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Efficient, effective and fair allocation of costs and benefits in residential energy communities deploying shared photovoltaics

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Abstract

Deployment of rooftop solar photovoltaics on multi-family buildings lags behind other residential buildings sectors, despite the benefit of significantly higher self-consumption achievable by applying on-site generation to aggregated building load. This is, in part, because of challenges in developing suitable business models to ensure the fair allocation of costs and benefits between different stakeholders. Embedded networks can provide a mechanism for consumers to co-ordinate their engagement in the energy market, as well as to distribute on-site generation between multiple households. However, to succeed, an embedded network must deliver benefits to all households as well as providing returns to investors. This paper uses a case-study of a 72-apartment complex in Sydney Australia to explore different ways to distribute the costs and benefits of a potential shared photovoltaic system between apartment owners and residents. A range of tariff structures, including demand or capacity charges as well as fixed and time-varying volumetric charges, are compared for their ability to recover investment costs, incentivise efficient energy behaviour and achieve customer acceptance through fairness and transparency. The analysis demonstrates the tension between these desired outcomes and the significant challenge of designing a mechanism to deliver them all. In particular, tariff structures incorporating peak demand charges, while cost-reflective and efficient, are unable to deliver benefits to all stakeholders and thereby ensure the sustainability of the embedded network. The findings have implications for market design and for policy approaches to support embedded networks and energy communities.

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... Hence, it is necessary to consider responsible algorithms and fairness aspects in LES. Recent literature has started to address fairness-related issues in the development of algorithms, with many articles having been released recently on this topic [8][9][10][11]. Different algorithm designs may lead to variations in benefits and risks [9]. Improving algorithm governance would enable accountability and responsiveness in designing and using those algorithms to prevent discrimination of participants of LES, negative effects on the consumers, or social unrest to the public [9]. ...
... It has been noticed that analyzing how fairness is addressed in current studies is a difficult task. The hindrance is that the interpretation of fairness is not uniform across the existing body of scientific literature [10,17,18]. In fact, classical concepts of justice and fairness from philosophy, sociology, or psychology also entail different views. ...
... LECs are community-based initiatives that enable residents and service providers to collectively manage and share energy resources (e.g., renewables and storage systems). The context of LEC considers works dealing with fair mechanisms of energy sharing [20,[26][27][28][29], fair pricing and cost allocation schemes [10,15,30,31], and the transparent and democratic decision process of investments [32] and resource management [33,34] within the community. ...
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The discussion of fairness is gaining considerable attention in the context of Local Energy Systems (LES). This is partially motivated by the energy transition, which has put more attention on technologies and production closer to the end-user. In other words, we are evolving towards a more user-centric approach, which requires dealing with fairness and justice due to the users' participation in the loop. Their willingness to participate depends on the perceived fairness regarding the systems they use. The current literature started to adopt the concept of fairness within LES but without a universally accepted approach. This review highlights the work described in the literature by thoroughly analyzing 80 scholarly papers addressing fairness in LES. The main objectives are twofold: to provide a definition of fairness within this domain and to examine how this concept is currently shaped and interpreted. The analyzed studies are categorized according to their applicability to LES, fairness and justice interpretation (e.g., equality, meritocracy), and use of post-method indicators to evaluate fairness performance. The work explores the identified gaps in the existing literature and outlines guidelines and prospective research directions for future studies addressing fairness issues in LES.
... Hence, it is necessary to consider responsible algorithms and fairness aspects in LES. Recent literature has started to address fairness-related issues in the development of algorithms, with many articles having been released recently on this topic [8][9][10][11]. Different algorithm designs may lead to variations in benefits and risks [9]. Improving algorithm governance would enable accountability and responsiveness in designing and using those algorithms to prevent discrimination of participants of LES, negative effects on the consumers, or social unrest to the public [9]. ...
... It has been noticed that analyzing how fairness is addressed in current studies is a difficult task. The hindrance is that the interpretation of fairness is not uniform across the existing body of scientific literature [10,17,18]. In fact, classical concepts of justice and fairness from philosophy, sociology, or psychology also entail different views. ...
... LECs are community-based initiatives that enable residents and service providers to collectively manage and share energy resources (e.g., renewables and storage systems). The context of LEC considers works dealing with fair mechanisms of energy sharing [20,[26][27][28][29], fair pricing and cost allocation schemes [10,15,30,31], and the transparent and democratic decision process of investments [32] and resource management [33,34] within the community. ...
... As Figure 3 demonstrates, the technical and economic disciplines covered 70% of the published articles. In these disciplines, indicators such as efficiency (e.g., [27,28]), self-consumption (e.g., [29,30]), and yearly costs per household (e.g., [31]) were discussed in detail. On the other hand, the other 30% of the articles discussed topics related to the environment (e.g., environmental impact and CO 2 emissions), social aspects and behavior (e.g., willingness to participate in a community), and policy and institutions (e.g., feed-in tariffs). ...
... As Figure 3 demonstrates, the technical and economic disciplines covered 70% of the published articles. In these disciplines, indicators such as efficiency (e.g., [27,28]), selfconsumption (e.g., [29,30]), and yearly costs per household (e.g., [31]) were discussed in detail. On the other hand, the other 30% of the articles discussed topics related to the environment (e.g., environmental impact and CO2 emissions), social aspects and behavior (e.g., willingness to participate in a community), and policy and institutions (e.g., feed-in tariffs). ...
... They also showed that under the smart community-based electricity market scenario, clean energy generation was consumed 31% more in the summer, while considering that energy storage under smart communitybased electricity markets deteriorated the network's stability during the winter. In another study, Roberts et al. [28] utilized an embedded network business model to distribute costs and benefits between CSS members of a 72-apartment complex, while considering various tariffs. The results showed that a specific size of PV system per building was required to produce enough savings between members. ...
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In the last few years, many innovative solutions have been presented to address the climate change crisis. One of the innovative solutions is the participation of community members in the collective production of solar electricity instead of individual production. The current study aims to provide a critical literature review of the collective production of solar electricity, which is called “community-shared solar” (CSS). Sixty-seven peer-reviewed publications were selected based on the setting up of a combination of related keywords. To analyze the concept of CSS in the existing literature, a multi-level perspective (MLP) framework was used to observe the CSS innovation at the niche, regime, and landscape levels. Four aspects, including the technical, economic, socio-political, and regulatory and institutional, were considered to evaluate those three levels. The results revealed that in the technical and economic aspects, CSS has reached maturity and internal momentum that can take it to the next levels. However, a lack of attention to the socio-political aspect and the regulatory and institutional aspect, in particular, is the potential barrier to the emergence of CSS and its potential position as a leading energy system.
... They showed how community solar could boost the installed capacity of PV by 80% after 25 years. Focusing on a single apartment building, Roberts et al. (2022) investigated electricity tariff structures tailored to residential community PV co-owners to increase the rates of return from the on-site electricity generation. Other modelling studies have relied on aggregated approaches to estimate socially optimal community solar deployment (e.g., Chen and Wei, 2018) and formulated detailed valuation models for single community solar projects (e.g., Shakouri et al., 2017;KleinHargreaves and Coffey, 2021;Mehta and Tiefenbeck, 2022). ...
... simulation outcomes suggest that the Swiss government's goal for PV electricity in 2035 could be within reach. 2 Second, this article complements the literature on community solar policy by highlighting the relevance of small design changes. Scholars have started to investigate some aspects of community solar policy design-although not always with the same definition of community solar-such as cost and benefits allocation (Roberts et al., 2022), tariff designs (Mah et al., 2021;Mittal et al., 2019) or program caps (Cook and Shah, 2018). This article complements these findings by showing the significant difference in adoption levels in the ZCS and RCS scenarios (over 20% by 2035) caused by making eligibility rules more permissive. ...
... Second, designing community solar policy involves many aspects besides deciding what buildings could join community installations. Future research could thus expand the literature on detailed mechanisms for collective self-consumption among end-users (Albouys-Perrois et al., 2022) and cost structures for co-owners that maximize community solar benefits (Roberts et al., 2022). Third, community formation and growth had to be simplified to limit computational demands and model complexity. ...
