Community Energy Research Articles

Empowering Remote and Off-Grid Renewable Energy Communities: Case Studies in Congo, Australia, and Canada

Empowering Remote and Off-Grid Renewable Energy Communities: Case Studies in Congo, Australia, and Canada

Energy Hub and Micro-Energy Hub Architecture in Integrated Local Energy Communities: Enabling Technologies and Energy Planning Tools

Energy Hub and Micro-Energy Hub Architecture in Integrated Local Energy Communities: Enabling Technologies and Energy Planning Tools

On the Different Fair Allocations of Economic Benefits for Energy Communities

Energy Communities (ECs) are aggregations of users that cooperate to achieve economic benefits by sharing energy instead of operating individually in the so-called “disagreement” case. As there is no unique notion of fairness for the cost/profit allocation of ECs, this paper aims to identify an allocation method that allows for an appropriate weighting of both the interests of an EC as a whole and those of all its members. The novelty is in comparing different optimization approaches and cooperative allocation criteria, satisfying different notions of fairness, to assess which one may be best suited for an EC. Thus, a cooperative model is used to optimize the operation of an EC that includes two consumers and two solar PV prosumers. The model is solved by the “Social Welfare” approach to maximizing the total “incremental” economic benefit (i.e., cost saving and/or profit increase) and by the “Nash Bargaining” approach to simultaneously maximize the total and individual incremental economic benefits, with respect to the “disagreement” case. Since the “Social Welfare” approach could lead to an unbalanced benefit distribution, the Shapley value and Nucleolus criteria are applied to re-distribute the total incremental economic benefit, leading to higher annual cost savings for consumers with lower electricity demand. Compared to “Social Welfare” without re-distribution, the Nash Bargaining distributes 39–49% and 9–17% higher annual cost savings to consumers with lower demand and to prosumers promoting the energy sharing within the EC, respectively. However, total annual cost savings drop by a maximum of 5.5%, which is the “Price of Fairness”.

The degree of freedom of the designer of the industrial design

The article is devoted to the study of the essence of the concept of the degree of freedom of the designer of an industrial design in the context of such a criterion of the protectionability of an industrial design as an individual character. The Law of Ukraine «On Protection of Rights to Industrial Designs» has been analyzed for the purpose of defining the concept of «designer’s degree of freedom». It has been established that the domestic law does not contain a broad explanation of the mentioned concept. It has been found that some additional information regarding the understanding of the concept of «designer’s degree of freedom» is contained in such a secondary legal act as the recently approved Rules for drawing up and submitting an application for an industrial design and conducting an examination of an application for an industrial design and international registration of an industrial design. It has been analysed the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their member states, on the other hand, as well as Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of October 13, 1998 on legal protection industrial designs and Council Regulation (EC) No. 6/2002 of December 12, 2001 on Community industrial designs, the provisions of which were implemented in 2020 into the Law of Ukraine «On the Protection of Industrial Design Rights». It has been established that the above-mentioned international legal acts do not provide a deep interpretation of the concept of the designer’s degree of freedom. Separate foreign and international court cases have been considered, in which the designer’s degree of freedom in specific practical cases has been analyzed in detail. It has been clarified and illustrated with real examples the specific importance of the degree of freedom of the designer for the individual character of an industrial design. On the basis of domestic legislation, international legal acts, foreign and international judicial practice, own conclusions have been drawn regarding the understanding of the concept of the degree of freedom of the author of an industrial design. It has been established under which circumstances the degree of freedom of the designer cannot be limited. It has been concluded that the requirements for the differences of the designed product from others, which make an impression on the informed user, depend on the lower or higher degree of freedom of the designer.

