Centralized Energy Systems Research Articles

Powering the Future: An Integrated Framework for Clean Renewable Energy Transition

The transition to renewable energy has been recognized as a crucial step in addressing climate change and achieving greenhouse gas reduction targets, but it can also cause energy sprawl if not planned properly. Clean renewable energy communities (CREC) are emerging globally as an approach for decentralized energy systems and an alternative to traditional centralized energy systems. CREC aim to lower the energy carbon footprint, enhance local energy resilience, and improve the quality of life of residents. Through a comprehensive literature review, this study reviews metrics that can assess the impact of energy transition plans and support decision-making to select technologies that create efficient, reliable, and accessible energy systems. It classifies these metrics into a five-dimensional sustainability approach including environmental, technical, social, economic, and political and institutional dimensions. The paper proposes a conceptual framework to guide decision-makers in recognizing the role of sustainable land development, sustainable energy planning, and resiliency as an integrated approach to energy transition planning. This framework stresses mapping the place-based potential for clean renewable energy at various scales, highlights the importance of resilience in energy planning, and addresses challenges associated with energy source selection, built environment efficiency, and the energy trade. While the framework can serve as a starting point for evaluating energy transition plans, further work is needed to address the limitations of existing metrics and identify additional evaluations for mixed-energy land use that are critical to managing energy sprawl in terms of ecosystem services and other land uses.

Assessing the potential of energy sharing through a shallow geothermal heating and cooling network

Shallow geothermal offers great potential to supply emission-free heating and cooling and has therefore a pivotal role in the transition of heating and cooling networks. This paper presents a novel heating and cooling network with possible geothermal energy sharing between decentralized borefields located at each building level. The system consolidates the benefits of both standalone and centralized energy systems to attain high-efficiency gains and ensure a secure heating and cooling supply. To study the expected system performance, a simulation model is demonstrated and applied to a real-world case study consisting of three new buildings located in Malmö, Sweden. Simulation results revealed that the established synergy through geothermal energy sharing can reduce the purchased electric energy by 23 % and increase the annual performance factors for heating and cooling by 31 and 35 %, respectively compared to the standalone system.

Developing a three stage coordinated approach to enhance efficiency and reliability of virtual power plants

A Virtual Power Plant (VPP) is a centralized energy system that manages, and coordinates distributed energy resources, integrating them into a unified entity. While the physical assets may be dispersed across various locations, the VPP integrates them into a virtual unified entity capable of responding to grid demands and market signals. This paper presents a tri-level hierarchical coordinated operational framework of VPP. Firstly, an Improved Pelican Optimization Algorithm (IPOA) is introduced to optimally schedule Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) within the VPP, resulting in a significant reduction in generation costs. Comparative analysis against conventional algorithms such as Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) demonstrates IPOA's superior performance, achieving an average reduction of 8.5% in generation costs across various case studies. The second stage focuses on securing the optimized generation data from rising cyber threats, employing the capabilities of machine learning, preferably, a convolutional autoencoder to learn the normal patterns of the optimized data to detect deviations from the optimized generation data to prevent suboptimal decisions. The model exhibits exceptional performance in detecting manipulated data, with a False Positive Rate (FPR) of 1.92% and a Detection Accuracy (DA) of 98.06%, outperforming traditional detection techniques. Lastly, the paper delves into the dynamic nature of the day ahead market that the VPP participates in. In responding to the grid by selling its optimized generated power via the day-ahead market, the VPP employs the Prophet model, another machine learning technique to forecast the spot market price for the day-ahead to mitigate the adverse effects of price volatility. By utilizing Prophet forecasts, the VPP achieves an average revenue increase of 15.3% compared to scenarios without price prediction, emphasizing the critical role of predictive analytics in optimizing economic gains. This tri-level coordinated approach adopted addresses key challenges in the energy sector, facilitating progress towards achieving universal access to clean and affordable energy.