Article
Decarbonizing urban energy consumption is critical for addressing climate change, yet renewable power installations in cities are rare due to limited space and economic unattractiveness. Community solar, where multiple electricity users share the electricity generated by their rooftop PV systems, could help overcome these barriers and accelerate PV adoption in cities. Using an agent-based model, we simulated the decision-making of nearly 5000 building owners in a city district in Zurich, Switzerland, and assessed three locally relevant policy scenarios: no community solar, community solar with adjacent buildings, and community solar with buildings within a 100-meter radius. The results show that allowing community solar with adjacent buildings increases the installed PV capacity in 2035 by 1%, as greater economies of scale and higher self-consumption make PV adoption more economically attractive. A more permissive policy, allowing community solar with buildings within a 100-meter radius, provides more opportunities to communities to grow over time and results in 21% more PV installed capacity in 2035 than without community solar. These findings demonstrate the potential of community solar to accelerate PV adoption in cities and underscore the significant role of policy design in achieving this goal.
... The research on energy allocation in multi-owned buildings is still in its early stages. A few studies recommend equal energy allocation (Syed et al., 2020), allocation based on per-apartment investment (Akter et al., 2019), individual ownership of renewable energy systems (Roberts et al., 2022) or energy profiles (Roberts et al., 2022). However, the studies do not consider the impact of spatial ownership of the common property where the RES is installed or attaining the 'Net-Zero Emission' targets. ...
... The research on energy allocation in multi-owned buildings is still in its early stages. A few studies recommend equal energy allocation (Syed et al., 2020), allocation based on per-apartment investment (Akter et al., 2019), individual ownership of renewable energy systems (Roberts et al., 2022) or energy profiles (Roberts et al., 2022). However, the studies do not consider the impact of spatial ownership of the common property where the RES is installed or attaining the 'Net-Zero Emission' targets. ...
... The decline in Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) rendered exporting generated electricity into the grid unattractive (Karakaya and Sriwannawit, 2015;Roberts et al., 2019a) and promoted self-utilisation (Green and Newman, 2017;Roberts et al., 2022). Consequently, maximising renewable energy generation for export is no longer a priority. ...
Article
Full-text available
Renewable Energy Systems (RES) adoption in Multi-Owned Buildings (MOBs) is inferior due to ownership disagreements and social disputes. The multiple ownership of the RES in common properties of MOBs develops energy and benefit allocation concerns among the apartment owners. Accordingly, there is a need for a postu-lation that encapsulates the energy ownership and land administration aspects, extendable for policy implications. This paper aims to position the 'Energy Entitlement' of apartment owners as a critical research concept to promote the adoption of RES in MOBs. For positioning the concept, we holistically scrutinise the factors influencing the adoption of RES in MOBs and the existing energy allocation frameworks proposed in the literature while emphasising the necessity of 'Energy Entitlement'. We find that available literature predominantly focuses on the barriers and enablers to adopting RES in MOBs. However, the synergy between the 'RES' and 'Land Administration' is among the least focused. The research on the energy-spatial conundrum in MOBs is in its nascent stage, with debatable energy allocation principles proposed by a few studies. We conclude by highlighting the implication of 'Energy Entitlement' across industry, academia and policy regimes that calls for an equitable delineation of energy ownership integrated with land administration principles.
... For instance, Roberts et al. [29] assume that an energy sharing method is fair if it is transparent, offers equitable savings and guarantees that no prosumer that shares energy is left worse-off. Other descriptive interpretations are adopted by Perger et al. [30], which 4 relate fairness to the prosumer's willingness-to-pay, Jafari et al. [31], which interpret fairness as equal dissatisfaction or Lovati et al. [32], which interpret fairness in terms of a transparent framework for peer-to-peer business models. ...
... Interpretation of fairness Indicator [10] BS, MMR, SDR Individual rationality and equality PWI, EI [13] BS, MMR, SDR, SV Meritocracy F [29] Electricity tariffs Individual rationality, equity, transparency - [30] FRESH:COM Willingness to pay - [31] WGO Equal dissatisfaction - [32] Agent-based model Transparency - [33] SV, MV Coalition stability Strength of stability [34] Nash-type solution Individual rationality - [35] Nash equilibrium Individual rationality and equality - [36] SV Individual rationality, meritocracy - [37] Marginal contribution Meritocracy - [38] SV, nucleolus Individual rationality, meritocracy - [39] SV Individual rationality, meritocracy - [40] nucleolus Coalition stability - [41] Marginal contribution Individual rationality, meritocracy - [42] Six energy sharing methods Individual rationality, equality, coalition stability - [43] Nine energy sharing methods Coalition stability Max. excess [44] Nash-type solution Individual rationality Nash social welfare [45] General communitybased method Equality Jain's index, QoE, min-max [46] Four energy sharing methods Incentive compatibility, coalition stability Max. ...
... In the analysis in this work, similar assumption were adopted to those in [15] and [29], i.e. that the studied households have only inflexible electricity consumption. It is expected that adding flexible consumption [60], such as heat pumps, electric vehicles or residential batteries will (i) increase the overall savings of the community and (ii) will improve the computation time gain of VNB over MV even further. ...
Preprint
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This paper proposes an energy sharing method for collective self-consumption called virtual net-billing. The proposed method enables the members of an energy community to fairly share energy in real-time, based on their individual contribution. To achieve this, a mathematical model is developed, which separates the total self-consumption of the community into a portion caused by behind-the-meter self-consumption and a portion caused by the energy sharing. The properties of the proposed method are explored analytically, using cooperative game theory, and through simulations of 600 hypothetical energy communities, developed using real-world data. To assess the fairness of the proposed method, a theoretical framework is developed, which consists of three mutually non-exclusive definitions and three numerical indicators. Using this framework, the method is compared to five existing energy sharing methods from the scientific literature. The results indicate that virtual net-billing provides the lowest trade-off between fairness and computation complexity compared to the existing methods, which makes it suitable for large energy communities and easy implementation in real-world settings.
... Prior research indicates that CSC is profitable in many countries, e.g. Germany (Braeuer et al., 2022), Austria (Fina et al., 2021), Italy (Canova et al., 2022), Spain ((Gallego-Castillo et al., 2021Villalonga Palou et al., 2023;Gil Mena et al., 2023), Portugal (Mansó Borràs et al., 2023Belmar et al., 2023), and Australia (Roberts et al., 2022), with CSC only found to be unprofitable in France (Vernay et al., 2023). Existing studies have been mainly conducted on a national case study basis. ...
... First of all, they are aggregated at a building level. In practice, depending on the PV allocation mechanism and their individual consumption behavior, some tenants will gain more from joining the CSC scheme than others (Roberts et al., 2022). Secondly, the use of fixed load profiles does not allow the renters to shift their electricity demand to periods of high irradiance thus underestimating CSC benefits. ...
Article
Around half of the EU population lives in multi-family buildings, in which the landlord-tenant dilemma poses a significant barrier to low-carbon retrofits. Collective self-consumption (CSC) could present a promising way to overcome this barrier by creating mutual benefits for landlords and tenants. However, the techno-economic, climatic, and regulatory conditions for CSC show large variations in European countries, which raises the question how they will impact CSC benefits. In this study four different CSC regulations are integrated into a mixed-integer linear programming model, which determines the optimal retrofitting measures in a renter-occupied multi-family building under varying energy cost, climate, and envelope efficiency levels. The results show that CSC is beneficial for both landlords and tenants in all of Europe except for buildings in Western and Central Europe with an average U-value below 1.4 W/m 2 K and gas costs below 0.08 e/kWh. The findings also suggest that the landlord-tenant dilemma for decarbonizing heat persists in all European climates, pointing to the need for further support measures. In Southern Europe these could be provided in the form of more favorable CSC incentives for buildings with heat pumps, while in Central and Western Europe other measures, e.g. subsidies for heat pumps and renovation, are required.
... Prior research indicates that CSC is profitable in many countries, e.g. Germany (Braeuer et al., 2022), Austria (Fina et al., 2021), Italy (Canova et al., 2022), Spain (Gallego-Castillo et al., 2021;Villalonga Palou et al., 2023;Gil Mena et al., 2023), Portugal (Mansó Borràs et al., 2023;Belmar et al., 2023), and Australia (Roberts et al., 2022), with CSC only found to be unprofitable in France (Vernay et al., 2023). Existing studies have been mainly conducted on a national case study basis. ...
