A power grid that’s fit for the future The level at which energy prosumers both generate and consume energy is inherently volatile, which can affect underlying grid infrastructure. We spoke to Markus Taumberger about the Flex4Grid project’s work in developing a framework to help flexibly manage both energy demand and generation, making the power grid fit for the future The power grid
has historically been quite centralised, yet the emergence of more distributed power sources is leading to significant change, with more energy from renewable sources entering the grid. This leads to new challenges in terms of the management and operation of the grid, an issue that lies at the core of the Flex4Grid project. “We are trying to help in the transition from a centralised to a de-centralised power grid. Our role is to support flexibility management of end-users,” says Markus Taumberger, the coordinator of the project. The emerging concept of ‘prosumers’, who not only consume energy but also generate it themselves, is central to this work. “More and more people today are generating solar power from panels on their roofs which are connected to the grid for example, and this is changing how the grid works. So electricity is not only flowing from big generators to consumers, it’s also flowing in the other direction,” explains Taumberger.
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Energy consumption and production A high degree of flexibility is required in the grid to accommodate these different sources of energy, which is a prime motivation behind the project’s work. Part of the wider aim in the project is to help localise energy consumption and production, which Taumberger says is quite a significant problem in some parts of Europe. “Some countries have a big imbalance between energy production and consumption,” he says. A number of components are being developed in the project to help address this, moving towards more flexible management of both energy demand and energy generation. “One component would be at the level of endusers, enabling monitoring and control for end-users in their homes. We have a device that makes it possible to connect appliances to our system via the end-users’ phone,” outlines Taumberger. “We also have a data-
cloud service, in which we are collecting data, aggregating it and anonymising it.” The project’s work also encompasses the development of interfaces for third parties, which opens up the possibility of the data being used to gain insights into consumer behaviour and potentially opening up a new income stream for utilities. However, while this holds important commercial implications, data management is not typically a core concern for utility companies. “It may be the case that a third party will actually run the system that we are developing,” explains Taumberger. The project’s work holds more immediate relevance for Distribution System Operators; another component under development is designed to enable utilities to manage their customers more effectively in terms of load balancing in the grid, which Taumberger says is always a priority. “The main interest for utilities is in ensuring grid stability,” he explains.
EU Research