Local energy markets - an IT-architecture design

In recent years, local energy markets have become an important concept in more decentralized energy systems. Implementations in pilot projects provide first insights into different hypotheses and approaches. From a technical perspective, the requirements for the IT infrastructure of a local energy market are diverse, and a holistic view of its architecture is therefore necessary. This article presents an IT-architecture, which enables all basic local energy market functionalities, processes and modules based on the available literature. The proposed IT-architecture can serve as a blueprint for future local market projects as it covers the basic processes and is at the same time extendable. Furthermore, we give a detailed description of a real-world implementation of a local energy market using the described IT-architecture and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the utilized technologies along with this case study

Direct Policy Search for Multiobjective Optimization of the Sizing and Operation of Citizen Energy Communities

Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) are increasingly promoted in the European Union and beyond as a form of locally operated microgrids. While traditional microgrid research is often focused on an optimized operation, individual preferences regarding conflicting objectives are becoming more important in such communities. In this study, we present an evolutionary algorithm that has previously been used for a multiobjective operation of microgrids and include the perspective of heat consumption and initial sizing decisions using direct policy search. This way, the developed tool can be used by CEC planners to integrate conflicting objectives of residents in the installation phase. We introduce the algorithm formulation and demonstrate its functionality on a case study for different ambient conditions. The results show the opportunities to size and operate CECs through the presented algorithm

Scaling the Concept of Citizen Energy Communities through a Platform-Based Decision Support System

The first generation of prototypes for citizen energy communities is completed. While these pilot projects of decentralized energy communities receive much attention in research, their concepts have yet to be implemented on a large scale. We find that potential participants of citizen energy communities lack information and the means to propose and implement joint infrastructure projects like shared electrical storage investment. Furthermore, in current pilots, the main focus is often directed towards electricity generation and consumption. However, for a successful energy transition, the three energy sectors of electricity, heat and mobility need to be considered. In this paper, we introduce a platform-based decision support information system that enables residential consumers and prosumers to create citizen energy communities. We determine the information that is needed to configure a local energy infrastructure and conceptualize a coordination mechanism that merges diverging preferences of participants. We demonstrate the application of the proposed framework on empirical data from the Landau Microgrid Project to provide a proof of concept. The developed platform facilitates the transition of citizen energy communities from a niche phenomenon to a large-scale concept and is therefore an implementable solution from the information system domain towards the mitigation of climate change