... First of all, they are aggregated at a building level. In practice, depending on the PV allocation mechanism and their individual consumption behavior, some tenants will gain more from joining the CSC scheme than others (Roberts et al., 2022). Secondly, the use of fixed load profiles does not allow the renters to shift their electricity demand to periods of high irradiance thus underestimating CSC benefits. ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Around half of the EU population lives in multi-family buildings, in which the landlord-tenant dilemma poses a significant barrier to low-carbon retrofits. Collective self-consumption (CSC) could present a promising way to overcome this barrier by creating mutual benefits for landlords and tenants. However, the techno-economic, climatic, and regulatory conditions for CSC show large variations in European countries, which raises the question how they will impact CSC benefits. In this study four different CSC regulations are integrated into a mixed-integer linear programming model, which determines the optimal retrofitting measures in a renter-occupied multi-family building under varying energy cost, climate, and envelope efficiency levels. The results show that CSC is beneficial for both landlords and tenants in all of Europe except for buildings in Western and Central Europe with an average U-value below 1.4 W/m2^2K and gas costs below 0.08 €/kWh. The findings also suggest that the landlord-tenant dilemma for decarbonizing heat persists in all European climates, pointing to the need for further support measures. In Southern Europe these could be provided in the form of more favorable CSC incentives for buildings with heat pumps, while in Central and Western Europe other measures, e.g. subsidies for heat pumps and renovation, are required.
... In Ref. [15], an efficient, effective, and fair tariff for cost and benefit allocation is presented. The distribution systems in Austria are fairly fixed at the point of writing this paper, and communities can choose between dynamic and static allocation. ...
... The self-consumption is again the actually purchased energy and therefore the allocation energy is distributed in (15). The residual grid consumption in (16) is a reshuffeled version of the self-consumption formulation in (6). ...
Preprint
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p>For completing the energy transition, ordinary citizens have to be able to participate. This can be achieved with energy communities (ECs), which are getting implemented into law in EU member states. However, some of these legislations do not account for the possible challenges of implementing ECs. One such example is Austrian law, which - in an attempt to take citizen involvement one step further - will allow for simultaneous participation in multiple ECs. However, the law does not state how energy should be distributed among these communities, which opens the door to ambiguities that could lead to not being able to process their energy allocation. The aim of this paper is to analyze different methods of energy allocation between communities and their members when there is multiple participation. Four algorithms are established and tested on solvability, complexity, comprehensibility, and fairness. Only one has proven successful in all categories: distributed demand/production. Here, a preprocessing stage is included, in which each member must declare what percentage of consumption/generation goes to the multiple communities in which they participate. Therefore, energy allocation in all communities may be done in parallel with no dependencies. The result of this paper recommends this algorithm for further regulation of multiple participation in energy communities.</p
... In Ref. [15], an efficient, effective, and fair tariff for cost and benefit allocation is presented. The distribution systems in Austria are fairly fixed at the point of writing this paper, and communities can choose between dynamic and static allocation. ...
... The self-consumption is again the actually purchased energy and therefore the allocation energy is distributed in (15). The residual grid consumption in (16) is a reshuffeled version of the self-consumption formulation in (6). ...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>For completing the energy transition, ordinary citizens have to be able to participate. This can be achieved with energy communities (ECs), which are getting implemented into law in EU member states. However, some of these legislations do not account for the possible challenges of implementing ECs. One such example is Austrian law, which - in an attempt to take citizen involvement one step further - will allow for simultaneous participation in multiple ECs. However, the law does not state how energy should be distributed among these communities, which opens the door to ambiguities that could lead to not being able to process their energy allocation. The aim of this paper is to analyze different methods of energy allocation between communities and their members when there is multiple participation. Four algorithms are established and tested on solvability, complexity, comprehensibility, and fairness. Only one has proven successful in all categories: distributed demand/production. Here, a preprocessing stage is included, in which each member must declare what percentage of consumption/generation goes to the multiple communities in which they participate. Therefore, energy allocation in all communities may be done in parallel with no dependencies. The result of this paper recommends this algorithm for further regulation of multiple participation in energy communities.</p
... They are (1) allocating the total costs evenly to each consumer, (2) allocating costs based on the energy consumption of each consumer, (3) allocating costs based on the level of zero energy target, and (4) allocating costs based on both the energy consumption and the level of zero energy target of the consumer. The study in [30] investigates different tariff structures to allocate costs and benefits of a shared PV system between apartment residents in an energy community, including capacity charges, and flat and time-varying volumetric charges. It does distinguish between the investment option; the PV investment could be made by any source, and the system operation is outsourced to a network operator. ...
... The area between the two dashed green lines shows feasible solutions for satisfying the selection rules in Eqs. (29) and (30). When the difference between the two prices becomes larger (e.g. ...
Article
Energy communities play an important role in the energy transition to future clean and sustainable energy. The economic feasibility of an energy community is largely affected by its investment options: either a third party or households themselves can invest in distributed energy resources. Another common problem for energy communities is cost allocation among local community members to ensure cost recovery. For these reasons, in this paper, an economic feasibility analysis for energy communities with two investment options is conducted: third party investment and self-investment, while also taking into account various cost allocation methods. An optimization model is developed to solve the optimal operation of the energy community with both investment options. The results indicate that it is economically feasible for a third party to invest in an energy community with the right energy prices and payback time. In this case, the third party makes the highest profits when the payback time is 15 years, which is around 50% percent of its total investment cost. In addition, it is possible for the third party to have multiple cost allocation methods within the same energy community. On the other hand, local community members benefit the most from a joint investment, despite the high initial investment costs. The energy costs of each household are largely affected by the payback time and cost allocation methods. These variations are the largest when payback time is 25 years, which is also the system lifetime. Overall, this study provides insights both for third parties and households to make decisions on investment options and cost allocation.
... FiT provides stability with a fixed rate but may limit flexibility, while MMR balances stability and adaptability by averaging retailer and FiT rates. SDR introduces dynamism by resembling retailer prices until peer transactions occur, enhancing flexibility and potentially optimizing economic outcomes within the community [7]. In conjunction with pricing strategies, fairness metrics such as Quality of Experience and Minimum-Maximum fairness play a crucial role in assessing the performance of pricing mechanisms [8]. ...
... Among the indirect success factors is the quantified added value due [42,57,58,64,71,84,88,104,105,109,113,122,124,126,127,129,134,139,142,143,146,149,150] Demand-supply managementbalances energy production with consumption using various strategies and technologies [72,101,102,116,118,135,143,144,147,148] Digital technologies for RECoptimize the management and operation of the systems [114,127,133,145,148,149,[151][152][153] Energy production technologies -include methods to generate renewable energy [40,51,66,103,117,[126][127][128]130,138,141,146,150,151,[154][155][156][157] Legal and structural organization of REC [46,48,62,64,69,89,96,100,106,116,121,144,147,161,162] Involved actors' analysisexamines the roles and interactions of stakeholders in REC projects [40,42,45,64,77,78,90,94,96,97,104,127,145,154,157] (continued on next page) ...
Article
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In the context of Europe’s efforts towards decarbonization, this paper introduces a novel framework for Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), validated with multiple case studies from Italy’s practice. Drawing on established concepts and an extensive literature review, the framework identifies key pillars supporting its model. The paper delineates the essential features defining the conceptual model of RECs, offering a process oriented perspective. This model serves as a tool to assess the success of existing RECs comprehensively and provides a structured pathway for the development of new projects across different countries, fostering replication within communities. An overarching framework is presented as a solution to enhance the effective utilization of renewable energy sources. Buildings, and the communities of people who live in them are considered primary energy consumers and direct beneficiaries of a REC framework. Consequently, an original pathway for the mass renovation of buildings located in highly populated areas, from the energy sources perspective, is provided
... In addition, it is possible to achieve energy generation adapted to the demand without the need for storage batteries, reducing the environmental impact due to the life cycle of such batteries (Nguyen et al., 2018). Also, the collective distributed generation of photovoltaic energy allows users to reduce the maximum demand on the grid, which affects their current tariffs and reduces their electricity bill (Roberts et al., 2022). However, this CE strategy has a series of requirements. ...
Article
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The circular economy (CE) strategies in energy communities enable firms to efficiently manage the excess of photovoltaic energy they produce, and thereby enhance their sustainability. Thus, the present research aims to compare the economic and financial profitability and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of shared photovoltaic self‐consumption versus individual self‐consumption in the region of Extremadura (Spain). Six firms with complementary energy profiles were selected, analyzing their hourly energy consumption. In addition, the Monte Carlo method was used to generate 30,000 simulations, reducing the uncertainty caused by the variability of the firms' energy consumption. The results show that collective generation covers the energy needs more efficiently, reducing the cost of energy consumed by 14.38% and generating better cost–benefit ratio. They also show that the CE strategy of the energy community allows firms to obtain a considerable reduction of GHG emissions associated with the photovoltaic energy consumed.
