Realtime Interface (RTI)
A Netbeheer Nederland certified RTI, built into your control layer
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TL;DR
- As of January 2024, every new Dutch solar, wind or battery site between 1 MWp and 50 MWp is legally required to run a Realtime Interface (RTI).
- Helin is one of the few certified RTI customer end-point providers recognized by Netbeheer Nederland (NBNL).
- The RTI lets grid operators curtail your output remotely and reconnect faster during grid congestion, in exchange for a compliant endpoint on your site.
- Smart Grid Manager is built to comply with the NBNL technical specification, so RTI compliance and your own commercial control strategy run on the same box.
What it is
What is the Realtime Interface?
The Realtime Interface (RTI) is developed by Netbeheer Nederland (NBNL) to standardize grid operator control across the Netherlands, and to comply with the EU's Network Code on Requirements for Generators (NC RfG). Every generation and storage site with a capacity between 1 and 50 MW is legally required to comply. Smart Grid Manager is designed to comply with the RTI, which makes Helin a certified RTI customer end-point provider of Netbeheer Nederland.
RTI V1.0 is built on a physical, wired connection between the grid operator's RTI and the customer end-point on your site, communicating over the IEC 61850 protocol, which Helin's RTI adopts and translates into the inverter's own language. This makes sure your assets respond correctly to a control command from the grid operator. RTI V2.0 will move to a digital connection that reduces the need for additional hardware, but V2.0 is still early stage and is expected to go live in mid-2026.
Why RTI is needed
Compliance, connection speed and grid resilience
Grid code compliance
The RTI was created to manage the increasing complexity of grid integration for renewable energy sources. Helin's RTI solution is built to comply with regulation in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the EU, including the EU's Network Code on Requirements for Generators (NC RfG, 2016/631). Helin is one of the few certified RTI partners recognized by Netbeheer Nederland, and is already aligned with the RTI updates foreseen for 2026.
Faster grid connection
Getting a new energy connection in the Netherlands has become harder as waiting lists grow. Installing an RTI on your site helps you skip that queue for future power supply additions and expansions.
A more resilient grid
The RTI works as an emergency brake during congestion, and as a green light when there is spare capacity on the grid, creating more connection capacity for everyone on the network.
Guide to the Realtime Interface
How to implement the RTI
Whether you have been mandated to implement an RTI or are getting ahead of future requirements, Helin runs the implementation with you in three steps.
- 01
Assess where an RTI is needed
An RTI is currently mandated for new generation and storage sites above 1 MWp. It also benefits existing sites, since it can help you avoid the waiting list for any planned expansion.
- 02
Helin configures and integrates
Helin acts as your implementation partner and handles the RTI configuration. The flexibility of the solution keeps disruption to a minimum during deployment.
- 03
One integrated system for today and tomorrow
Once installed, the system receives and processes control commands over the communication protocols already used on your site, so generators and grid operators coordinate through one technical framework.
Certified by Netbeheer Nederland
Recognized by the body that wrote the standard
Helin is one of a small number of RTI providers certified by Netbeheer Nederland (NBNL) against its published technical specification for the Dutch Realtime Interface. NBNL maintains the official list of certified providers, and only adds a product once it has been tested against that specification.
"We are very pleased that after the publication of the Dutch Real-Time Interface standard, a handful of parties, including Helin, are offering a Real-Time Interface product, giving owners of solar and wind parks a choice."
"We are thrilled to be recognized as one of the frontrunners with our certification for RTI. Our platform is already fully prepared and operational for the future requirements of the RTI in 2026, where secure internet connections will play a critical role. So, our clients can be assured we have a proven, future-ready setup."
Compliance and control on one box
RTI is not a separate appliance on your site. It is built into Smart Grid Manager, so the same Helin Gateway that executes your commercial curtailment and trading strategy also serves as your certified RTI customer end-point. Grid operator instructions and your own site strategies combine at the edge instead of competing for control of the asset.
See Smart Grid Manager →What this is not
Not a VPN or a firewall product
The RTI is a regulated grid-operator interface with a defined technical specification, not a generic network security appliance.
Not optional if you sit in the 1–50 MWp band
New Dutch solar, wind and battery sites in this range are legally required to implement an RTI. Helin's certification does not change that obligation, it satisfies it.
Not a replacement for your own commercial strategy
The RTI handles the regulatory instruction from the grid operator. Your trading, curtailment and dispatch logic keeps running alongside it on the same Smart Grid Manager deployment.
FAQ
Questions we get asked about RTI
Get compliant without adding a second box
Talk to an engineer about whether your site needs an RTI today, and how it fits alongside the control strategy you already run.
Sources: Netbeheer Nederland RTI technical specification · EU Network Code on Requirements for Generators (NC RfG, 2016/631)