A Review of Renewable Energy Communities: Concepts, Scope, Progress, Challenges, and Recommendations

In recent times, there has been a significant shift from centralized energy systems to decentralized ones. These systems aim to satisfy local energy needs using renewable resources within the community. This approach leads to decreased complexity and costs, improved efficiency, and enhanced local resilience and supports energy independence, thereby advancing the transition toward zero carbon emissions. Community energy plays a pivotal role globally, particularly in European countries, driven by citizen engagement in generating power from renewable sources. The European Union, known for its focus on social innovation and citizen participation, recognizes the essential role of energy communities in its latest energy strategy. The concept for creating local energy communities or community-based energy projects has gained worldwide attention, demonstrating the economic, environmental, and efficiency benefits for using renewable energy sources. However, there is a noticeable gap in research covering all the updated aspects of renewable energy communities. This article provides an in-depth review of energy communities, especially renewable energy communities, exploring their concepts, scope, benefits, and key activities. It also sheds light on their progress by presenting results and analyses. Some countries have shown significant advancement, others are in the initial stages, and a few have partially adopted REC implementation according to the Renewable Energy Directive II. Additionally, it discusses the main challenges and potential recommendations to enhance the growth of renewable energy communities. This work is a valuable resource, emphasizing the importance of citizen involvement and offering insights into various aspects of community energy for sustainable energy transition. It also provides practical insights and valuable information for policymakers, researchers, industry professionals, and community members who are keen on promoting sustainable, community-driven energy systems.

A Blockchain-Based Scalability Solution with Microgrids Peer-to-Peer Trade

In recent years, advancements in rooftop solar panel technology have sparked a revolution in the electricity markets. This has given rise to a new concept of energy exchange—the ability for consumers and producers to trade localized energy. This concept has been made possible by the emergence of blockchain technology, which has gained significant traction in the energy markets. Its unique ability to facilitate peer-to-peer (P2P) energy transactions has made it a promising solution for the trilemma of scalability, security, and decentralization. However, while blockchain technology has shown great potential, it is still in its early stages of development and has yet to reach its full potential. To fully understand the potential of blockchain technology in P2P energy trading, it is important to explore the trilemma in depth. This study proposes a blockchain-based scalability solution with a focus on P2P energy trading. This strategy is supported by empirical modeling, utilizing data gathered from a trial case study. The results of this study demonstrate that the suggested technique outperforms base-layer models in terms of scalability while still maintaining the essential elements of security and decentralization. This proposed solution not only has the potential to revolutionize the energy markets but also has broader implications. By providing a more secure and decentralized platform for P2P energy trading, it has the potential to address issues of energy distribution inequality and promote the adoption of renewable energy. With blockchain technology, individuals and communities have the opportunity to take control of their energy usage and production, reducing their reliance on traditional centralized energy systems. This not only has the potential to lower energy costs for consumers but also contributes to the overall goal of reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change. The combination of rooftop solar panel technology and blockchain applications has the potential to create a significant shift toward decentralized and sustainable energy systems. This will not only benefit individuals and communities but also have a positive impact on the environment and the global energy market. However, for this transition to occur, it is crucial that governments and energy companies continue to support and invest in these advancements.

Credible and comprehensive? Comparing policy mixes for Local Energy Systems in England, Scotland and Wales

Integrated Local Energy Systems (LES) are being pursued internationally as a component of net zero, with additional benefits to regions and communities. This paper develops and tests a policy mixes approach to examine differential development of LES policies over 11 years in the three political jurisdictions (England, Scotland and Wales) which comprise Great Britain's (GB) single energy market. The analysis contributes to knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of the policy mixes concept as an analytical tool for exploring divergence in devolved governments. It also considers the likely effectiveness of these policy mixes for stimulating LES developments in practice. Analysis of over 50 policy strategies and 105 policy instruments is used to evaluate the credibility of the policy mixes, ie. whether these are believable and reliable, and their comprehensiveness, ie. whether all market, system and institutional failures are addressed. The policy mix in England exhibits fluctuation and short-termism, making it the least credible. Strategies in Scotland and Wales demonstrate a more credible and ambitious policy mix for LES, including long term policies and new instruments added over time. However, limited political powers mean that the policy mixes in Scotland and Wales are less comprehensive than in England, making the realisation of LES uncertain. Further, none of the policies are designed to challenge systemic interdependencies of GB's liberalised and largely centralised energy system. This ultimately limits capacity to deliver LES and highlights the need for policy development, in GB and elsewhere, to encompass regulatory and institutional innovation to realise LES benefits.