... Six authors (Casalicchio et al., 2022;Ceglia et al., 2022;Fina, 2023;Karunathilake et al., 2020;Mazzeo et al., 2021;Petrucci et al., 2022) explicitly stated their choice of rooftops with a South orientation without providing a rationale for their choice. Other authors (Fina et al., 2020;Moncecchi et al., 2020;Neves et al., 2023;Perger et al., 2021;Roberts et al., 2022) modeled case studies of ECs where buildings have site-specific orientation and tilt angle features. Consequently, they did not investigate the impact of PV orientations or tilt angles other than those constrained by the site on EC performance. ...
Article
Renewable energy communities (RECs) offer a promising perspective for decarbonizing the building sector. This is accomplished by enhancing the uptake, among others, of citizen-owned rooftop photovoltaic systems. A key challenge lies in ensuring that photovoltaic generation matches the needs of community members, i.e. maximizing shared energy index. Indeed, the shared energy depends on the consumption habits of individual members and the rooftop characteristics, such as orientation and inclination of available pitches, which influence the production curve. Therefore, clear guidelines on which roof pitches are most suitable for PV generation within RECs might be helpful during the design of such communities. In this paper, we investigate the optimal orientations and tilt angles for PV systems in REC design. We conducted a robust Monte Carlo simulation of an energy community comprising 60 users, 30 of which are equipped with rooftop PV systems for a total of 150 kWp installed. Our analysis revealed that pitches with West and East offer comparable, if not better, shared energy values than those South-facing, consequently mitigating peak power dispatched to the grid. Besides, shared energy remains quite constant across various tilt angles. These findings suggest that buildings with non-South-facing roofs should not be overlooked, but embraced in the design of renewable energy communities as they can contribute significantly to shared energy.
... Montero et al. (2022) proposed the installation of selfconsumption photovoltaic systems in hospitals in southwestern Europe, covering a significant part of their annual electricity demand and reducing CO2 emissions [11]. Roberts et al. (2022) analyzed the different tariffs available in Australia, with the aim of achieving an equitable, efficient and fair distribution of the costs and benefits associated with selfconsumption in integrated networks [12]. Minuto and Lanzini (2022) analyzed the performance of an energy community with 100 dwellings with a shared 100 kWp PV system [13]. ...
Article
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The expansion of collective self-consumption is set to be a fundamental pillar for the development of energy-positive communities. In Spain, the regulation establishes an allocation scheme of self-consumed and surplus energy among the participants, based on distribution coefficients. This implies that the members of the self-consumption community must decide (or otherwise are assigned by default, according to the criteria established in the regulation) the distribution coefficients assigned to each of the consumers for the allocation of the distribution of the energy generated by the self-consumption system, as well as for the allocation of the surpluses. In this paper, the behavior of several algorithms based on heuristic techniques will be analyzed, with the aim of achieving an adequate economic optimization focused on obtaining the distribution coefficients that maximize the net present value (NPV) of the collective installation (according to the annual savings from the implementation of the self-consumption facility, compared to conventional consumption). The modeling of the problem is performed under fully realistic conditions, considering hourly consumption data, electricity prices for domestic consumers and irradiation and photovoltaic production. The results obtained show a clear improvement in the economic performance of the plant by optimizing the distribution coefficients, compared to the standard approach corresponding to the default coefficients established in the regulatory framework.
... Ref. [29] contains a performance assessment for various types of cost allocation methods in integrated community energy systems. Ref. [30] proposes an allocation method for residential energy communities that is efficient, effective, and fair. We will use allocation methods that are already in use in Austria in this work. ...
Article
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This paper assesses the difference of optimal operation of energy communities (ECs) with respect to economic and technical goals. ECs have emerged as a promising solution for accelerating the transition to more sustainable energy systems and therefore climate change mitigation. While cost optimization (economic goal) is most commonly used in ECs, optimizing their resilience (technical goal) can be an important part of operating a distribution grid with high photovoltaic (PV) and electrical vehicle (EV) penetration in the future. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the impact of those two objective functions on overall EC costs as well as individual member costs. The findings highlight the trade-off between the flexibility measures required for a resilient EC and the cost associated with them. This study helps quantify the subsidies that would be required to incentives EC to operate in a resilient matter as a form of grid service.
... Not optimisation [33,40,41,[43][44][45]47,60,70,71,80,82,86,100,103,108,123,128,131,139,145,147,[149][150][151][152][153]156] 28 6. Rule-based. ...
... Unlike conventional fossil fuels, centralized photovoltaic (PV) power plants have limitations such as extensive land requirements, fluctuating power output, and operational challenges, leading to erratic power supply [16]. In response, the Chinese government has actively promoted decentralized PV systems on roof and walls to mitigate these difficulties and significantly reduce land use costs [17,18]. Such systems, known as residential PV systems, have gained momentum [19]. ...
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Residential photovoltaics (PV) presents an effective means of achieving low-carbon development, owing to its installation flexibility and resource-saving properties. To explore the residents' behavioral intentions to purchase and install residential PV systems, this study collected 1424 samples and analyze the impact of different policies on residents' adoption of residential PV using the theory of TPB and the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). The main conclusions are summarized as follows: (1) Bungalow residents exhibit a stronger inclination to install residential PV than building residents. (2) Perceived reward (PR) affects installation intention (II) more than perceived guide (PG) among bungalow residents. (3) Both PR and PG indirectly affect II through Perceived behavioral control (PBC) among bungalow residents. Economic policies, represented by PR, are likely to have more substantial indirect effects than propaganda and guidance policies. The findings suggest that China's recent residential PV installation policies should increase users' trust and guide the future decline of subsidy policy.
... To compare the benefits of energy sharing across countries, we adopt a single energy community with fixed electricity consumption and installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity and analyze its savings from energy sharing over the course of one year. The community consists of 50 households with a PV generation capacity of 100 kWp, similar to previous studies such as [12] and [31]. ...
Article
The financial benefits of energy sharing within a community are impacted by factors within the control of the community, such as internal rules for energy sharing, and by external factors, such as regulatory frameworks and fiscal policies. While much of the literature on energy sharing has focused on internal rules, there has been less attention paid to the role of external factors, despite their potential policy implications. This study aims to address this gap by examining the range of fiscal measures that can be used to regulate energy sharing in renewable energy communities in 39 countries. The study considers two community arrangements: one in which prosumers share their surplus energy, and another in which consumers shares the energy generated by a collectively-owned PV. The findings suggest that the annual savings from energy sharing in the first arrangement may not be significant enough to justify the formation of the community. In contrast, the cost savings from sharing energy in the second arrangement are much greater, but also more influenced by the fiscal support policies. Based on the results, the study offers policy recommendations for avoiding resistance from stakeholders and aligning their incentives when introducing energy sharing regulation.
... (c) Cost savings: This is achieved by pooling resources and sharing the costs of renewable energy systems. In doing so, communities can make it more affordable for everyone to access clean and sustainable energy sources [20]. ...
Conference Paper
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Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are collective entities whose membership is based on free and voluntary participation. RECs may involve groups of citizens, social entrepreneurs, public authorities, and community organizations that participate either directly or indirectly in the energy transition by exchanging energy-related goods and services either “for-profit” or “non-profit” within a community or ecosystem. REC members can jointly produce their own energy, which can be used locally, stored, sold, or shared with others in the ecosystem. Despite several pilot implementations of RECs, several challenges remain in terms of organization, governance and creation of incentives for participation, etc. To address these challenges, we propose the exploitation of a collaborative dimension. Thus, the concept of Collaborative Renewable Energy Community (CREC) is introduced as a type of REC that adopts collaborative principles and mechanisms to facilitate the production, sale, and sharing of renewable energy within an ecosystem. Just like many emerging concepts, the dominant literature in energy communities loosely points to this idea of CRECs but in a sparse, sometimes incoherent, disjointed, and disorganized manner, which creates a sense of ambiguity and confusion, making it difficult to comprehend the importance of the concept. In this work, we attempt to clarify the CREC concept, shed some light on their organizational structure, introduce their governance systems, and identify the types of collaborative mechanisms that can be adopted. Simulation was used as a preliminary validation of the proposed approach and models. The article further discusses some potential applications of CRECs.KeywordsCollaborative NetworksEnergy EcosystemsCollaborative Renewable Energy CommunityCollaborative Digital TwinsRenewable Energy Communities
... Fairness in energy sharing has been interpreted in different ways in the literature. For example, one study [19] shows that if energy is transparently and equitably shared in a sharing method, then the method is fair. Other studies present different interpretations [20][21][22]. ...
