A Compact PV Panel Model for Cyber-Physical Systems in Smart Cities

One of the ambitious goals of the ‘‘Smart city’’ paradigm is to design zero-energy buildings. Buildings can be considered as connected cyber-physical systems that require the construction of sound methodologies inherited from the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) research. In particular, aiming at autonomous buildings, the effective design of renewable energy sources is a key aspect for which such methodologies have to be developed. In this work, we propose a modeling strategy for the early estimation of the performance of photovoltaic (PV) arrays. Although a plethora of PV panel models there exists, most of these models suffer from accuracy/complexity tradeoffs. On one hand, building fast models forces to ignore either the correlation between temperature and irradiance, or the topology of panels, thus yielding inaccurate estimations. On the other, more accurate models are time consuming and require costly measurements or circuit analysis, that cannot be extracted from the sole datasheet. This paper proposes a compact semi-empirical model, suitable for real time simulation and built solely from information derived from the PV panel datasheet. The model is built by empirically fitting an expression of the panel operating point as a function of both irradiance and temperature, and of the adopted PV system topology. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed model have been validated w.r.t. the production traces of the PV systems of a real world industrial building

A Microservices-based Framework for Smart Design and Optimization of PV Installations

The design of photovoltaic (PV) installations mostly relies on rule-of-thumb criteria and on gross estimates of the shading patterns, and the few optimized approaches are generally focused on the problem of identifying the most suitable surfaces (e.g., roofs) in a larger geographic area (e.g., city or district). This work proposes a framework to address the design and the optimization of PV installations through a set of microservices focusing on the different variables of the design: identification of the target surfaces, elaboration of weather data, modeling of the PV panel, and floorplanning of the panel on the surface. The microservices architecture ensures extensibility and generality, as the user may execute only a subset of the proposed services or provide novel algorithms to extend the existing ones. Additionally, the framework provides a set of built-in models that allow sensitivity to the distribution of shades and accurate modeling of the power production over time. We show the many benefits of the proposed framework on two different use cases

A Semi-Empirical Model of PV Modules Including Manufacturing I-V Mismatch

This paper presents an analysis of the impact of manufacturing variability in PV modules when interconnected into a large PV panel. The key enabling technology is a compact semiempirical model, that is built solely from information derived from datasheets, without requiring extraction of electrical parameters or measurements. The model explicits the dependency of output power on those quantities that are heavily affected by variability, like short circuit current and open circuit voltage. In this way, variability can be included with Monte Carlo techniques and tuned to the desired distributions and tolerance. In the experimental results, we prove the effectiveness of the model in the analysis of the optimal interconnection of PV modules, with the goal of reducing the impact of variability

A new world : the geopolitics of the energy transformation

Aware that the growing deployment of renewables has set in motion a global energy transformation with significant implications for geopolitics, Adnan Z. Amin, the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), with the support of the Governments of Germany, Norway and the United Arab Emirates, convened the Global Commission in January 2018. Chaired by former President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson of Iceland, the Commission comprises a diverse group of distinguished leaders from the worlds of politics, energy, economics, trade, environment and development. The Commission is an independent body with members serving in their individual capacity. This Report analyzes the geopolitical implications of the global energy transformation driven by renewables. It is the culmination of ten months’ deliberations by the Commission, involving four meetings held in Berlin, Oslo Reykjavik and Abu Dhabi respectively, as well as consultations with business leaders, academics and policy thinkers. It is informed by a number of background papers drafted by experts in the fields of energy, security and geopolitics. The Commission takes full and independent responsibility for this Report, which reflects the consensus of its members

A proposed assessment scheme for smart sustainable urban development

The twenty-first century belongs to the cities. For the first time in history, more than 50% of the world\u27s population now lives in a city and the urban population is expected to double by 2050. The opportunities created by new technologies challenge the way in which we conceive our cities, how we plan, design and construct them and how we will live in them. The current large gap between smart city and sustainable city frameworks implies that there is a need for developing their frameworks further or re-defining the smart sustainable city concept, which is relatively new and can be seen as a successor of information city, digital city and sustainable city. Furthermore, rating standards like LEED and (GPRS) do not cover all the topics behind the Smart Sustainable City Concept. The aim of this study is to conduct and perform qualitative and comparative analysis of International Standards and case studies, to provide a foundation for developing a framework for the planning of a Smart Sustainable City based on rigorous criteria and sub-criteria. This framework, can be used to assess the smart sustainable urban development of the new administrative capital of Egypt. The criteria have been selected according to international standards via ISO37120 and the Focus Group of Smart Sustainable Cities of International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T FGSSC), as a base for the framework. The framework developed in this study is more oriented towards achieving aspects of urban life at the design and planning stage versus other models existing in the literature that are more oriented towards progress in International Communication Technology (ICT) as a dimension by itself and as means to transform already built cities to smart cities. The proposed study is intended to build up and complement key dimensions that were developed by ITU-TFGSSC, by adding sub-dimensions and key indicators filling this gap in research. The outcome of this study could be used to generate a framework and develop recommendations that has been tailored for urban planners, owners, operators and occupiers, to successfully and cost effectively adopt smart sustainable solutions as they plan, design, construct, and manage future cities. City assessment tools can be used as support for decision making in urban development as they provide assessment methodologies for cities to show the progress towards defined targets