Non-linear response of plant caloric value to N addition and mowing treatments in a meadow steppe

BackgroundCaloric value is an important indicator of grassland ecosystem function, but the response of caloric value to nitrogen (N) addition and mowing is still unclear. We explored the adaptive changes of plant caloric value and energy standing crop along a N addition gradient after six-year NH4NO3 addition and mowing treatments in an Inner Mongolian temperate meadow steppe in northern China.ResultsWe found that the response of plant caloric value to N addition at different organizational levels was diverse. The caloric value of legumes increased linearly with N addition rates. The caloric value of grasses exhibited a non-linear response trend, initially increasing followed by saturation or decrease, with a N response threshold present. Due to the dominance of grass species, the caloric value at the community level followed a similar pattern to that of the grasses along the N addition gradient. Under mowing, the caloric value of plants at each organizational level increased and usually mowing enhanced the N response threshold. Amongst these, the N response threshold of Leymus chinensis increased from 3.302 to 5.443 g N m−2 yr−1, grasses increased from 4.414 to 5.746 g N m−2 yr−1, and community increased from 5.373 to 9.216 g N m−2 yr−1. Under non-mowing treatment, the N response thresholds of the most dominant species, Leymus chinensis, and community energy standing crop were 10.001 and 15.119 g N m−2 yr−1, respectively. Under mowing, the energy standing crops showed a linear increasing trend.ConclusionsN response thresholds of plant caloric value and energy standing crop vary at different organizational levels (community > functional group > species). The results reveal varying regulatory capabilities of plants on the ecological environment at different organizational levels. These findings enhance our understanding of plant-environment interactions in grassland ecosystems under N deposition from an energy perspective, which is of great significance to clarify the response mechanism of grassland ecosystem structure and function to N deposition.

The Effect of Increasing Aggregation Levels of Electrical Consumption Data on Renewable Energy Community (REC) Analyses

The growing number of renewable energy communities (RECs) exemplifies the potential of citizen-driven actions towards a more sustainable future. However, obtaining hourly measured consumption data from REC members remains challenging, hindering accurate feasibility studies for the development of communities. This study examines the impact of estimating hourly consumption from aggregated data on REC analysis results. A case study with real consumption data from diverse users, representative of a typical community in Tuscany, Italy, was analysed to investigate various influencing factors. Multiple scenarios were simulated: two open-source tools estimated energy production from the community’s PV plants, and two REC configurations were considered—one with consumers and prosumers and another with consumers and a producer (with the same total installed power). Additionally, three locations were evaluated to consider the importance of geographical positioning. The study revealed that the impact of consumption data aggregation is more significant in scenarios with low energy sharing, such as the scenario where prosumers were replaced with a producer. Geographical positioning showed no major discrepancies in energy and economic outcomes, implying that using estimated hourly consumption data from aggregated data has a relevant impact regardless of location. Furthermore, different weather files did not affect the impact of aggregated consumption data.

Mainstreaming storylines of a social innovation: The case of energy communities in Austria

In the last four years, since Austria enabled the establishment of energy communities (ECs), their numbers have rapidly increased, and their role in Austria's energy transition has been widely discussed. This study explores how storylines of ECs, as social innovations, have changed during their introduction and diffusion. We adopt a dialectic perspective of niche diffusion and discursive struggles in sustainability transitions. Analyzing newspaper articles and interviews, we reveal initial discursive struggles and the diversification into seven storylines across four contextual phases, shaped particularly by legislative frameworks and the energy crisis. Five storylines construct ECs as positive change, one as a negative force on society, and one as ambivalent. We discuss significant changes in how storylines construct ECs, focusing on justice and citizenship, the reconstruction of actor configurations, and emerging postapocalyptic storylines. This study enriches our understanding of discursive struggles around social innovations and their potential to challenge existing configurations.

Panel or check? Assessing the benefits of integrating households in energy poverty into energy communities

This research raises the possibility for households in energy poverty to participate in shared photovoltaic systems in renewable energy communities (REC) to reduce their energy costs, with investment costs covered by public institutions. It begins by evaluating the current solution for vulnerable households, which relies on public subsidies to lower energy costs without addressing root causes or improving environmental impacts. The study compares traditional subsidies with REC participation for vulnerable households. By simulating a REC composed of such households, the results indicate that REC participation is more cost-effective for public institutions than energy subsidies. At the economically optimal size of 31 kWp, the cost of subsidies decreases by 58,000 €, a 50% reduction, with household savings increasing by 6%. At 58 kWp, the need for additional support checks is eliminated, increasing household savings by 65% but with a lower NPV of 22,500 €. The largest viable system, 75 kWp, increases average household savings by 82%. This approach also leads to a net reduction in GHG emissions, engaging previously excluded households in the energy transition.

