Middleware architectures for the smart grid: A survey on the state-of-the-art, taxonomy and main open issues

The integration of small-scale renewable energy sources in the smart grid depends on several challenges that must be overcome. One of them is the presence of devices with very different characteristics present in the grid or how they can interact among them in terms of interoperability and data sharing. While this issue is usually solved by implementing a middleware layer among the available pieces of equipment in order to hide any hardware heterogeneity and offer the application layer a collection of homogenous resources to access lower levels, the variety and differences among them make the definition of what is needed in each particular case challenging. This paper offers a description of the most prominent middleware architectures for the smart grid and assesses the functionalities they have, considering the performance and features expected from them in the context of this application domain

Integration of Energy Service Components into an Open System for Future Energy Markets

De-centralized renewable energy generation in houses and farms together with their local consumers and a local energy management system (typically a household control box) can act as prosumers already nowadays. The project OS4ES (Open System for Energy Services) provides a registry-based ICT infrastructure that supports the offering and aggregation of local flexibility to larger energy amounts that the aggregator can trade on energy markets. In future smart grids the registry will act as a market plattform where prosumers can offer their energy services to get booked by the aggregators. The objective of this work was a lab test where real physical devices offer their flexibility to the registry and get operated by an aggregator instance that has booked that flexibility from the registry. A testbed for the prototypical implementation of the OS4ES has been designed and implemented in order to prepare that lab test. Finally the lab test was executed with a simulated PV-battery system and with a real CHP (Combined Heat and Power) in the Smart Grid Lab of the CC4E in the Energy Campus Bergedorf.Dezentrale erneuerbare Energieerzeuger in Haeusern und im laendlichen Umfeld bilden zusammen mit den lokalen Verbrauchern und einem lokalen Energiemanagementsystem (typischerweise Haushalt-Steuerboxen) sog. Prosumer. Das Projekt OS4ES (Open System for Energy Services) konstruiert eine registerbasierte IKTInfrastruktur, durch die der Prosumer seine Flexibilitaet anbieten und zu vermarktungsfaehigen Mengen aggregieren lassen kann. In zukuenftigen Smart Grids bildet das Register die Marktplattform, auf der Prosumer ihre Energiedienstleistungen anbieten und buchen lassen koennen. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Durchfuehrung eines Labortests, in dem reale physikalische Anlagen ihre Flexibilitaet dem Register anbieten und dann vom Aggregator betrieben werden, nachdem er diese gebucht hat. Um die prototypische Implementation des OS4ES fuer den Labortest vorzubereiten wurde ein Testbed designed und implementiert. Abschliessend wurde der Labortest durchgefuehrt, und zwar mit einem simulierten PV-Batterie-System und mit einem realen Blockheizkraftwerk im Smart Grid Labor des CC4E im Energie-Campus Bergedorf