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... Indeed, the successful design and implementation of solar policies require inputs from various stakeholders in the solar PV industry [24][25][26][27]. In other words, to enhance the effectiveness of energy policies, insights from the experts (e.g. officials from the relevant government agencies and academicians from the energy field) are also essential, besides consumers. ...
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Malaysia has a long way before achieving the 20% renewable-energy penetration by 2025. Currently, merely 2% of the country’s electricity is generated by renewable energy sources including solar power. Unlike the abundant literature about solar energy, qualitative studies that focus on experts’ opinions on the weaknesses of residential solar-energy policies have received less attention, particularly in the context of Malaysia. Understanding the flaws in the existing policies would lead to creating a better policy framework for solar-energy development. Thus, this study aims to identify the shortcomings of the current government initiatives and policies that deter solar photovoltaic adoption among households from experts’ perspectives. Experts also provide recommendations for better future policy design and implementation. This study employs a qualitative research approach (via semi-structured interviews) in collecting experts’ viewpoints. Key concerns emerging from the interviews include insufficient financial support, lack of awareness programmes and subsidized electricity tariffs. Also, interviewed experts suggest sufficient financial incentives, increased public awareness programmes and comprehensive legislation aimed at safeguarding consumer interests as a means to raising solar-energy adoption in the country. This underlines the need for policymakers to create public awareness, provide financial support and develop regulatory measures aimed at managing solar companies for the sake of solar development in Malaysia.
... The volumetric pricing scheme is a common mechanism designed to charge customers for their electricity usage in kilowatt-hours. It can be seen on bills of all end-users and accounts for the vast majority of households' electricity costs [74]. Billing for commercial and industrial users is somewhat different, as they may also be charged based on the rate at which they consume electricity at a single point in time, known as demand charges [70]. ...
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The electric power industry is experiencing a paradigm shift towards a carbon-free smart system boosted by rising energy demand, depreciation of long-lived physical assets, as well as global environmental challenges. Recent advances in information and communications technology, as well as the widespread integration of renewable energy resources to the power distribution system, have introduced new opportunities and challenges for system operators and end-users alike. Energy storage systems (ESSs) can help make the most of the opportunities and mitigate the potential challenges. Hence, the installed capacity of ESSs is rapidly increasing, both in front-of-the-meter and behind-the-meter (BTM), accelerated by recent deep reductions in ESS costs. This work is focused on BTM ESSs installed in end-users ' premises and associated technologies, different billing and pricing policies, as well as their potential capabilities from both the system operators' and end-users’ perspectives. Furthermore, a brief but comprehensive overview of optimization solutions for BTM energy management problems and a quick summary of some BTM case studies are provided. Finally, challenges in the realization of BTM systems in today's power system are explored, and potential research areas and progressive solutions for future studies are identified.
... Some scholars have proposed models, such as a new dynamic simulation model for thermo-economic analysis and optimization of district heating systems [13], a business model which includes key issues and trends for the energy community [14], a transformation from the smart energy community into smart energy municipality [15] and key points to create further improvements for sustainable city strategies [16]. Similarly, implicit solutions in the form of lessons have also been provided, such as the lessons of transitioning to a low carbon society through energy communities in Brazil and Italy [17], sustainable energy action plans at a city level in Portugal [18] and shared photovoltaics for efficient, effective and fair allocation of costs and benefits in residential energy communities [19]. ...
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A direct use approach incorporating a cost approach assumed that replacing oversized electrical appliances with those better fit to actual energy consumption can reduce energy consumption, optimizing capacities of the new appliances to the maximum while reducing electricity costs. This study aimed to verify the assumption that the size of appliances has impacts on energy consumption and cost effectiveness. A mixed-method approach included these instruments for data elicitations (i.e., a questionnaire, data records of 485 transformers, two assessments of condominium technical caretakers, and two in-depth interviews of electrical engineering experts). The findings revealed that most condominiums installed electric appliances that are too large for their actual energy usage, which lies between 5.4% and 7.1% of the capacity. This study therefore proposed a total cost reduction of 54% by downsizing these appliances (i.e., MV Switchgear 2 sets, dry type transformer 2 sets 80,000, LV Cable 10 m. (XLPE), main distribution board, Busduct (MDB-DB), generator (20% of Tr.), and generator installation). Even though this analysis is limited to Bangkok, Thailand, this case may contribute decision-making on electrical appliance selection at early stage of investment or to downsize the currently installed appliances for the more energy efficient and cost-effective management of condominiums around the world.
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Since the energy compensation mechanism establishment in 2012, the Brazilian matrix has exceeded forecasts for the expansion of PV application on rooftops. However, even with the net metering policy support, the expansion occurs disproportionately among the different modalities of distributed generation, with multi-unit buildings occupying a secondary role. Such disproportionality tends to continue, since rationalities that guide key institutions are not clear and shared. In such context, the objective of our research is to identify drivers and rationalities by means of the voices of different specialists involved in the diffusion of PV technology in multi-unit residential buildings of Brasilia, Brazil’s capital. Beyond a purely quantitative study or a personal interpretation, our research presents firsthand different viewpoints on the most relevant issues related to PV adoption on Brazilian rooftops. Hence, this research also sheds light on the drivers and strategies for PV diffusion in multi-unit buildings, highlighting potential conflicting policymaking trends in Brazil.
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The evolution of decentralised energy systems, the rise of prosumers and the formation of energy communities (ECs) demand innovative approaches to assess and optimise value creation within these ecosystems. A significant gap exists regarding a unified approach and methods to identify, model, quantify and compare the multifaceted values in the social, economic, technical, and environmental context that ECs contribute to the broader energy system. This research bridges the gap in understanding the associations and value creation within ECs by developing a framework and methodology to understand and analyse the value creation within ECs and focusing on evolving end-user or prosumer involvement and interactions among diverse stakeholders. The research proposes a strategy to evaluate the various values produced by EC based on the action-oriented perspective of developing actors. By focusing on the evolving actions of end-users through different levels of use cases developed in this research, the stakeholders' motivations can be aligned with their activities. By doing so, the value formed within ECs can be explained, and a structured approach to quantifying these values can be established. This action-oriented approach and developed framework provide insights into holistic value creation and serve as a tool for identifying, quantifying, and comparing the values associated with ECs, which incorporate a range of key performance indicators (KPIs) to be developed to facilitate this analysis. The significance of the research extends beyond the theoretical realm, serving as a blueprint or guide for stakeholders to enhance value-creation strategies, guide policy development, and foster sustainable growth in ECs. By applying the developed framework and methodology, stakeholders can model and gain a holistic and deeper understanding of the multidisciplinary dimensions of the energy transition, identify synergies, and identify conflicts to boost collective benefits. Through this approach, a deeper understanding of the energy transitions through ECs in a multidisciplinary context can be gained, and a roadmap can be created.
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The energy transition is driving the adoption of local renewable energy production. Decentralised renewable plants enable citizens to play an active role in generating and managing energy supplies. In Europe, recent policies are promoting Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), which consist of aggregations of end-users aiming to produce and share renewable energy, generating and managing cost-effective energy supply chains autonomously. A comprehensive analysis of REC potential requires tools that integrate socioeconomic , environmental , and spatial evaluations for renewable energy assessment. The objective of this study is to present the current status and capabilities of tools for REC modelling. This paper reviews twelve energy modelling tools which have the potential for the evaluation of RECs. The review structure follows the steps of a REC assessment process, which is structured in background, inputs, simulation or optimisation and outputs. Technical, economic, and environmental aspects of REC projects should be included without leaving behind the spatialisation and geographical planning of the new energy systems. Findings reveal that the coexistence of multiple criteria is not satisfied in any of the current tools, as most of them mainly analyse a few areas of interest and partially consider other aspects. The comparison reveals that the energy and financial outputs are mainly deepened. Meanwhile, environmental and spatial criteria have a marginal role among both inputs and outputs. Finally, software marginally spatializes the workflow steps except for CEA and URBANopt, which are revealed to be the most complete options for REC design.
