented training courses in the areas of power system simulation with Digsilent’s Powerfactory as the primary tool. Read more...	Dr Glenn Jennings Dr Glenn Jennings has more than 30 years of experience in the area of power system operations, power system analysis and power system modelling. He has worked extensively with power system stability, power quality and sub-synchronous oscillation studies in both conventional and renewable energy plants. Read more... Read more... Dr Jennings is a Director and Co-Owner of Digsilent Buyisa. He is responsible for the financial operations of the business as well as being responsible for the delivery of specialized training courses and consulting work. Prior to joining Digsilent Buyisa in 2006 he worked as an independent consultant and as a lecturer and research associate at the University of Natal. He holds a PhD degree and a B.Sc.Eng. (Cum Laude) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Natal and is a member the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Limitation of Liabilities

In no event shall Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH or any of the experts answering questions posted to the Help Desk be liable for any indirect, special, incidental or consequential loss, damage or expense of whatever nature arising from the answers or advise given.

The views and opinions expressed by the experts answering the questions posted to the Help Desk do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Renewable Energy Grid and System Integration Help Desk

Meet the Experts

Dr. Markus Pöller

Dr. Peter Lilje

Dr. Jonathan Horne