The deal aims at better integrating solar energy into the utility grid, a feature increasingly important in Germany due to the rapidly rising share of intermittent renewable power in the county's electricity mix.

Germany last year met about a third of its electricity needs from renewables.

Using data supplied by SMA, TenneT can make more realistic, real-time projections of the level of fed-in solar energy in the TenneT control area and, in combination with meteorological data for the coming hours and days, make more accurate predictions, the companies say.

"Following