Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Advanced methodology and tools taking advantage of storage and FLEXibility in transmission and distribution grid PLANning

Project description

Storage and flexibility as an alternative to traditional grid designing

The rapid development of renewable energy sources (RES) poses new complex challenges for transmission and distribution network design. Network investments require a long building period and could even result in outdated infrastructures when works are completed. New technologies like storage and flexible use of existing demand could potentially reduce this risk and allow overall costs reduction. The EU-funded FlexPlan project aims to create a new instrument that will improve transmission and distribution grid design. It is based on a new approach that considers storage facilities and flexibility as an alternative to traditional grid designing. These technologies could help reducing operating costs as well as limit potential environmental impacts. The new instrument will be proven and then used in six regional frameworks to estimate the role that storage and flexible resources can play. Final product of the project will be the elaboration of regulatory guidelines destined to policymakers.

Objective

The current high-speed deployment rate of non-programmable Renewable Energy Sources (RES) is making transmission network planning activities more and more complex and affected by a high level of uncertainty. Because network investments are capital intensive and the lifetime of the infrastructure spans several decades, it may happen that when a new line is commissioned it is no longer the best option and it might be partially regarded as a stranded cost. There is an on-going debate on the selection of the more effective technologies that could contribute to system flexibility. This category doesn’t only include grid technologies, but also storage elements and flexible demand, both located in transmission or provided by opportunely aggregated distributed energy sources located in distribution networks.
FlexPlanning aims at creating a new tool for optimizing transmission and distribution grid planning, considering the placement of flexibility elements as an alternative to traditional grid planning. This approach aims at helping to reduce overall power system costs i.e. infrastructure deployment and operation costs, the latter in terms of procurement of energy and system services.
FlexPlan is going to take into account environmental impact and footprint (impact on air quality for thermal generation, carbon footprint, impact on landscape of new T&D lines).
A pre-processing tool is also created to determine location, size and associated costs for storage and flexible demand candidates.
The new planning tool is first validated and then used for analysing six detailed regional scenarios at 2030-2040-2050 in order to assess the potential role of storage and flexible resources.
Pan-European scenarios are preliminarily elaborated in order to provide border conditions for the regional cases.
Regulatory conclusions are drawn to analyse whether opportune incentivisation procedures could be put in place by the regulators wherever some consistent advantages are demonstrated.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

RIA - Research and Innovation action

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-LC-SC3-2018-2019-2020

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

RICERCA SUL SISTEMA ENERGETICO - RSE SPA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 845 125,00
Address
VIA RAFFAELE RUBATTINO 54
20134 Milano
Italy

See on map

Region
Nord-Ovest Lombardia Milano
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 845 125,00

Participants (14)

My booklet 0 0