City-Friendly Smart Network Technologies and Infrastructures: The Spanish Experience

Efficient, resilient, and sustainable electricity delivery is a key cornerstone in increasingly large and complex urban environments, where citizens expect to keep or rise their living standards. In this context, cost-effective and ubiquitous digital technologies are driving the transformation of existing electrical infrastructures into truly smart systems capable of better providing the services a low-carbon society is demanding. The goal of this paper is twofold: 1) to review the dramatically evolving landscape of power systems, from the old framework based on centralized generation and control, aimed at serving inelastic customers through alternating current (ac) transmission networks and one-way distribution feeders, to a new paradigm centered mainly around two main axes: renewable generation, both centralized and distributed, and active customers (prosumers), interacting with each other through hybrid ac/dc smart grids; 2) to illustrate, through featured success stories, how several smart grid concepts and technologies have been put into practice in Spain over the last few years to optimize the performance of urban electrical assets

Efficiency and Sustainability of the Distributed Renewable Hybrid Power Systems Based on the Energy Internet, Blockchain Technology and Smart Contracts-Volume II

The climate changes that are becoming visible today are a challenge for the global research community. In this context, renewable energy sources, fuel cell systems, and other energy generating sources must be optimally combined and connected to the grid system using advanced energy transaction methods. As this reprint presents the latest solutions in the implementation of fuel cell and renewable energy in mobile and stationary applications, such as hybrid and microgrid power systems based on the Energy Internet, Blockchain technology, and smart contracts, we hope that they will be of interest to readers working in the related fields mentioned above

Machine Learning and Data Mining Applications in Power Systems

This Special Issue was intended as a forum to advance research and apply machine-learning and data-mining methods to facilitate the development of modern electric power systems, grids and devices, and smart grids and protection devices, as well as to develop tools for more accurate and efficient power system analysis. Conventional signal processing is no longer adequate to extract all the relevant information from distorted signals through filtering, estimation, and detection to facilitate decision-making and control actions. Machine learning algorithms, optimization techniques and efficient numerical algorithms, distributed signal processing, machine learning, data-mining statistical signal detection, and estimation may help to solve contemporary challenges in modern power systems. The increased use of digital information and control technology can improve the grid’s reliability, security, and efficiency; the dynamic optimization of grid operations; demand response; the incorporation of demand-side resources and integration of energy-efficient resources; distribution automation; and the integration of smart appliances and consumer devices. Signal processing offers the tools needed to convert measurement data to information, and to transform information into actionable intelligence. This Special Issue includes fifteen articles, authored by international research teams from several countries

Incentive Regulation, New Business Models, and the Transformation of the Electric Power Industry

The electric utility sector is in the midst of paradigmatic change. Market forces include decreased load growth, technological advances in distributed energy resources, pressures for decarbonization, and demands for increased efficiency and new utility services. Meanwhile, as the utility monopoly is undermined and profits slow, financial analysts signal increasing risk to potential utility investors. Suggestions for transforming the existing regulatory structure abound. At the broadest level, such proposals reflect an established divide between energy policy, which traditionally focuses on economics and markets, and environmental law, which is based in the protection of natural resources and ecosystems. To marry the two camps and reach the desired end goals of both industry and environmental advocates, an integrated approach—merging economic, regulatory, and environmental perspectives—must be taken. A key aspect of the analysis must be the recognition that regulation creates incentives, and incentive-based regulation can and should be used to further goals for the new utility system. This Article: (1) identifies regulatory and economic incentives embedded in the current utility system; (2) assesses current market trends and new utility goals; and (3) analyzes the intersection of embedded regulatory incentives and key proposals for regulatory changes in light of the new goals. It finds that proposals for regulatory change often fail to account for existing regulatory incentives, and ignore opportunities to use regulatory incentives to modify and encourage desired utility behavior. It concludes with recommendations for ways to incorporate incentive-based regulation in proposals for new utility regulatory structures