Towards a blockchain and machine learning-based framework for decentralised energy management

In most domestic buildings, gas and electricity are supplied by energy and utility companies through centralised energy systems. This often results in a high burden on central management systems and has adverse effects on energy prices. Blockchain-based peer-to-peer energy trading platforms can deliver strategic operation of decentralised multi-energy network among multiple domestic buildings to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and address global climate change issues. However, prevailing blockchain-based energy trading platforms focused on system implementation for peer-to-peer electricity trading while lacking predictive control and energy scheduling optimisation. Therefore, this paper presents an integrated blockchain and machine learning-based energy management framework for multiple forms of energy (i.e., heat and electricity) allocation and transmission, among multiple domestic buildings. Machine learning is harnessed to predict day-ahead energy generation and consumption patterns of prosumers and consumers within the multi-energy network. The proposed blockchain and machine learning-based decentralised energy management framework will establish optimal and automated energy allocation among multiple energy users through peer-to-peer energy transactions. This approach focuses on energy-matching from both the supply and demand sides while encouraging direct energy trading between prosumers and consumers. The security and fairness of energy trading can also be enhanced by using smart contracts to strictly execute the energy trading and bill payment rules. A case study of 4 real-life domestic buildings is introduced to determine the economic and technical potential of the proposed framework. In comparison to prevailing approaches, a key benefit from the proposed approach is an improved computational load/failure of a single point, energy trading strategy, workload, and capital cost energy. Findings suggest that energy costs reduced between 7.60% and 25.41% for prosumer buildings and a fall of 5.40%-17.63% for consumer buildings. In practical applications, the proposed approach can involve a larger number of prosumer and consumer buildings within the community to decentralise multiple energy trading, thus significantly contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing environmental sustainability.

DECENTRALIZATION – THE MAIN WAY FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ENERGY INDUSTRY OF UKRAINE

Topicality. The events of November 2022 showed the absolute instability of Ukraine's centralized energy system. Up to 40% of the centralized energy infrastructure was disabled in two days. Millions of people were left without electricity, heat and water for a long time. Therefore, it is very important to develop the energy sector of the state in the future, taking into account the needs of Ukraine's decentralization policy, in particular, local communitiesAim and tasks. The purpose of the research is to determine the imperatives of decentralization of the energy sector of Ukraine. The main way of developing the energy system of the state is the transition from a centralized to a distributed system. The location of generation systems in united communities makes it possible to switch to systems of cogeneration of electric and thermal energy to increase the efficiency of installed capacities and save fuel significantly by up to 40%.Materials and Methods. The methodological basis for the formation of regional policy should become the best of the world and European practices of the country`s energy sector development. Active use of the methods of system analysis, expert assessment on the implementation of decentralization systems of the energy industry is a guarantee of achieving the priorities of national security of Ukraine in the post-war period. Priority support from the EU and others international donors refers to those projects and programs aimed at decentralization, decarbonization, local economic sustainability and energy independence.Research results. The research substantiates that local communities have great opportunities for using alternative renewable resources for the generation of electricity and thermal energy. First of all, it is biomass, biogas, solar energy, wind energy and geothermal energy. In particular, the authors proved that due to the installation of means of electric energy accumulation, it is possible to raise the level of use of the installed capacities of solar and wind power plants by another 50% and to bring the total level of use of the installed energy capacities to 70%.Conclusions. The active implementation of alternative energy sources into economic practice can become the basis of the national security of the state in the post-war period. It is suggested that Communities use nearby agricultural waste and solid household waste as fuel instead of imported fossil fuel. It is also proposed to create local electric networks combined into virtual power plants within the framework of united communities, including not only all types of generation available on the territory, but also systems of short-term and long-term storage of electric energy. For the long-term storage of large amounts of electrical energy, it is suggested to use accumulators based on cryogenic liquids. It has been proven that due to the installation of means of electric energy accumulation, it is possible to raise the level of use of the installed capacities of solar and wind power plants by another 50% and to bring the total level of use of the installed energy capacities to 70%. Virtual power plants make it possible to significantly increase the amount of generated (consumed) electricity without additional investment costs. Such technologies meet the requirements of the European Union for candidate countries to join the Union and open the possibility of financing projects related to the restoration of the energy system of Ukraine based on renewable sources and advanced energy-efficient technologies.

