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On the development of control solutions for local energy communities

An incremental prototyping approach and related infrastructure

Über die Entwicklung von Regelungsansätze für lokale Energiegemeinschaften
Ein inkrementeller Prototyping-Ansatz und die entsprechende Infrastruktur
  • A. Benigni

    A. Benigni received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy, in 2005 and 2008, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, in 2013. From 2014 to 2019, he was an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. Since 2019 he is a full professor at RWTH-Aachen and director of the “Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Energy Systems Engineering (IEK-10)” at the Juelich research center.

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    , A. Xhonneux

    A. Xhonneux received the Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University in 2008 and the Ph.D. degree from the same university in 2015. Currently, he is the department leader of the “Buildings and Districts” group at the institute for “Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Energy Systems Engineering (IEK-10)” of Juelich research center.

    , D. Carta

    D. Carta received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy, in 2013 and 2016, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the same university, in 2020. Currently, he is the department leader of the “Control Solution” group at the institute for “Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Energy Systems Engineering (IEK-10)” of Juelich research center.

    , T. Pesch

    T. Pesch received the Diploma in Electrical Engineering and Economic studies from RWTH Aachen University, Germany in 2008 and 2009, respectively , and the Ph.D. degree from the same university, in 2019. Currently, he is the head of the department “Energy Grids” at the institute for “Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Energy Systems Engineering (IEK-10)” of Juelich research center.

    and D. Muller

    D. Muller received the B.Sc. degree from Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth in 1994 and the Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University in 1995. In 1999 he received the degree of Dr.-Ing. in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University. From 2003 to 2007 he was full professor (W4) and director of the Hermann-Rietschel-Institute, Technical University of Berlin. Currently, he is Director of the Institute of Energy & Climate Research IEK-10: Energy Systems Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH (since 2017) and full professor (W3) and Director of the Institute of Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate at E.ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen University (since 2007).

Abstract

Local Energy Communities (LEC) have been recognized by the European Union (EU) as a key component of the energy transition. The Clean Energy Package of the European Commission has defined a legislative framework for the operation of LEC that aim at participation of LEC in energy markets. The digitalization of LECs is a critical step both for the realization of those communities as well as for their interface to system operator, service providers and markets.

In this paper, we present an incremental prototyping approach and the related infrastructure to develop control and information and communications technology (ICT) solutions for local energy communities.

Zusammenfassung

Lokale Energiegemeinschaften (LEC) werden von der Europäischen Union (EU) als eine Schlüsselkomponente der Energiewende anerkannt. Das Maßnahmenpaket „Saubere Energie für alle Europäer“ (Clean Energy Package) der Europäischen Kommission hat einen rechtlichen Rahmen für den Betrieb von LECs definiert, der die Partizipation an den Energiemärkten ermöglichen soll. Die Digitalisierung der LECs ist ein entscheidender Schritt sowohl für die Realisierung dieser Gemeinschaften als auch ihrer Schnittstellen zu Netzbetreibern, Dienstleistern und Märkten. In diesem Beitrag stellen wir einen inkrementellen Prototyping-Ansatz und die dazugehörige Infrastruktur zur Entwicklung von Steuerungs-, Informations- und Kommunikationslösungen für lokale Energiegemeinschaften vor.

About the authors

A. Benigni

A. Benigni received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy, in 2005 and 2008, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, in 2013. From 2014 to 2019, he was an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. Since 2019 he is a full professor at RWTH-Aachen and director of the “Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Energy Systems Engineering (IEK-10)” at the Juelich research center.

A. Xhonneux

A. Xhonneux received the Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University in 2008 and the Ph.D. degree from the same university in 2015. Currently, he is the department leader of the “Buildings and Districts” group at the institute for “Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Energy Systems Engineering (IEK-10)” of Juelich research center.

D. Carta

D. Carta received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy, in 2013 and 2016, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the same university, in 2020. Currently, he is the department leader of the “Control Solution” group at the institute for “Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Energy Systems Engineering (IEK-10)” of Juelich research center.

T. Pesch

T. Pesch received the Diploma in Electrical Engineering and Economic studies from RWTH Aachen University, Germany in 2008 and 2009, respectively , and the Ph.D. degree from the same university, in 2019. Currently, he is the head of the department “Energy Grids” at the institute for “Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Energy Systems Engineering (IEK-10)” of Juelich research center.

D. Muller

D. Muller received the B.Sc. degree from Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth in 1994 and the Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University in 1995. In 1999 he received the degree of Dr.-Ing. in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University. From 2003 to 2007 he was full professor (W4) and director of the Hermann-Rietschel-Institute, Technical University of Berlin. Currently, he is Director of the Institute of Energy & Climate Research IEK-10: Energy Systems Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH (since 2017) and full professor (W3) and Director of the Institute of Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate at E.ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen University (since 2007).

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Received: 2022-03-02
Accepted: 2022-08-01
Published Online: 2022-11-30
Published in Print: 2022-12-25

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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