Participation of Energy Communities in Electricity Markets and Ancillary Services: An Overview of Successful Strategies

Energy communities are a transformative force in the electricity markets and ancillary services, reshaping the energy landscape through collective action. This paper explores the successful strategies adopted by these communities, highlighting real-world cases where they have participated directly in the market, or through aggregators, or sold their energy to retailers, which is of paramount importance because it serves as a foundation for those countries that wish to implement these entities as part of their decarbonization plan. It also serves as a model for the development of future citizen initiatives that aim to turn citizens into active users of the electricity system. The paper examines collaborative dynamics within the energy sector, highlighting how these communities optimize resource sharing and contribute to a more resilient and sustainable energy system. The study emphasizes the potential of energy communities in driving innovation and fostering a participatory approach to energy management. The results show that some pilot projects are being developed and several electricity cooperatives, one of the most common forms of energy communities, are participating in energy trading with their members and other entities. More efforts are also needed for energy communities to participate more directly in the market and/or through aggregators.

Life-cycle environmental impacts of reused batteries of electric vehicles in buildings considering battery uncertainty

Advancements in various technologies have made it possible to recycle end-of-life batteries from electric vehicles (EV) into a stationary energy storage system (ESS) within residential buildings. As a result, promoting a circular economy between buildings and means of transportation has emerged as a major concern. Therefore, this study aimed to quantitatively assess the environmental impacts (life -cycle carbon Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions) of ESS utilizing used batteries instead of new batteries from the life cycle perspective of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) considering the uncertainty in energy communities. To this end, a probabilistic life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed using a Monte Carlo simulation of the energy community of South Korea. The results of this study demonstrated that reusing batteries as ESS in buildings could further improve the overall environmental sustainability of the ESS compared to using new batteries. As a result, when reused batteries were utilized, annual carbon emissions decreased by 2.8 %–18.5 % according to battery usage purposes. More specifically, it was shown that battery reuse can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts. To more rationally evaluate life-cycle CO2 emissions from a resource circulation perspective, the usage purpose and efficiency of the battery should be considered during the entire battery life cycle (transportation and building sectors). These findings are expected to provide valuable insights to policymakers, industrial sectors, and research institutes related to battery reuse and to help guide the future of transportation and building sectors in a sustainable direction from a resource circulation perspective.

Peer-to-peer energy trading framework for an autonomous DC microgrid using game theoretic approach

Peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity trading has become the next generation of energy management strategies that economically benefits prosumers by trading electricity as goods and services. The P2P electricity market is expected to support the grid to minimize reserve requirements, lower investment and operational costs, reduce peak demand, and improve reliability. This study proposes a peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading framework for an autonomous DC microgrid. The motivation is to overcome several issues related to P2P reported in the literature: the lack of physical microgrid modeling, absence of an energy management system (EMS) before the P2P trading simulation, and full autonomy of P2P participants. To address these shortcomings, a framework that integrates physical layer (modeling of the microgrid), information layer (EMS), and application layer (P2P trading scheme) is suggested. The P2P market clearance utilizes a non-cooperative game theory incorporating the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm. To demonstrate the proposed framework, the P2P trading of four households (prosumers) that consists of rooftop PV, local energy storage (LES), and independent community energy storage (CES) is simulated. The objective is to prove the effectiveness of P2P trading in comparison with a framework without it. The MATLAB simulation results show that the system that utilizes P2P trading can reduce the daily overall cost of energy by 47.48 %, that is, from $28.85 (without P2P) to $15.15 (with P2P). This study demonstrated the benefits of P2P energy trading for prosumers and promoted the development of the energy market.