Integrated flexibility characterization and measurement of distributed multi-energy systems considering temporal coupling constraints

The integrated flexibility of distributed multi-energy systems (DMES) has been recognized as a valuable balancing resource to the centralized energy system, which can be characterized by an integrated flexible region (IFR) of multiple energy inputs. Notably, the IFR is only captured for one single period in previous studies, whereas the time coupling in consecutive periods has a significant impact on the integrated flexibility. This paper proposes a modified IFR-based approach to characterize and measure the integrated flexibility of DMES considering the temporal coupling constraints. First, operation constraints of the DMES are formulated, followed by a vertex search method to obtain the IFR, i. e, a polytope that visualizes those operation constraints. Then, an approximation approach is proposed to decompose the original IFR into a series of lower-dimension IFRs, each of which corresponds to a specific period. The influence of states of adjacent periods is directly reflected by the position change of the vertices. The decoupled IFRs can be incorporated conveniently into the multi-period economic dispatch of the centralized energy system. Moreover, the Volume of the IFRs (VFR) is introduced as an index to quantify the flexibility of the DMES. The performance of the proposed methods is verified by the case studies.

Optimization of input elements of flow part of small axial hydroturbines

A large area of Russia’s territories, where consumers are not connected to the centralized energy system, leads to the need to use autonomous energy sources. Most often, these are built on the basis of diesel power plants and have a number of logistical and operational problems. These factors lead to a high cost of electricity with low indicators of environmental friendliness and equipment reliability. As a result, renewable energy sources are becoming more and more popular. An important advantage of RES in comparison with fossil fuel energy sources is that these resources are virtually inexhaustible, and many of them are ubiquitous.A significant place in terms of reserves and scale of use is occupied by the energy of water flows. It is important to note that small hydropower is the most stable energy source among RES. High reliability and efficiency, as well as wide possibilities for regulating the energy of the water flow, make it possible to use simpler and cheaper systems for generating and stabilizing the parameters of the produced electricity. As a result, hydroelectric power plants produce cheaper electricity compared to power plants operating on other resources.Small hydraulic turbines operate with small hydraulic capacities; therefore, it is possible to increase the efficiency of electricity generation supplied to the final consumer by reducing losses in the flow path in front of the hydraulic turbine impeller by changing its shape. To do this, when developing microhydroturbines, it is necessary to create the most streamlined structures: both the working bodies of the hydroturbine and the supply channels, as well as the impeller fairing. The results of a study of the influence of a change in the shape of the latter on the magnitude of pressure losses are presented using the results of computational and theoretical studies, on the basis of which a further direction for the development of this topic is proposed.

