Regional Renewable Energy Cells

The project R2EC aimed at developing a salable system for decentralized, interacting energy cells with a high concentration of local renewable energy generation such as from photovoltaic (PV) systems, storage element as well as high electric use like e-heating and e-vehicles. The use of locally generated renewable energy via intelligent interaction of generation, storage and consumption shall be maximized and the interaction with other energy cells shall be optimized. The main objectives of R2EC are (1) creation of a simulation model / implementation concept, (2) further development of hardware and software needed for the system and the (3) prototypical application of system components in the energy cells. The project is finalized and now and the technical goals are achieved despite the delay which was caused by the outbreak of corona. While modelling and simulation was achieved identified feedback from pilot sites and practical installation and testing of the concept areas where further improvement might be possible. These are mainly related to: • The question of the end-users about “what is in for me” and “Why should I join an energy community?”. This is strongly connected to the economic benefit of for the individual end user as well as administrative efforts. The current economic system does, in case of no further subsidies, not sufficiently motivate end users to join an energy community. If end users invest into local energy generation and storage they prefer solutions within their local micro grid, rather than feeding energy into the grid. Furthermore, existing rules and regulations seem to be more a burden than a support. • The complexity of installing the necessary IT system to allow for energy communities struggles with the large bandwidth of technologies in the field and their accessibility. Some challenges are also connected to data security and privacy. The project concludes that further work and changes are necessary to overcome the above-mentioned challenges.

The project demonstrated the benefit of of up to 100 % volatile renewable energy in combination with storage, EVs and demand side management via simulations and installation at the lab site of the Austrian partner. A demonstration in a test site was not possible due to restrictions resulting from rules and regulations as well as potential incentives when joining an energy cell. It sill seems to be economical most attractive to have a self-consumption of locally produced energy instead of feeding it into the grid and as agreements with e.g. interested neighbors are not possible. A second issue when trying to introduce the concept in an existing field is the problem of an extremely wide range of technologies installed, making an effective communication and potential control and optimization quite challenging. I is expected to be different in case of new greenfield installations as a similar technological level of installed hardware can be expected. However the findings of the project can be used for selecting potential pilot sites in follow-up projects and also areas of further research and development activities.

The project R2EC aims at developing a scalable system for decentralized, interacting energy cells with a high concentration of local renewable energy generation such as from photovoltaic (PV) systems, storage element as well as high electric use like e-heating and e-vehicles. This system aims at maximizing the use of renewable generated energy at the local and regional level through intelligent interaction of generation, storage and consumption. Also, the system will optimize the interaction on the local level with other energy cells, and thus improve the local energy use. Investigations are also to be made concerning the overall system optimization and resilience, as well as the market participation through aggregation and blockchain use. The main objectives of R2EC are (1) creation of a simulation model / implementation concept, (2) further development of hardware and software needed for the system and the (3) prototypical application of system components in the energy cells.