Virtus project: A scalable aggregation platform for the intelligent virtual management of distributed energy resources

open5noVIRTUS Project, funded by Cassa per i Servizi Energetici e Ambientali (Fund for Energy and Environmental Services-CSEA)-Project code CCSEB_00094.The VIRTUS project aims to create a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) prototype coordinating the Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) of the power system and providing services to the system operators and the various players of the electricity markets, with a particular focus on the industrial sector agents. The VPP will be able to manage a significant number of DERs and simulate realistic plants, components, and market data to study different operating conditions and the future impact of the policy changes of the Balancing Markets (BM). This paper describes the project’s aim, the general structure of the proposed framework, and its optimization and simulation modules. Then, we assess the scalability of the optimization module, designed to provide the maximum possible flexibility to the system operators, exploiting the simulation module of the VPP.openBianchi S.; De Filippo A.; Magnani S.; Mosaico G.; Silvestro F.Bianchi S.; De Filippo A.; Magnani S.; Mosaico G.; Silvestro F

Techno-economic energy models for low carbon business parks

To mitigate climate change, global greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced substantially. Industry and energy sector together are responsible for a major share of those emissions. Hence the development of low carbon business parks by maximising energy efficiency and changing to collective, renewable energy systems at local level holds a high reduction potential. Yet, there is no uniform approach to determine the optimal combination and operation of energy technologies composing such energy systems. However, techno-economic energy models, custom tailored for business parks, can offer a solution, as they identify the configuration and operation that provide an optimal trade-off between economic and environmental performances. However, models specifically developed for industrial park energy systems are not detected in literature, so identifying an existing model that can be adapted is an essential step. In this paper, energy model classifications are scanned for adequate model characteristics and accordingly, a confined number of models are selected and described. Subsequently, main model features are compared, a practical typology is proposed and applicability towards modelling industrial park energy systems is evaluated. Energy system evolution models offer the most perspective to compose a holistic, but simplified model, whereas advanced energy system integration models can adequately be employed to assess energy integration for business clusters up to entire industrial sites. Energy system simulation models, however, provide deeper insight in the system’s operation

Energy efficiency in discrete-manufacturing systems: insights, trends, and control strategies

Since the depletion of fossil energy sources, rising energy prices, and governmental regulation restrictions, the current manufacturing industry is shifting towards more efficient and sustainable systems. This transformation has promoted the identification of energy saving opportunities and the development of new technologies and strategies oriented to improve the energy efficiency of such systems. This paper outlines and discusses most of the research reported during the last decade regarding energy efficiency in manufacturing systems, the current technologies and strategies to improve that efficiency, identifying and remarking those related to the design of management/control strategies. Based on this fact, this paper aims to provide a review of strategies for reducing energy consumption and optimizing the use of resources within a plant into the context of discrete manufacturing. The review performed concerning the current context of manufacturing systems, control systems implemented, and their transformation towards Industry 4.0 might be useful in both the academic and industrial dimension to identify trends and critical points and suggest further research lines.Peer ReviewedPreprin

Rural electrification in central america and east africa, two case studies of sustainable microgrids

This paper deals with the electrification of rural villages in developing countries using Sustainable Energy Systems. The rural electrification feasibility study is done using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable PRO (HOMER PRO). The HOMER PRO energy modelling software is an optimization software improved by U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It helps in designing, comparing and optimizing the design of power generation technologies. In this paper, two rural electrification case studies are modelled and analysed using HOMER PRO. Technical and economic evaluation criteria are applied to study the feasibility of a micro-hydro plant in El Díptamo (Honduras), and a hybrid plant composed of photovoltaic module arrays, Diesel generators, and flow batteries, in a small island on Victoria Lake. For both cases, we show the results of the studies of the daily and yearly loads, of the resources available in the area and the economic evaluation of the chosen plants configuration

A Spatial Agent-Based Model of N-Person Prisoner's Dilemma Cooperation in a Socio-Geographic Community

The purpose of this paper is to present a spatial agent-based model of N-person prisoner's dilemma that is designed to simulate the collective communication and cooperation within a socio-geographic community. Based on a tight coupling of REPAST and a vector Geographic Information System, the model simulates the emergence of cooperation from the mobility behaviors and interaction strategies of citizen agents. To approximate human behavior, the agents are set as stochastic learning automata with Pavlovian personalities and attitudes. A review of the theory of the standard prisoner's dilemma, the iterated prisoner's dilemma, and the N-person prisoner's dilemma is given as well as an overview of the generic architecture of the agent-based model. The capabilities of the spatial N-person prisoner's dilemma component are demonstrated with several scenario simulation runs for varied initial cooperation percentages and mobility dynamics. Experimental results revealed that agent mobility and context preservation bring qualitatively different effects to the evolution of cooperative behavior in an analyzed spatial environment.Agent Based Modeling, Cooperation, Prisoners Dilemma, Spatial Interaction Model, Spatially Structured Social Dilemma, Geographic Information Systems

Space and Time: Wind in an Investment Planning Model

Investment planning models inform investment decisions and government policies. Current models do not capture the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources, restricting the applicability of the models for high penetrations of renewables. We provide a methodology to capture spatial variation in wind output in combination with transmission constraints. The representation of wind distributions with stochastic approaches or an extensive historic data set would exceed computational constraints for real world application. Hence we restrict the amount of input data, and use boot-strapping to illustrate the robustness of the results. For the UK power system we model wind deployment and the value of transmission capacity