Investigation of Community Energy Business Models from an Institutional Perspective: Intermediaries and Policy Instruments in Selected Cases of Developing and Developed Countries

Community energy development and the empowerment of customers as producers are the main contributors to decentralized market solutions in energy transition policy. Despite the growing literature on community energy projects from the perspectives of various business models, drivers, and barriers, few studies display the impact of institutional factors on the community energy business model configuration. Using insights from Ostrom’s institutional framework, this study develops a conceptual framework comprising policy instruments and the intermediaries that configure the various community energy business models, and it examines this framework in the developed world of northwestern European countries (Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and the UK) and in selected cases in developing countries (Rural Central America, South Africa, Iran, and Indonesia). The findings indicate that ambitious renewable energy consumption targets and national policies in northern EU countries have resulted in political and financial incentives, as well as greater financial security than other investment markets, which encourage citizens to contribute to the proliferation of community energy. On the other hand, in the studied developing countries, top-down energy policies and a centralized energy system are insufficient for participatory energy planning. Due to unsupportive policies, a lack of appropriate regulatory frameworks, and a lack of institutional support in these countries, the initiation of community energy projects requires the presence of intermediaries such as developers who work ‘in-between’ other actors, such as energy providers, users, or regulators.

The Role of Distributed Energy Resources and Associated Business Models in the Decentralised Energy Transition: A Review

The shift from large-scale centralised energy systems to smaller scale decentralised systems based on Distributed Energy Resources (DER) is likely to cause a sector-wide replacement of current electricity management practices and business models—creating a new energy paradigm. If handled well, such a transition will not be inherently disruptive; however, it can cause major disruption if long-held views and assumptions are not rapidly reconsidered and renewed, and new supporting structures are not swiftly put in place—hence, if disruption is experienced it will be due to a lack of strategic responses rather than the nature of the technology. This paper clarifies the nature of DERs and outlines key issues and opportunities associated with a range of associated service configurations and business models. The paper outlines key factors affecting the viability of such approaches and identifies leverage points for accelerating uptake. The paper concludes by considering how shifting landscape factors and related opportunities in the coming decades will shape the transition to a decentralised energy system. This paper contains findings from research performed at the Renewable, Affordable, Clean Energy Cooperative Research Centre (RACE CRC) in Australia.

The resource (in)sufficiency of the Caribbean: analyzing socio-metabolic risks (SMR) of water, energy, and food

IntroductionSocio-metabolic risks (SMRs) are systemic risks associated with the availability of critical resources, the integrity of material circulation, and the distribution of their costs and benefits in a socio-ecological system. For resource-stressed systems like small island nations, understanding trade-offs and synergies between critical resources is not only crucial, but urgent. Climate change is already putting small islands at high risk through more frequent and intense extreme weather events, changing precipitation patterns, and threats of inundation with future sea-level rise.MethodsThis study compares the shifting resource-baseline for 14 Caribbean island nations for the year 2000 and 2017. We analyze water, energy, and food (WEF) and their nexus through the lens of SMRs, using indicators related to their availability, access, consumption, and self-sufficiency.ResultsOur findings point to the decreasing availability of all three resources within the Caribbean region. Meanwhile, between 2000 and 2017, consumption levels have increased by 20% with respect to water (from 230 to 275 m3/cap/yr) and primary energy (from 89 to 110 GJ/cap/yr), and 5% for food (from 2,570 to 2,700 kcal/cap/day). While universal access to these resources increased in the population, food and energy self-sufficiency of the region has declined.DiscussionCurrent patterns of resource-use, combined with maladaptive practices, and climate insensitive development—such as coastal squeeze, centralized energy systems, and trade policies—magnify islands' vulnerability. Disturbances, such as climate-induced extreme events, environmental changes, financial crises, or overexploitation of local resources, could lead to cascading dysfunction and eventual breakdown of the biophysical basis of island systems. This research is a first attempt at operationalizing the concept of SMRs, and offers a deeper understanding of risk-related resource dynamics on small islands, and highlights the urgency for policy response.

Decentralized energy: a prerequisite for the distribution of decentralized technology

The emergence of decentralized technology has brought about significant advancements in various industries, promising increased transparency, efficiency, and trust in transactions and data exchange. However, for decentralized technology to truly flourish and realize its full potential, it is crucial to establish a foundation of decentralized energy sources. This article explores the critical relationship between decentralized energy and the distribution of decentralized technology. By examining the limitations of centralized energy systems, the benefits of decentralized energy, and the synergies between decentralized energy and technology, we highlight the necessity of decentralized energy as a prerequisite for the widespread adoption of decentralized technology.

