Smart Distribution Grid: a Market Driven Approach for the Next Generation of Advanced Operation Models and Services

Project Information

DOMINOES

Grant agreement ID: 771066

DOI

10.3030/771066

Project closed

EC signature date 5 September 2017

Start date 1 October 2017

End date 30 June 2021

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 3 996 125,00

EU contribution

€ 3 996 125,00

Coordinated by

ENERIM OY
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - DOMINOES (Smart Distribution Grid: a Market Driven Approach for the Next Generation of Advanced Operation Models and Services)

Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The DOMINOES project aimed to enable the discovery and development of new demand response, aggregation, grid management and peer-to-peer trading services by designing, developing and validating a transparent and scalable local energy market solution. The market can be leveraged to share local value, increase renewable energy accessibility and make better use of local grids by Distribution System Operators (DSO), Prosumers/Consumers, Energy Retailers and other key stakeholders. The project showed how DSOs can dynamically and actively manage grid balance in the emerging future where microgrids, ultra-distributed generation and energy independent communities will be prevalent. Best value will only emerge if these resources and stakeholders can be connected to both DSO activities and the centralized market mechanism. The architecture and services combined will help contribute to achieving the European Commission’s key energy-related targets. The project begun in October 2017 and was concluded in June 2021.

As a conclusion from the DOMINOES project, the project main idea of the scalable local energy market solution is relevant for the future. The developed ICT architecture and market design, tools, services were validated in simulation environment and in three validation sites and support the local market concept. The regulation environment is driving in the direction of involvement and engagement of end-customers and an increased role of DSOs in enabling flexibility provision. Regulation of the energy communities might be a key step for the local markets.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project has defined five use cases of the local market action. Namely UC 1 Local market flexibility and energy asset management for grid value, UC 2 Local Market Data Hub Manager and technical validation and flexibility tool, UC 3 Local community market with flexibility and energy asset management for energy community value, UC 4 Local community flexibility and energy asset management for retailer value and UC 5 Local community flexibility and energy asset management for wholesale and energy system market value.

DOMINOES proposed six business models for demand response and virtual power plant (VPP) operations, tools and technology validation for demand response services, services based on smart metering, methods to utilize VPPs and microgrids as active balancing assets and secure data handling procedures in local markets. Business models were evaluated from the cost and benefit perspectives and with SWOT-analysis and validated in the demonstration activities.

The third reporting period focused on the validation activities of the project use cases and business models. These results were validated besides virtual validation in three validation sites in Portugal and Finland: A DSO environment in Évora (Portugal), a VPP site distributed across bank branches in Portugal and a LVDC microgrid site and microgrid research environment in Lappeenranta (Finland). Based on the validation and evaluation of the business models, the proposed local market concept is relevant for the future but there are many uncertainties. Regulation, end-customer-acceptance and capabilities in large scale, and future market prices are some uncertainty issues regarding the pace of the change.

Key aspects of the local market concept:

1. Market model
DOMINOES developed a local market model which is compatible, enables sharing of bottom-up flexibility, incentivises the end-customer engagement and promotes active prosumer role, considers accountability for flexibility (local balance settlement) and supports emerging energy market roles
2. Services
DOMINOES developed models and services for forecasting, aggregation, clustering and consumer segmentation
3. IT architecture
DOMINOES developed a modular IT reference architecture with modules for wholesale market, local market, simulation & optimization and analysis & forecasting.
Cyber security challenges in the local market framework were identified and new solutions developed for assessing threats and detecting anomalies
4. Information exchange
DOMINOES developed information exchange content used in local markets and for connecting towards overarching markets, defined stakeholder information needs and interfaces to DSOs & retailers
5. End-customer tools
DOMINOES developed a mobile app which enables end-customers to interact with the local market
6. Regulation
DOMINOES has evaluated the regulatory framework around local markets, including aggregation, role of energy communities, DSO regulation and the role in the procurement of flexibility and impacts of Clean Energy Package.

The results have been disseminated in various scientific publications (journals, conferences, thesis) and scientific and industrial events and in social media channels. DOMINOES project has itself organized public events.

The use of project results will continue in research and teaching. Project results will be further developed in on-going and new R&D projects. Industrial partners have plans to develop validated tools and services after the project for commercial operation. All the partners identified key exploitable results and how to exploit them after the project. Services and products regarding local market trading have a high exploitation potential.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The key results include a reference architecture for the local market, its validation in three distinct test sites and the definition of a roadmap to market. The developed local market concept will empower prosumers to decide on the distribution of value of their energy resources while providing benefits also for the DSOs utilizing the concept. The enabling ICT component architecture, interfaces and components were developed. In addition, requirements and architectures for balancing and demand response services were developed and validated. Business models enabled by a local market were defined, analysed and validated. Furthermore, requirements and procedures for secure data handling were developed, validated and integrated to the overall concept.

The local energy market architecture and combined tools and services will help achieving the European Commission’s key energy-related targets by increasing the participation of consumers with self-consumption of PV and DR on energy markets thus reducing the need for carbon emitting controllable generation and by enabling the decrease of peak loads in distribution grids. Furthermore, the DOMINOES project contributed to the ongoing policy development in the field the design of the internal electricity market, retail market and ongoing discussions on self-consumption.

During the DOMINOES project European Commission published the Clean Energy Package which has many reflections to the scope of DOMINOES project. Energy communities are in a key role for the local markets. Renumeration mechanisms and regulation of DSOs should consider the use of flexibility for congestion management and for reliability and quality purposes. DOMINOES has created models and services for this future energy market environment.

The impact of the DOMINOES project solutions and interconnected local market concept can be significant for the energy system. By enabling active participation of the distributed energy resources, they become a valuable asset in the whole energy system, not just locally. DSO’s will have improved tools to host an increasing number of distributed energy resources.

Local market interaction diagram