Local Energy Community as a Small Hydrogen Valley – H2LEC

A Local energy community (LEC) is a vertically nested system in energy supply and an ecosystem with joint values and objectives. On-site integrated hydrogen-based systems connected to the grid, and consisting of electrolyser, hydrogen storage and fuel cell system - hydrogen prosumers - provide efficient balancing of local energy consumption and local production of renewable energy that can be extended over annual cycles. There is no transport of hydrogen needed. Thus, the H2LEC – Local energy community with integrated hydrogen systems - represents the carrier of dispersed energy and hydrogen production as a complement of concentrated energy and hydrogen production: on average, H2LEC will predictably achieve at least 75% self-supply. Additionally, with Combined Heat-and-Power systems, coupling to the thermal system adds to energy efficiency. H2LEC represents a virtual socio-economic system based on community values and thus engages initiative, innovation and capital of local actors, new technology start-ups and local industry; and represents opportunities for new disruptive business models. It brings into the energy supply system new players – prosumer who actively trade their flexibilities among themselves and on the external markets, and stimulates new enabling technologies - notably automated close-to-real time trading - thereby boosting end-to-end automated solutions. The H2LEC create the need and the market for smaller integrated hydrogen-based systems ranging from a few kWe for residential homes to a few MWe units for larger industrial companies or local districts with a complete range of capacities in between, for public or tertiary buildings and smaller enterprises. Thus, they provide an opening for participation of SMEs in local and international value chains and will create a strong complementary energy bottom-up pillar and hydrogen supply system locally and in Europe.

Federated learning assisted distributed energy optimization

AbstractThe increased penetration of distributed energy resources and the adoption of sensing and control technologies are driving the transition from our current centralized electric grid to a distributed system controlled by multiple entities (agents). The transactive energy community serves as an established example of this transition. Distributed energy management approaches can effectively address the evolving grid's scalability, resilience, and privacy requirements. In this context, the accuracy of agents' estimations becomes crucial for the performance of distributed and multi‐agent decision‐making paradigms. This paper specifically focuses on integrating federated learning (FL) with the multi‐agent energy management procedure. FL is utilized to forecast agents' local energy generation and demand, aiming to accelerate the convergence of the distributed decision‐making process. To enhance energy aggregation in transactive energy communities, we propose an FL‐assisted distributed consensus + innovations approach. The results demonstrate that employing FL significantly reduces errors in predicting net power demand. The improved forecast accuracy, in turn, introduces less error in the distributed optimization process, thereby enhancing its convergence behaviour.

Optimization of the composition of residential buildings in a renewable energy community based on monitored data

Optimization of the composition of residential buildings in a renewable energy community based on monitored data

The City as a Power Hub for Boosting Renewable Energy Communities: A Case Study in Naples

The City as a Power Hub for Boosting Renewable Energy Communities: A Case Study in Naples

Recent Advances in Assessing Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Around the World

Abstract Marine renewable energy (MRE) is increasingly of interest to coastal nations as a source of renewable energy that can support climate change mitigation goals as well as provide secure locally-produced energy for coastal and island communities. MRE extracts power from tidal streams, waves, ocean currents, run of rivers, and gradients in the ocean, with specialized devices developed and tested for each energy resource. Alongside development of MRE technologies and systems, first in Europe and then in North America, Australia, Asia, and other regions, it has been universally recognized that there is also a need to examine potential effects on marine animals, habitats, ecosystem processes, local communities and other sea users, to ensure that the MRE industry can be developed in a responsible and sustainable manner. This paper looks at the status of assessment and monitoring for potential environmental effects associated with MRE projects around the world. Over 80 projects were identified worldwide as having been tested, demonstrated, or commercially deployed with associated environmental monitoring. Five of the projects that represent tidal stream, wave, and run of river projects are examined in more detail to determine the types of data and information collected for those projects, the outputs of the monitoring campaigns, and the actions taken as a result of the data collection and analysis. Recommendations are provided for standardization of the monitoring approaches, instruments, and analysis methods at MRE project sites worldwide.

Potential of Wake Scaling Techniques for Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine Wake Prediction

Analytical wake models are widely used to predict wind turbine wakes. While these models are well-established for horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs), the analytical wake models for vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) remain under-explored in the wind energy community. In this study, the accuracy of two wake scaling techniques is evaluated to predict the change in the normalized maximum wake velocity deficit behind VAWTs by re-scaling the maximum wake velocity deficit behind an actuator disk with the same thrust coefficient. The wake scaling is defined in terms of equivalent diameter, considering the geometrical properties of the wake-generating object. Two different equivalent diameters are compared, namely the momentum diameter and hydraulic diameter. Different approaches are used to calculate the change in the normalized wake velocity deficit behind a disk with the same thrust coefficient as the VAWT. The streamwise distance is scaled with the equivalent diameter to predict the normalized maximum wake velocity deficit behind the desired VAWT. The performance of the proposed framework is assessed using large-eddy simulation data of VAWTs operating in a turbulent boundary layer with varying operating conditions and aspect ratios. For all of the cases, the momentum diameter scaling provides reasonable predictions of the VAWT normalized maximum wake velocity deficit.