Decentralizing the Centralized Energy System Using CCAM Model: Key to Greener Energy Mix and Sustainability in Nigeria

Nigeria energy system is strongly centralised and unsustainable, associated with waste of huge amount of primary energy input, full of insecurity and climatic change threat and crises. To averts these energy crises, the entire energy requires an urgent energy revolution and this could be achieved by decentralising the country strongly centralised energy using an appropriate model whose energy mix is more of renewable energy. This paper presents how the Community Choice Aggregation Model (CCAM) can decentralise the entire energy system of Nigeria and ensure sustainability. The sustainability criteria of Gibson and Jaccard were used to evaluate the sustainability capacity of CCAM in line with existing Nigeria energy policies. The criteria include potential risks to the environment and humanity, the scale, adaptive capacity and resilience of an energy system, avoided path dependency, intra and intergenerational equity, participatory and inclusive governance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. The results from the evaluations have proven CCAM with partnership/joint ownership structure a veritable energy decentralization tool for ensuring greener energy mix and sustainability in Nigeria and the globe. The essentials of this paper can be employed for future energy planning and policy implementation

Business Model Development for a High-Temperature (Co-)Electrolyser System

There are increasing international efforts to tackle climate change by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. As such, the use of electrolytic hydrogen as an energy carrier in decentralised and centralised energy systems, and as a secondary energy carrier for a variety of applications, is projected to grow. Required green hydrogen can be obtained via water electrolysis using the surplus of renewable energy during low electricity demand periods. Electrolysis systems with alkaline and polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) technology are commercially available in different performance classes. The less mature solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) promises higher efficiencies, as well as co-electrolysis and reversibility functions. This work uses a bottom-up approach to develop a viable business model for a SOEC-based venture. The broader electrolysis market is analysed first, including conventional and emerging market segments. A further opportunity analysis ranks these segments in terms of business attractiveness. Subsequently, the current state and structure of the global electrolyser industry are reviewed, and a ten-year outlook is provided. Key industry players are identified and profiled, after which the major industry and competitor trends are summarised. Based on the outcomes of the previous assessments, a favourable business case is generated and used to develop the business model proposal. The main findings suggest that grid services are the most attractive business sector, followed by refineries and power-to-liquid processes. SOEC technology is particularly promising due to its co-electrolysis capabilities within the methanol production process. Consequently, an “engineering firm and operator” business model for a power-to-methanol plant is considered the most viable option.

ПРОГНОЗИРОВАНИЕ И УПРАВЛЕНИЕ ЭЛЕКТРОПОТРЕБЛЕНИЕМ СООБЩЕСТВА МИКРОСЕТЕЙ С ПРИМЕНЕНИЕМ ИСКУССТВЕННОГО ИНТЕЛЛЕКТА

A characteristic feature of the modern electric power industry in recent decades is the sharp increase in electricity consumption. This can be explained by technological, social, economic, and other reasons. Therefore, the forecasting of electricity consumption is important for many processes, including the planned operation of genera¬ting equipment and managing and optimizing the operating modes of energy systems. It is also a significant aspect in the opera-tion of industrial enterprises, since breaches can result in fines. One of the urgent tasks in the electricity market today is the forecasting of electricity consumption for a certain period. The article presents a description of a microgrid model with a built-in block for predicting power consumption, as well as intelligent load control for several objects at the same time, including those with distributed generation. Decisions are made the previous day, in order to forme stra¬tegies or the generation profile and control of power receivers. This timing is dictated by the information available to the intelli-gent system. This information includes forecast of demand and electricity prices of the centralized energy system for every hour of the next day. The process of switching at peak time to additional sources of electricity, distribution over microgrids is also described. The forecast was implemented using the Holt-Winters model from the statsmodels library (Python 3). The model uses the ideas of exponential smoothing, but is more complex and can be applied to series containing trend and seasonality. The trained model predicts with 95.21% accuracy.

