Centreing the citizen in demand response solutions
The current energy market incorporates a growing number of decentralised renewable energy sources (RESs). The EU-funded BRIGHT project deploys a multi-pronged approach to address efficient energy management and engage consumers in the co-creation of solutions. According to project coordinator Vincenzo Croce: “The complexity of managing energy with the growing presence of intermittent renewable energies underscores the importance of decentralised solutions and innovative technologies to address challenges related to local energy congestion and to enhance energy services for consumers.”
Three pillars of BRIGHT solutions
Because energy from decentralised RESs fluctuates, it is difficult to match supply and demand. Solutions that address social behaviour, business and technology are needed to optimise demand response (DR). S-BRIGHT solutions deal with consumer behaviour, implementing a social science framework. Achieving greater load flexibility requires greater customer engagement. Energy cooperatives, peer-to-peer trading and citizen energy communities all have a place in this new economy. To maximise citizen engagement the project implemented a participatory co-creation process where consumers play a central role. Additionally, the project explored game theory to understand how incentives that drive behaviour go beyond economic motivators. B-BRIGHT solutions focus on business aspects of the energy ecosystem, involving such players as customers, DR operators, energy service companies, flexibility managers, e-mobility managers and aggregators to support hybridisation and flexibility. B-BRIGHT emphasises prioritisation of multi-commodity services, personal care services, efficiency and e-mobility management. One takeaway of the project is that integrated services have more flexibility potential than stand-alone services. T-BRIGHT serves several technological goals, including embedded machine learning models to predict energy demand and offer flexibility valorisation. These data-driven tools have good scalability and low cost. Other tools include blockchain, digital twins and decision-making algorithms. All technological tools help increase the efficiency and flexibility of the energy ecosystem while drawing in greater consumer involvement.
Four demonstration sites
BRIGHT is a consortium of 16 partners from seven EU countries. The project conducted demonstrations in four countries - Belgium, Greece, Italy and Slovenia - to test tools in different scenarios. The Belgian pilot in the De Nieuwe Dokken community of Ghent includes 400 housing units, a sports facility, a kindergarten school and administrative offices under the management of DuCoop. The incentives that motivate human behaviour at individual and community levels is a primary focus at this site. The Greek pilot encompasses several geographic areas with varying meteorological conditions. The project examines how energy services connected to the internet of things in Halkidiki, Thessaloniki and Volos can support consumers. The city of Terni in Italy is part of an ecosystem with much experience in smart grid innovation and the use of RESs. The project worked with local aggregators to ensure fair distribution of flexibility in energy markets. The aim of the Slovenian pilot is to provide one-stop-shopping for P2P energy trading. The project integrates an edge secure gateway component with the metering infrastructure, digital twins and a blockchain platform. The transformation of European electricity grids is an essential step in reaching Europe’s goals for carbon neutrality. By leveraging social, business and technology solutions, BRIGHT takes advantage of opportunities presented by decentralisation in the energy ecosystem and the rise of renewable energy sources. More information about the BRIGHT project can be found here.
Keywords
BRIGHT, demand response, blockchain, renewable energy, consumer behaviour, data-driven, electricity grids, digital twin, energy flexibility
