Publications
In Europe there is a great diversity of distribution grids and distribution system operators (DSOs) and a consolidated and shared knowledge of their techno-economic features is missing. This fact represents a major hindrance for fully assessing the performances of distribution grids evolving towards Smart Grids (SG) embedding low-carbon technologies, digital services and emerging actors. In order to contribute to bridge this knowledge gap, this paper presents a methodology to build representative distribution networks.
This study analyses the performance of the power grid during 16 earthquakes, 15 space weather events and 20 floods. It concludes that different natural hazards affect the power grid in different ways. Earthquakes cause inertial damage to heavy equipment and brittle items, and ground failure and soil liquefaction can be devastating to electric infrastructure assets. Recovery time is driven by the balance of repairs and capabilities. Poor access to damaged facilities, due to landslides or traffic congestion, can also delay repairs.
This report looks at the potential routes for a future power interconnection between EU and China. China has launched in 2016 the idea of transmitting electricity as far as Germany via an Ultra High Voltage Direct Current (UHVDC) link. China intends to exploit its Renewable Energy Sources (RES) from north-eastern regions both for domestic use and for export. The country has the capabilities to design and build long and powerful systems to transmit electricity across the country for thousands of kilometres.
The document presents the outcome of the evaluation process of candidate Projects of Common Interest in the priority thematic area of ‘smart grids deployment’, as set out in the trans-European energy infrastructure regulation. The evaluation follows the guidelines of the assessment framework for smart grid Projects of Common Interest, 2017 update, developed by the JRC and adopted within the smart grid Regional Group.
The 2017 Outlook offers a snapshot of the state of play and of the latest developments in the field of smart grids in Europe. The analysis is based on a database of 950 R & D and demonstration projects, totalling around EUR 5 billion of investment. It aims to foster knowledge sharing and to inform future policymaking.
The document presents an update of the assessment framework, a methodology to assess smart grid projects of common interest, in line with Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure. In this context, every 2 years the European Commission establishes an EU-wide list of projects of common interest (PCIs), consisting of key energy infrastructure projects in the EU. These are essential for completing the European internal energy market and reaching the EU’s energy policy objectives of affordable, secure and sustainable energy.
EU Regulation 2009/72/EC concerning common rules for internal market in electricity calls upon 80% of EU electricity consumers to be equipped with smart metering systems by 2020, provided that a positive economic assessment of all long-term costs and benefits to the market and the individual consumer is guaranteed.
This paper seeks to investigate if the theoretical and political trends towards a more collective dimension of energy use are reflected in the design and development of demand side management (DSM) pilot projects in Europe. Specifically, the paper analyses DSM projects in the database of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission to capture signs of a new attention towards the wider context in which consumers live and towards the social dimension associated with energy consumption.
This paper presents a multi-criteria selection approach for offshore wind sites assessment. The proposed site selection framework takes into consideration the electricity network’s operating security aspects, economic investment, operation costs and capacity performances relative to each potential site. The selection decision is made through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), with an inherited flexibility that aims to allow end users to adjust the expected benefits accordingly to their respective and global priorities.
The smart grid requires an effective energy management and for this a vast amount of information needs to be handled. Assessing the new technological solutions that would best accommodate the needs of a smart grid is of vital importance. This report aims at collecting information about the smart grid topics of research, the technologies and the standards used by top organizations that hold smart grid activities at a laboratory level. For this purpose an online questionnaire has been created and used.
The European electricity sector is undergoing radical changes in every segment of the power industry, from generation to supply. Ambitious policy goals set at European level to enhance the competitiveness, security and sustainability of the EU's energy system have called for major changes in the regulatory, technological, and market structure fields. The distribution sector is particularly affected by these changes.
Electricity distribution system operators (DSOs) are expected to invest heavily in system innovation in the form of smart grids (SG) in order to help achieve energy policy goals. In this context, regulatory reforms to spur DSOs investments are considered a policy priority. Based on a review of the European regulatory status and using a dataset of 459 innovative SG projects, this study focuses on market and regulatory factors and performs a series of statistical tests to investigate how the different factor levels affecting SG investments in Europe.
- The Baltic States are strongly connected to the electricity transmission grids in Russia and Belarus
- The current policy activities are focused on secure energy supply alternatives
- To support these activities a Baltic power system model has been developed
- The power model can serve as a tool for techno-economic power system analysis
- Dependency of the Baltic States on outside resources has been found to be fairly low in 2020/30
Grid connected energy storage systems are regarded as promising solutions for providing ancillary services to electricity networks and to play an important role in the development of smart grids. Thus far, the more mature battery technologies have been installed in pilot projects and studies have indicated their main advantages and shortcomings. The main concerns for wide adoption are the overall cost, the limited number of charging cycles (or lifetime), the depth of discharge, the low energy density and the sustainability of materials used.
The document presents the outcome of the evaluation process of candidate Projects of Common Interest in the area of Smart Grids, under the trans-European energy infrastructure regulation. The evaluation follows the guidelines of the assessment framework for Smart Grid projects, developed by the JRC within the EC Smart Grid Task Force.
The present analysis adds up to the discussion carried around the flexibilisation of the electricity networks, as means of higher diffusion of renewable energy sources (RES). Inspiring from innovation studies the paper proposes an economic rationale for considering RES technology manufacturers as investors in electricity networks.
High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) interconnections started to spread across land and underwater becoming longer and more powerful. The advance of this technology makes them the prime option for bulk power transmission in future. While on land the length can reach thousands of kilometres underwater they measure less than 600 km. The constraints but also the future developments must be addressed in order to assess the perspectives of this technology.
The development of a multi-terminal (MT) high voltage DC (HVDC) grid based on voltage source converter (VSC) technology has been envisaged as a key development for harnessing the vast offshore wind production potential of the North Seas. In this paper, market integration of a centrally dispatched MT HVDC Grid based on droop control is examined. Particular emphasis is given on the management of onshore imbalance volumes due to offshore wind power forecast errors.
The attention on the smart grids and smart grid technologies has grown significantly over the last few years. The analysis made in this study is grounded on the smart grid projects database of the Joint Research Centre (European Commission).
The smart grid (SG) as a research area is advancing dealing with a wider range of topics such as power systems, energy generation and telecommunication.