An Innovative Smart Grid Framework for Integration and Trading

¹ International Energy Research Centre, Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork (UCC), Cork, Ireland
² IEEE Power & Energy Society Member

^* Corresponding author: fabio.silva@ierc.ie

Abstract

Smart Grids (SGs) are at the forefront of the renewable resources transformative change for power generation. Due to its decentralised energy generation approach and potential reduction of the cost of power, its relevance for the energy sector is insurmountable. However, new business models and processes are necessary, and they come with integration, implementation, and operation-specific challenges. This work offers a broad analysis of SG’ main architectural aspects concerning security issues, integration bottlenecks and standardisation shortcomings in the development of an efficient platform for local energy (generation and storage) surplus trading. Through a multi-layered smart grid architecture description, this work develops an in-depth depiction of the interoperability between these layers (from top business layer passing through information and communications layers, and down to generation and storage layers). Therefore, this paper encompasses a comprehensive framework to address central smart grids design aspects and suggests a path to integrate the smart grid components into a cohesive and manageable trading platform. Finally, this work demonstrates how the proposed framework can be applied to real market study cases to highlight its solutions, provide a critical evaluation of potential implementation pitfalls, and identify opportunities for further stateof-the-art research.