Towards a Modular Energy Systems Framework for Neural Energy Islands

Decentralization of electricity generation can trigger the integration of renewable energy sources and battery systems to increase the security of supply, reduce energy imports and decarbonize the energy future. Despite their obvious benefits for the energy system as a whole, the grid integration of variable and intermittent RES (VRES) presents major challenges in matching their non-deterministic output to electricity demand. On the other hand, to fully realize the vision of affordable distributed solutions in the distribution grid novel business models is required. In response to these challenges we propose an innovative district-level energy management framework for areas where the presence of high shares of distributed renewable energy sources and battery systems mandates for fine-grained optimization. More specifically, by combining battery energy storage systems, demand response, electric vehicle charging optimization, and other flexibility sources at the local level, the proposed solution can offer a cost-efficient pathway for local energy system optimization in the presence of high volumes of variable and intermittent renewable energy sources. In addition, we present novel business models, allowing local energy communities to participate in local flexibility markets while paving the way for the realization of novel microgrid-as-a-service models, assigning the local energy communities the role of “aggregator of aggregators” for the provision of added value services to the wider transmission and distribution system