{"id":31902,"date":"2025-09-12T10:01:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T08:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/?p=31902"},"modified":"2026-03-05T17:30:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:30:04","slug":"peak-shaving-enables-manufacturing-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/12\/peak-shaving-enables-manufacturing-expansion\/","title":{"rendered":"Peak shaving enables manufacturing expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the challenges facing successful manufacturing companies in the Netherlands is that when they wish to expand their factory output, there may not be sufficient grid capacity in their location to support it.<\/p>\n

This was the case for the Fiber Line<\/a> facility based in Drachten. Fiber Line manufacture high-performance, high tech cords and yarns for many demanding applications – including composite building; safety; packaging; transmission; lifting and haulage.<\/p>\n

Their electricity grid connection allows for a maximum power draw of 75kW – but their power demand fluctuates between 25kW and 150kW during their manufacturing process.<\/p>\n

The workaround which was in place was a 360kW solar panel array. Most days it was capable of producing a lot of energy. Some days it wasn’t. In the summer months, a lot of potential was wasted because there was no facility to store energy – meaning that the solar harvest had to be strangled because they could sell only some<\/em> of it back to the grid. Limited grid infrastructure in their location means that the maximum allowable grid feed is 150kW.<\/p>\n

With continued growth, Fiber Line needed to expand their factory output, so the time had come to re-evaluate their energy provision and to design a solution which can meet their future energy demands …solving the problem once, and for all time. \"\"<\/a> To do this they called Dutch specialists in sustainable energy and climate control, Bekkema Installatietechniek.<\/a> Bekkema are familiar with the grid energy limitation, of course, and have developed a number of Energy Storage Systems (ESS), to help clients overcome the difficulties associated with expansion where there is a limited grid.<\/p>\n

An ESS provides battery storage – sometimes on a huge scale – which can be used night or day either to provide lower cost energy, or to augment a limited grid supply in order to meet peak demands. In the case of Fiber Line, battery stored energy is inverted to AC to meet peak energy demands during their manufacturing process. The backup power is provided both automatically and instantly, whenever required.<\/p>\n

\u00a0How and when do Fiber Line use energy…<\/h4>\n

Menno Bekkema<\/em> – grandson of the company’s founder – explains that they began by analysing how power was used everyday at the Fiber Line premises; they also monitored their solar generation, month by month. “From that data we were able to simulate the energy surplus and power shortfalls which were likely to occur throughout the year …and therefore make an accurate prediction of the required energy storage capacity.”<\/em><\/p>\n

They drew up a list of the devices needed for the new power system. With a list of necessary devices they could create a 3D model to demonstrate how it could be built into a modified shipping container; and they could produce a wiring diagram for the system realisation. The system was built by Hessel Zwaan<\/em>, who is pictured at the head of this article. \"\"<\/a> Installing the power system into a container brings a number of advantages: The system can be built at Bekkema’s premises – there’s minimum disruption for Fiber Line, and maximum convenience for Bekkema. Also, it is less expensive to meet safety regulations by converting a container than it is to convert an existing bricks-and-mortar building. Bekkema are able to deliver the containerised system – working and tested – with only the infrastructure cable connections left to be made on site.<\/p>\n

What’s in the container?<\/h4>\n