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Collective self-consumption (CSC) systems offer a great opportunity to increase the viability of photovoltaic installations by reducing costs and increasing profitability for consumers. In addition, CSC systems increase self-sufficiency (SS) and self-consumption (SC). These systems require a proper energy allocation strategy (EAS) to define the energy distribution within the CSC. However, most EASs do not analyze the individual impact of the rules and mechanisms adopted. Therefore, six different EASs are proposed and evaluated in terms of both collective and individual cost, SC, and SS. The results show that the EASs based on minimizing collective costs are the most beneficial for the community, although they imply an unfair distribution of energy among users. On the other hand, the other EASs proposed stand out for reaching an equilibrium in terms of cost, SS, and SC, although the collective profitability is lower. The best results are achieved considering dynamic coefficients, which are preferred over static ones.
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Based on the European Directive, the Italian Government has recently published the technical rules for accessing the service for valorisations and incentivizing shared electricity, kick-starting the setting-up of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs). A techno-economic analysis is performed based on a real case in the city of Florence to show the benefits that the creation of a REC can bring to the stakeholders: consumers, prosumers, the national grid operator and third-party companies. Moreover, this study focuses on the role of batteries within a REC by comparing three different battery management systems (BMS). The standard BMS (StBMS) is developed for individual prosumer selfconsumption (SC) and not for REC collective-self-consumption (CSC), which is thus penalized by the presence of batteries. For that reason, a new smart BMS (SmBMS) based on REC real-time data monitoring is proposed. This solution guarantees the same level of CSC as in the case without batteries, and compared to the StBMS, it ensures greater REC energy independence from the national grid and leads to more incentives for all stakeholders, ausing only a negligible economic loss for prosumers, as their individual SC slightly decreases. The optimal BMS (OpBMS), based on deterministic knowledge of demand and production curves, could guarantee even greater REC energy independence and a better investment for all REC participants, but since it cannot be implemented, it is calculated only to be used as a benchmark to assess other BMSs and to explore the potential of forecasting based methods. StBMS and SmBMS are simulated by Multy Energy System Simulator (MESS) while OpBMS by a Mixed-integer linear programming model (MILP).
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Decarbonizing society will require a shift toward renewable electricity production. However, the temporal configuration of renewables requires that demand adapt accordingly. Introducing intermittent electricity production will thus require end users to be more flexible in their use of electricity. Flexibility capital has been promoted as a concept for analyzing material preconditions in order to understand how providing flexibility might interfere with the daily life of the users. However, this concept focuses mainly on (im)material resources, while the social and temporal factors of society that also mediate flexibility have been less emphasized. The aim of this study is thus twofold: 1) to summarize all research published thus far on flexibility capital, and 2) to reconceptualize the concept by integrating aspects of socio-temporal configuration. The result is a more nuanced concept of flexibility capital that considers the role of both (im)material resources and social and temporal factors, such as norms, conventions, shared space, others, and bodily needs. Conceptualizing flexibility capacity as capital directs attention to a number of social implications. First, it highlights how the uneven material distribution in society may amplify social inequalities within the energy sector. Secondly, it questions whether electricity uses are inherently flexible under the current socio-temporal configuration of society. Thirdly, it warns that organizing the operation of energy systems around end user flexibility renders the users a commodity instead of giving them agency. These insights contribute to the field of energy justice by showing how flexible energy use can be evaluated according to the energy justice principles.
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In Poland, in the last 3 years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of photovoltaic micro-installations, especially in the power range of 2–10 kWp. The study analyzes the economic viability and environmental aspects of the resulting installations. A distinction was made according to the size of the installation, which translates into its productivity and the scale effect of the assembly. For the first time in Poland, the emission levels of CO2 and other pollutants were determined based on the power of PV installations. Both the Life Cycle Assessment and the cash flow analysis were used in the research. In the analyzed range of installation power, changes in the calculated environmental indicators ranged from 5.4 to 7 %, and the most environmentally effective option in the My Electricity program is a 10 kWp installation, while the highest economic efficiency was achieved for installations with a capacity of 2 kWp. In addition, the impact of the installation of many installations under the My Electricity program on the reduction of the carbon footprint, emission of dust, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide in the conditions of the Polish power industry was analyzed.
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This paper proposes an energy sharing method for collective self-consumption called virtual net-billing. The proposed method enables the members of an energy community to fairly share energy in real-time, based on their individual contribution. To achieve this, a mathematical model is developed, which separates the total self-consumption of the community into a portion caused by behind-the-meter self-consumption and a portion caused by the energy sharing. The properties of the proposed method are explored analytically, using cooperative game theory, and through simulations of 600 hypothetical energy communities, developed using real-world data. To assess the fairness of the proposed method, a theoretical framework is developed, which consists of three mutually non-exclusive definitions and three numerical indicators. Using this framework, the method is compared to five existing energy sharing methods from the scientific literature. The results indicate that virtual net-billing provides the lowest trade-off between fairness and computation complexity compared to the existing methods, which makes it suitable for large energy communities and easy implementation in real-world settings.
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Sharing local co-owned photovoltaic (PV) energy in multifamily residential buildings is inefficient. Energy produced and consumed within the same building may be considered purchased energy, of which the customer must pay the purchase price, the network service fee, and taxes. As PV typically does not allow self-sufficiency in the Nordic countries, a distribution system operator is needed to provide the grid connection. Earlier solutions to this problem are focused on energy communities where an energy aggregator is responsible for the energy balance settlement. However, this does not allow the energy community members to remain in the open electricity market. This paper introduces a blockchain-based balance settlement ledger and a set of rules for energy sharing in energy communities where members participate in the open electricity market while supplied with local low-cost PV energy. This, to the authors’ knowledge, has not been previously implemented. The blockchain mitigates the need for any central entity for balance settlement and ensures fair sharing of PV energy. The existing smart meters can be used so no investments are required. The system performance is tested with simulations which show potential for increase in profitability. The self-sufficiency rate increases in our test scenario from 4.03% to 9.61%.
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Collective self-consumption can have an important role contributing to decarbonization and sustainability goals in cities. However, the implementation of such projects is hindered by technical, economic, social and regulatory barriers, which may compromise those goals. Based on the recent guiding principles for collective energy systems established under the scope of the European Union's Clean Energy Package, this work aims to assess how cost minimization and self-consumption maximization collective objectives may influence the economic and energy performance of a shared electricity generation and self-consumption project implemented in a multi-tenancy environment. A multiagent framework is developed to model the building dynamics while optimization algorithms are implemented to exploit individual and collective goals. Our findings show that cost minimization and self-consumption maximization can be conflicting objectives and influence the project energy and economic performance. While the cost minimization objective is more attractive for projects in which cost-driven participants are concerned with recovering investment, the self-consumption maximization objective is more suitable for cost-indifferent participants and projects aimed at energy self-sufficiency. These results raise relevant hints for stakeholders (participants, investors and policymakers), contributing to make better investment decisions and design better policies incentivizing electricity generation and management in multi-tenancy buildings.
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Although the amount of solar photovoltaic systems installed in residential buildings is increasing globally, it is largely limited to single-occupancy dwellings and is extremely uneven across jurisdictions. Deployment on apartment buildings remains low, even in Australia with its world-leading residential photovoltaic penetration, or in countries subject to specific enabling legislation, such as Austria. We present a comparative study of photovoltaic system deployment on multi-occupancy residential buildings in these two countries, examining the impact of their distinct climates, financial settings, heating and cooling technologies and regulatory environments. A mixed-integer linear optimisation model is used to compare cost-optimal photovoltaic system size and achievable cost savings for a nine-apartment building. We find that Australia's higher insolation and lower investment costs drive higher optimal system size and bill savings, but lower electricity tariffs and regulatory barriers constrain deployment. By contrast, European enabling legislation has not yet achieved success in overcoming Austria's higher investment costs and lower solar exposure, partly due to significant administrative hurdles. Our findings point to possible country-specific policy approaches to increase deployment in this important sector.
