Towards Self-sufficient Energy Communities: ICT Perspective

Professor Michael Short,
School of Computing, Engineering and Technology Teesside University, Middlesbrough
TS1 3BA, UK

Abstract: The concept of a self-sufficient energy community within a larger, interconnected grid is becoming a practical reality as digitalisation, decentralisation and decarbonisation transform approaches to the design and operation of industrial, business, and social systems across the globe. From an electrical energy viewpoint, microgrids feature a variety of interoperable power system components with integrated communications and control interfaces to optimally facilitate the production, distribution, and consumption of electricity on a local geographical scale. Smart grids enable the interconnection of multiple, distributed microgrids to achieve an interoperable and resilient energy network which can support large penetration of local renewable energy production. This talk will first outline innovative and disruptive smart systems for energy control and management developed within the context of the IDEAS, DR-BoB, InteGRIDy, and REACT funded research and innovation projects. The talk will focus upon ICT and control aspects, and how they can be used to create community management systems. Example deployments will be discussed, including local energy systems and district heating networks in Porvoo in Finland, a university campus in Middlesbrough in the United Kingdom, the small island of La Graciosa in the Atlantic Ocean, and a sports and leisure club in Barcelona, Spain. Finally, it will outline some of the open issues and challenges in community smart energy systems and opportunities for further research and innovation.

Brief Biography of the Speaker: Michael Short is professor of control engineering and systems informatics at Teesside University in the UK and leads the multidisciplinary Centre for Sustainable Engineering. He holds a BEng degree in electronic and electrical engineering (1999, Sunderland) and a PhD degree in real-time robot control (2003, Sunderland). Michael’s research interests encompass aspects of applied control engineering and systems informatics applied to smart energy systems and robotics. He has authored over 160 reviewed publications in international conferences and journals, has over 1400 citations and has won six best paper awards. He currently has an h-index of 23 and an i-10 index of 41. He has supervised six PhD completions and is investigator on numerous completed and ongoing funded research projects. He is an associate editor for the International Journal of Energies, a full member of the IET, a member of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society Technical Committee on Factory Automation and a fellow of the HEA.