Software agents optimise distributed power generation
The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) coordinated the CRISP project, which received funding of over one and a half million Euros from the Fifth Framework Programme. The goal was to bring the benefits of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to distributed energy production. ECN identified agent-based software solutions as highly applicable to a market driven by multiple energy sellers and consumers. They subsequently developed the algorithms necessary for the implementation of an agent-based system. Its autonomous agents are capable of communicating with one another and carrying out transactions. A library was constructed to host information about the various types of agents created during CRISP. The agents were then used in scenarios defined by ECN and its partners in order to assess their performance. They demonstrated the ability to optimise tasks such as matching supply and demand and intelligent load shedding. Looking to the future, ECN is confident its agent-based solution can significantly improve the technical and financial attractiveness of an electricity network dominated by distributed power generation.