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Over the last two decades, grid-connecte d solar photovoltaic systems have increased from a niche market to one of the leading power generation capacity additions annually. In 2019 the total worldwide installed photovoltaic electricity generation capacity exceeded 630 GW. It is forecasted that 1 TW will be reached by 2022. This further development is coupled with the question at what prices solar photovoltaic electricity can be provided and delivered to the customers. The installation of PV systems for self-consumption is already now an interesting option for many people but in general limited to those who have access to a rooftop they own or can use. Enabling residents of multi apartment buildings to commonly use electricity generated by a PV system (collective self-consumption) is a relatively new development and is still facing a lot of administrative and regulatory challenges. This paper provides an overview of existing regulatory schemes in IEA PVPS countries and presents and analysis of two self-consumption case studies .
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Rapidly changing economics, customer preferences, and policy to address climate change and local environmental pollutants have driven increased deployment of a wide range of distributed energy resources in the U.S. electricity system. Distributed energy resources have enabled an expanded role for energy consumers and non-utility third parties to reshape system costs, drawing renewed attention to the potential of reforming electricity rate design based on the further application of cost-causal principals to improve overall system fairness and efficiency. One mechanism to move toward greater application of cost-causal rate design is dynamic pricing, which varies electricity prices across time and location to reflect costs of providing electricity to consumers under specific market conditions and grid operation conditions. While dynamic electricity pricing has penetrated some markets, and it has not been widely implemented, particularly for residential consumers. In this review article, we provide a brief summary of electricity rate design, including the possibility of introducing dynamic prices, and explain why dynamic prices are more reflective of the short-run marginal costs of electricity supply than volumetric rates. We then explore the barriers to the widespread adoption of residential dynamic pricing, emphasizing technical, economic, and political challenges. Our assessment reflects the ability of dynamic prices to engender more equitable and efficient outcomes by achieving the goal of cost-causality, and we argue that a move toward more dynamic pricing can constitute a welfare improvement over volumetric rates. However, dynamic pricing does not completely address the full set of challenges associated with rate design and, alone, is unlikely to enable the full recovery of fixed costs and the fair attribution of the positive and negative externalities of electricity provision. Therefore, electricity rate design requires tradeoffs, making it as much an art as a science. This analysis synthesizes literature across multiple fields and suggests avenues for further research.
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In this study, a model is developed to estimate the cost-optimal large-scale economic potential of shared rooftop PV systems based on neighbourhood energy communities (ECs). In a first step, an optimisation model determines the cost-optimal rooftop PV capacities for representative neighbourhood ECs in characteristic settlement patterns (SPs). Next, the number of ECs in the large-scale area of investigation is determined by allocating buildings to SPs and ECs. Finally, the optimal large-scale, EC-based rooftop PV potential is determined by upscaling. A case study is provided for Austria, identifying a cost-optimal economic rooftop PV potential of approximately 10GWp. This PV capacity would already be sufficient (in terms of expected PV deployment) to meet the Austrian 2030 policy goal of a 100% renewable electricity generation. However, results also indicate that accommodating the cost-optimal rooftop PV capacity is difficult in cities/towns in contrast to rural areas. Thus, future ECs should be implemented not only on neighbourhood level, but across the boundaries of different SPs. Different sensitivity analyses are conducted, notably in terms of varying retail electricity prices, including a variation of distribution grid tariff structures, and PV system cost. The trade-off between these sensitivity parameters is critically discussed and provides recommendations for future work.
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A transactive energy coordination mechanism is proposed in this study where community microgrids are supplying power to multi‐dwelling residential apartments. The proposed transactive energy coordination mechanism coordinates the energy sharing among apartments based on the energy profile of the community microgrid where the excess energy is traded with non‐contributing apartments. The proposed coordination mechanism is embedded within an energy management controller which uses the energy profile and determines the valuation of energy. A choice factor along with the bound on electricity prices is also incorporated to calculate the bidding price and a double‐sided auction mechanism is considered for the bidding purpose. The utility maximisation approach is used to clear the market. Different scenarios based on the flexibility in the pricing strategy are considered to evaluate the performance of the proposed transactive energy coordination mechanism. The potential economic benefits of the proposed scheme are also analysed which clearly demonstrate that it is beneficial for all participants.
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The transition to a low-carbon future based on renewable energy sources is leading to a new role for citizens, from passive energy consumers to active energy citizens - the so-called renewable energy (RE) prosumers. Recent EU energy policy seeks to mainstream RE prosumers in each Member State. This study carries out a cross-country comparison between the regulatory frameworks of nine countries and regions - Belgium (Flanders region only), Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands and the United Kingdom - to reveal the main challenges and opportunities that these have posed to collective RE prosumers (i.e. renewable energy communities, citizen energy communities and jointly-acting renewable self-consumers). Four countries have had more favourable frameworks for collective prosumers: France, Germany, Netherlands and United Kingdom. The results indicate that the current legal framework at the EU level represents a clear opportunity for collective prosumers. Spain and Portugal have both already shifted from a restrictive regulation to implementing in 2019 a legal framework for collectives. The study provides a starting point to distil policy implications for improving legal frameworks relevant for collective RES prosumers across Europe.
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As subsidised feed-in-tariffs for distributed photovoltaic (PV) generation are reduced or abolished in many jurisdictions, there is growing interest in increasing self-consumption to realise greater value from rooftop PV generation. However, deployment of PV on apartment buildings lags behind other residential deployment despite the potential advantages of load aggregation. We present a study of electricity and financial flows in ten 'virtual' Australian apartment buildings under a range of technical implementations and financial arrangements, using real load profiles and simulated generation profiles. Aggregation of diverse household and shared loads, either through an embedded network or 'behind the meter' of individual dwellings, can increase self-sufficiency and self-consumption of on-site generation compared to separate systems supplying common property or individual apartments. While embedded networks can enable access to more beneficial retail arrangements, behind the meter solutions may allow residents to avoid regulatory complexities and additional costs. The relative benefits of each arrangement are dependent on building characteristics and financial settings.
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Many countries are changing their legislation to enable photovoltaic (PV) sharing beyond building boundaries. This work aims to investigate the profitability and optimal installation capacities of PV systems for energy communities (ECs) in comparison to individual buildings. To gain a wide spectrum of results, four characteristic settlement patterns with different building types are defined, ranging from urban to suburban and historical to rural areas. Analytically, a mixed-integer linear optimisation model is developed to maximise the net present value over a time horizon of 20 years. The results show that the profitability of implementing optimally-sized PV systems increases when forming ECs compared to the situation of considering buildings individually. The more different the load profiles, the more synergy effects, and the higher the cost saving potential. Consequently, a sensitivity analysis shows that taking into account large customers can increase the profitability of PV installation for the community significantly because large roof/facade areas are provided for optimal PV installation. In addition to a broad participant portfolio, a change in the technology set-up can have a positive influence. Battery- and hot water storage which complement PV systems and heat pumps can contribute to saving energy costs, if only marginally.
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Flexibility has increasing value across sectors of the economy, including energy. The ability to be flexible is affected by a wide variety of sociotechnical factors and determines what we term 'flexibility capital'. Levels of flexibility capital vary in populations, both absolutely and in the extent to which they are primarily derived from technological or social means, which has implications for the (dis)comfort and (in)convenience involved in economising flexibility capital. Furthermore, we argue that freedom of choice over whether and how to econ-omise flexibility capital can be limited by factors such as financial resources, among others. In constrained systems (such as energy networks), the level of service enjoyed by the more affluent may not simply be higher than those who are less affluent, but may be directly enabled by reductions in the latter's comfort and/or convenience which may not feel fully voluntary. There is a real risk that such injustices could be locked into energy infrastructure and market design and governance for the long term as has already happened in labour markets. We introduce the concept of 'flexibility justice' as a frame for these issues of fairness. While the concepts we offer in the paper emerge from longstanding engagements with energy research contexts and they relate directly to the issues currently being debated in the energy research and policy communities, we contend that they can be related to a much broader range of issues in 21st century economies.
Thesis
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The uptake of affordable solar PV panels challenges the way in which costs of distribution networks are recuperated from consumers. Historically, consumers were charged for the use of the distribution network mainly according to their (net) volume of electricity consumed over a period of time. With such volumetric network charges, consumers installing PV panels contribute a lot less towards the recuperation of network costs. However, these consumers (prosumers) still rely on the network as much as they did before. The question investigated in this thesis is how to re-design the distribution network tariff in this changing context. Different game-theoretical models are developed to conduct this analysis. In the models, not only investments in solar PV but also investments in batteries at the consumer-side are considered. The thesis consists of a brief overview followed by four standalone chapters and a conclusion.
