Aim: EnerFlex presents a holistic, end-to-end local electricity market (LEM) solution for residential customers in the energy community. It aims to develop an open-source market model platform that enables trading energy and multi-flexibility services concurrently.
EnerFlex will facilitate customers’ engagement in P2P energy trading within the community and concurrent participation in providing multi-flexibility services (both at the local and system level) in a network-compliant manner.
Objectives:
- Develop a holistic architecture for LEM that will consider the key processes necessary for the smooth operation of LEM (energy trading and flexibility services).
- Develop a concurrent energy and flexibility trading (CEFT) modelling tool.
- Implement Artificial Intelligence in LEM modelling, especially in dynamic forecasting, accuracy improvement in flexibility estimation and automated energy trading completion.
- Assess the impact of the proposed LEM framework in terms of key performance indicators (KPIs) associated with the energy market, network and environment.
- Develop the business model acknowledging the value propositions for existing/emerging market actors and relevant stakeholders.
- Address the barriers and recommendations for CEFT deployment, policymakers, DSOs, energy communities, aggregators, and customers.
Project Benefits:
- EnerFlex will also develop a methodology for the co-simulation of a concurrent trading platform and electricity distribution network model powered by Artificial Intelligence techniques.
- The design of the LEM will be based on the possibility of smooth integration in the centralised wholesale electricity market.
- Innovative business models will be presented that are coherent with the roles and responsibilities of existing market actors, stakeholders and accommodates emerging market players.
- The project will test existing and promising market-regulatory frameworks to incentivise the energy community-based LEM and makes future policy, and regulatory recommendation for the smooth roll-out of the LEM.
- The open-source modelling platform will be freely available for academics, industry, policy, regulations and all relevant stakeholders.
- EnerFlex will accelerate and promote the efficient utilisation of distributed energy resources and empower citizens by augmenting the market power of residential customers as envisioned in the national and EU energy transition.
Project Timeline: May 2023 – Apr 2026
Funding Body: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) RD&D Funding Programme 2022.
PI: Shafi Khadem, Lead, intelligent Grid Research @ IERC, Tyndall
Collaborator: Prof Michael Conlon (Technological University Dublin)