A blockchain platform for Demand Response in Mediterranean islands: a smart contract for remuneration

The Blorin project started at the end of 2019 to support the implementation of a blockchain platform to support the energy services provision from end users by means of Demand Response and Vehicle to Grid programs. The experimental part of the project is being carried out on two Mediterranean islands and inside the University campus in Palermo. Customized smart contracts have been designed to support the active participation of end users to regulation services for the two weak electrical grids of the islands in the view of a deep penetration of renewable energy in the two energy systems. In particular, the smart contract for remuneration accounts for the very special energy situation of isl…

Technical Program Committee Chairs' Welcome Letter

Optimal energy management in the smart grid

In this chapter, the problem of energy management in smart grids is outlined. Optimized energy management is considered here as the operation of energy and power flow control in the aim of attaining minimum cost or minimum power losses while meeting technical constraints. Of course, according to the type of energy system in which such operation is carried out, the meaningful variables and objectives in the problem may largely change. As the extension of the system increases, the influence of the physical behaviour of the electrical power lines takes a more important role. Power electronics takes instead an increasing influence, as the dimension of the power system decreases although Kirchho…

Assessing the Economic Benefit due to BESS Management in a Renewable Energy Community of a Small Island

The paper presents a study carried out on the island of Pantelleria regarding the interaction among distributed energy resource and energy storage systems in renewable energy communities. EU, in the Clean Energy Package, defines the 'Jointly acting renewables self-consumers' (JARSCs) and the 'Renewable Energy Communities' (RECs) as innovative models to share energy from renewables facilities. Nevertheless, the behaviour of JARSCs and RECs is designed to maximize the final users' self-consumption without considering the impacts on the power grid operation. A comparison of various operational strategies of BESS and an investigation of their effect on the distribution network are key elements …

Flexibility of grid interactive water heaters: The situation in the US

Among different solutions to increase flexibility of electricity system, grid interactive water heaters (GIWHs) can make a large contribution, against a relatively low cost. They can advantageously be used within a single building, a local energy community or within an entire distribution grid, thanks to the very fast response time, low cost, highly distributed resource and widely demonstrated technology. In the near future, the flexibility potential of GIWHs will certainly increase, thanks to the advantageous flexibility programs that have been implementing in some area of the world, with the aim of coordinating several million of GIWHs with the electricity network. In this study, we asses…

Guidelines and Conceptual Design of the Grounding System of the DTT Experimental Facility

The Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT) is an experimental nuclear fusion reactor currently under construction at the ENEA research center in Frascati and whose first plasma is expected in 2025. The present article shows the conceptual philosophy and the guidelines behind the design of the grounding system of the DTT. The article focuses on the main target of the grounding system and on the main technical standards to refer to for the design.

Design of a Smart Car Park with PV generation and BESS for Grid-on and Grid-off Operation. The SMARTEP Project

The paper presents the design state of a smart car park shelter for electric vehicle in the campus of the University of Palermo. The car park is supplied by the main grid and by a 40 kW photovoltaic system and is equipped with a Li-ion battery storage system with capacity 42 kWh. The hybrid plant is designed in order to operate both in connection with the main grid and in stand-alone mode, supplying, in this case, all car park's loads and providing one recharge to an electric vehicle. Moreover, the energy storage system and, eventually, the battery of one or more cars with V2G technologies, can be managed for providing ancillary services to the grid. In the paper, the design of the system a…

The possibility of applying combined heat and power microgrid model for industrial parks. A case study for Dong Nam industrial park in Vietnam

Microgrid systems that combine cooling, heating and power (CHP) with distributed cogeneration units and renewable energy sources are a practical way to meet the growing need for energy, and industrial parks have enormous potential for the development of integrated electrical and thermal systems. This paper presents a microgrid CHP model and evaluates the possibility of developing the model in the Dong Nam industrial park in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. HOMER software was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the model.