Doing gender in energy communities: A gendered perspective on barriers and motivators

In the transition to a renewable energy system, the European Union champions community-based initiatives like energy communities to promote decarbonization as well as broader societal benefits. Despite these goals, there is a marked underrepresentation of women in energy communities. In 15 qualitative interviews with experts in community-led energy organizations mainly from Germany, our study addresses women specific barriers for participation. The modal organizational setup poses barriers in terms of existing male overrepresentation, technical knowledge as entry requirement, a focus on financial investment, heavy and inflexible time requirements, and the lack of social integration of energy communities. Organizational realities align little with women`s motivators for participation, which encompass environmental enthusiasm and social engagement. The nature of the discovered barriers is compatible with the concept of "doing gender", where malleable, socially constructed organizational arrangements perpetuate traditional gender roles and thereby hierarchies.

Demonstrating clean energy transition scenarios in sector-coupled and renewable-based energy communities.

Energy communities facilitate several advantages, including energy autonomy, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, poverty mitigation, and regional economic development. They also empower citizens with decision-making and co-ownership prospects in community renewable projects. Integrating renewable energy sources and sector coupling is a crucial strategy for flexible energy systems. However, demonstrating clean energy transition scenarios in these communities presents challenges, including technology integration, flexibility activation, load reduction, grid resilience, and business case development. Based on the system of systems approach, this paper introduces a 4-step funnel approach and a 4-step reverse funnel approach to systematically specify and detail demonstration scenarios for energy community projects. The funnel approach involves four steps. First, it selects demonstration scenarios promoting energy-efficient state-of-the-art renewable technologies and storage systems, flexibility through demand side management techniques, reduced grid dependence, and economic viability. Second, it lists all existing and planned project technologies, analysing energy flows. Third, it plans actions at different levels to implement the demonstration scenarios. Fourth, it validates the strategies using key performance indicators (KPI) to quantify the effectiveness of the planned measures. Furthermore, the reverse funnel approach delves deeper into the demonstration scenarios. The four steps involve identifying stakeholder perspectives, describing scenario scopes, listing conditions for realisation, and outlining business models, including value chains and economic assumptions. This approach provides a detailed analysis of the demonstration scenarios, considering actors, objectives, boundary conditions, and business assumptions. The methodologies are exemplified in three diverse European energy communities extending across residential, commercial, tertiary, and industrial establishments, allowing power-to-x and sector coupling opportunities. The paper also suggested thirteen KPIs for validating renewable-focused energy community projects. Finally, the paper recommends increased collaboration between energy communities, knowledge sharing, stakeholder engagement, transparent data collection and analysis, continuous feedback, and method improvement to mitigate policy, technology, business, and market uncertainties.

Enhancing bargaining power for energy communities in renewable power purchase agreements using Gaussian learning and fixed price bargaining

Power purchase agreements aim to secure long-term contracts between sellers and buyers, particularly in renewable energy transactions. However, successful negotiations for a fixed long-term price and energy volume while ensuring maximum utility for stakeholders remains a significant challenge. This paper introduces a comprehensive model for negotiating 24/7 power purchase agreements, focusing on hourly pricing to address deficits and surpluses throughout each day of the contract timeline. The model incorporates demand flexibility through battery storage, settling on the strike price using Nash Bargaining theory and optimal management of energy consumption relative to market price fluctuations. A soft margin support vector machine classification model determines the buyer’s maximum acceptable price. Moreover, Gaussian process classification is employed to calculate a probabilistic, risk-adjusted strike price, enabling a data-driven approach to power purchase negotiations. The proposed model’s performance is demonstrated through a detailed case study of Norway, illustrating how demand flexibility can significantly lower long-term power purchase agreement contract prices. The analysis of yearly price trends indicates that incorporating flexibility resources in long-term energy contracts may lead to a reduction in strike prices by around 25%. Moreover, such flexibility enhances demand-generation matching, thereby increasing renewable energy transactions within such agreements.