Delivering an off-grid transition to sustainable energy in Ethiopia and Mozambique

BackgroundOff-grid and decentralized energy systems have emerged as an alternative to facilitate energy access and resilience in a flexible, adaptable way, particularly for communities that do not have reliable access to centralized energy networks both in rural and urban areas. Much research to date on community energy systems has focused on their deployment in Europe and North America. This paper advances these debates by looking at how community energy systems can support energy transitions in Africa. Specifically, it asks: what role can community energy systems play in the energy transition in East and Southern Africa?ResultsThis article investigates the potential for community energy to foster sustainable and just energy transitions in two countries in East and Southern Africa, namely Ethiopia and Mozambique. To do so, it explores transformations in Ethiopia and Mozambique’s energy systems through the lens of energy landscapes. This concept enables us to situate energy transitions within recent developments in energy governance and to understand current and future possibilities for change through the involvement of communities that currently lack access to reliable and clean energy. Our results show that when countries face the prospects of lucrative energy investments in natural gas or large hydropower, renewables are often deprioritized. Their suitability to address energy challenges and access gaps is de-emphasized, even though there is little evidence that investment in large-scale generation can handle the energy needs of the most disadvantaged groups. Initiatives and policies supporting community-focused renewable energy have remained limited in both countries. They tend to be designed from the top-down and focused on rural areas when they exist.ConclusionsEnergy transitions in Ethiopia and Mozambique, and many other countries with significant gaps in access to centralized energy systems, require putting inclusivity at the forefront to ensure that energy policies and infrastructure support the well-being of society as a whole. As long as investments in off-grid energy continue to depend on international organizations’ goodwill or development aid programs outside the ambit of national energy plans, energy access gaps will remain unaddressed, and there will not be a genuine and just transition to sustainable energy.

A közösségi energiatermelés szerepe a jövő energiarendszereiben

The role of community energy production in future energy systemsPéter János Horváth Growing environmental concerns and the spread of renewable energy also spurred the so called decentralization process of predominantly centralized energy systems. Consumers and communities are key drivers of this process, not only as energy consumers, but also by producing and storing clean energy,aggregating individual energy productions, and even as distributors or energy service providers. The new EU legislation also recognizes the important role of energy communities in the energy transformation process, which can bring about better social acceptance of renewable energy production, but also many environmental, economic or social benefits to the local community. Our study aims to present the nature and role of community energy production in energy systems, and outlines a vision of community energy for Hungary and the EU as a whole.

Let it Flow, Our Energy or Bright Future: Sociotechnical imaginaries of energy transition in Poland

Despite global commitment to work together in tackling climate change, transitions do not occur similarly in different parts of the world. While the EU is setting an ambitious goal of decarbonising its energy system by 2050, Poland remains a member opposing those changes. Although most Poles declare their understanding of the necessity of decarbonisation and support for that process, both current and former governments have not treated this problem as a sufficient stimulus to a substantial energy policy change.Using the lens of Sociotechnical Imaginaries (Jasanoff, Kim, 2015), we explain that resistance to implementing fast changes into the Polish energy system is founded on the complex set of shared imaginaries linked to policy, scientific and lay knowledge. Based on a qualitative analysis of strategic documents of the energy policy in Poland published after 1989, the interviews with key actors in the energy sector, and analysis of government funding programmes for science, we mapped the dominant and alternative SIs of the energy transition in Poland. The analytical framework was based on a sociotechnical imaginaries circulation model used to explain their actions in the Polish energy transition.The study's outcome shows that the dominant SI of an energy system in Poland relates to the preservation of the existing system focused on energy security, a significant role of hard coal and lignite, and prosumers as supporters for the centralised energy system. The alternative imaginaries (associated with decentralisation, energy democracy and renewables) are getting traction and becoming more important.