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Distributed photovoltaics is playing a growing role in electricity industries around the world, while Battery Energy Storage Systems are falling in cost and starting to be deployed by energy consumers with photovoltaics. Apartment buildings offer an opportunity to apply central battery storage and shared solar generation to ag-gregated apartment and common loads through an embedded network or microgrid. We present a study of energy and financial flows in five Australian apartment buildings with photovoltaics and battery storage using real apartment interval-metered load profiles and simulated solar generation profiles, modelled using an open source tool developed for the purpose. Central batteries of 2-3 kWh per apartment can increase solar self-consumption by up to 19% and building self-sufficiency by up to 12%, and shave overall building peak demand by up to 30%. Although the economic case for battery storage applied to apartment building embedded networks is not compelling at current capital prices, with cost thresholds of AU400AU400-AU750/kWh compared to AU750AU750-AU1000/kWh for individual household systems, there are clear financial benefits to deployment of embedded networks with combined solar and battery storage systems for many sites.
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Multi-apartment buildings comprise almost half of the European housing stock and are for the most part old and energy inefficient, making active retrofitting an important topic. The objective of this paper is to determine the profitability and optimal size of different technology portfolios for renewable building energy. A mixed-integer linear programming optimisation model is developed in Matlab with the objective of maximising the Net Present Value over a time horizon of 20 years. To examine multiple use cases, a modular approach is used for realising different multi-apartment building set-ups. Building-attached and building-integrated photovoltaic systems on different parts of the building skin already achieve break-even. Heat pumps, pellet and district heating can hardly compete with gas heating yet. However, heat pumps have synergy effects with PV systems, thus reinforcing their implementation, as does a tenant portfolio with a good correlation with the sunshine hours. The profitability gap between investment costs for passive building renovation and resulting energy cost savings is significant. However, it is the smallest for buildings with quality standards. In conclusion, governmental subsidies and financial incentives such as the true cost pricing of CO 2 emissions are necessary to trigger investments in reasonable combinations of passive and active retrofitting measures.
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This paper reviews opportunities for, and barriers to, increasing photovoltaic (PV) deployment on apartment buildings, with a particular focus on the Australian experience. In 2015, residential loads account for 27% of global electricity use [1], while offsetting these loads with rooftop PV has been significant in developing a commercial global PV market and is critical to achieving COP 21 emissions targets. However, as rapid urbanisation drives increasing housing density, PV penetration in multi-occupancy housing has been limited by comparison with stand-alone housing in many jurisdictions, including in Australia despite its world-leading residential PV penetration. Given the growing commercial attractiveness of residential PV, this also raises equity concerns for apartment households. PV can potentially be installed to supply electricity to common property, to serve individual apartments, or as a resource shared between multiple apartments through embedded networks, local energy trading or ‘behind the meter’ deployment models. Our study undertook a review of the academic literature in this space and of specific Australian arrangements, as well as conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with a range of relevant stakeholders. Barriers identified include the huge variety amongst existing apartment building stock which precludes standardised retrofitting solutions, demographic factors and knowledge issues. However, the Australian regulatory context - including governance of apartment buildings, regulation of the energy market, and electricity tariff policies - also impacts on the options available to apartment residents. New models for deploying PV on apartments are emerging, including initiatives from retailers, developers and community energy organisations. While some issues are specific to the Australian context, or to buildings governed under strata-type arrangements, broader lessons can be taken from the Australian experience, including to inform the design of the regulatory framework required to facilitate widespread PV deployment across all residential housing types.
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A combination of PV, storage and energy management in multi-dwelling developments can be very effective in utilising load diversity and reducing grid dependence. Sharing PV and electricity storage resources within a community renewable energy network (CREN) via an energy management system (EMS) shifts the peak individual loads to times that the grid considers off-peak periods – i.e. night time – so managed off-peak charging and a retail plan with the lowest off-peak pricing affords the community savings in the order of 95.5% compared to the traditional individual grid connection. The balancing performed by the EMS eliminates the paradox of concomitant demand and supply from/to grid that occurs when some of the individual systems in the community have available charge while others do not. The optimisation of off-peak charging avoids 54% of redundant charge which is a financial gain in jurisdictions where feed-in tariffs are much lower than supply charges. Even though this study focuses on an Australian case study it provides a tool that allows the performance of the same analysis for other specific sites and load profiles.
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Since 2000 grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems have increased their worldwide cumulative capacity more than 300 times to reach 400 GW at the end of 2017. Another doubling is forecasted until 2020 and the further development is coupled with the question at what prices solar photovoltaic electricity can be provided and delivered to the customers. The installation of PV systems for self-consumption is already now an interesting option for many people but in general limited to those who have access to a rooftop they own or can use. A new development to enable residents of multi apartment buildings to commonly use electricity generated by a PV system is a relatively new development and is still facing a lot of administrative and regulatory challenges.
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In this paper a game-theoretical model with self-interest pursuing consumers is introduced to assess how to design a least-cost distribution tariff under two constraints that regulators typically face. The first constraint is related to difficulties regarding the implementation of cost-reflective tariffs. In practice, so-called cost-reflective tariffs are only a proxy for the actual cost driver(s) in distribution grids. The second constraint has to do with fairness. There is a fear that active consumers investing in distributed energy resources (DER) might benefit at the expense of passive consumers. We find that both constraints have a significant impact on the least-cost network tariff design, and the results depend on the state of the grid. If most of the grid investments still have to be made, passive and active consumers can both benefit from cost-reflective tariffs, while this is not the case for passive consumers if the costs are mostly sunk.
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There is growing policy and regulatory interest in better aligning electricity tariffs with the cost of providing network services to customers: to provide a better price signal for economically efficient use of the network, and reduce cross subsidies between different customers. Given that network costs are significantly driven by peak capacity requirements, many proposals for more cost-reflective tariffs include a demand (capacity) component. However, there are many complexities in the implementation of such tariffs. This paper first presents a method to visually assess how cost-reflective a particular demand charge network tariffs is. We apply it to a typical demand charge network tariff proposal within the Australian National Electricity Market and actual consumption data of 3876 Sydney households, and find it to have low cost-reflectivity in terms of aligning customer bills with their contribution towards network peak demand. Such misalignment has potentially significant adverse impacts on the economic efficiency of such tariffs – an issue that does not appear to have received sufficient policy attention. We then use this assessment method to demonstrate how a demand charge tariff structure can be adjusted to make it significantly more cost-reflective. This method can be applied to any tariff that includes a capacity-based component.
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Smart time of use tariffs are a key part of most government’s strategies to ensure our future electricity supply is clean, affordable and secure – but will consumers be willing to switch to them? This paper presents the results of a survey experiment conducted on a nationally representative sample of 2020 British energy bill payers. The data suggests that over a third of bill payers are in favour of switching to a 3-tiered smart time of use tariff, indicating a sizeable potential market for these tariffs. There is substantial variation in willingness to switch, driven by differences in loss-aversion and ownership of demand flexible appliances rather than standard socio-economic/demographic factors. This is the first time loss-aversion has been measured amongst energy bill payers and the results suggest loss-aversion is likely to stifle consumer uptake; 93% of bill payers are loss-averse (care more about avoiding financial losses than making savings) and loss-averse people are substantially less willing to switch to the time of use tariff (p<0.001). A randomised control trial finds that loss-framed messages are unlikely to overcome loss-aversion to boost uptake. Marketing campaigns tailored towards electric vehicle owners, who were significantly more willing to switch, could increase uptake during and after the smart meter roll-out.
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Private households are increasingly taking cooperative action to change their energy consumption patterns in pursuit of green, social, and economic objectives. Cooperative demand response (DR) programs can contribute to these common goals in several ways. To quantify their potential, we use detailed energy consumption and production data collected from 201 households in Austin (Texas) over the year 2014 as well as historic real-time prices from the Austin wholesale market. To simulate cooperative DR, we adapt a load-scheduling algorithm to support both real-time retail prices and a capacity-pricing component (two-part pricing schemes). Our results suggest that cooperative DR results in higher cost savings for households than individual DR. Whereas cooperative DR that is based on real-time pricing alone leads to an increase in peak demand, we show that adding a capacity-pricing component is able to counteract this effect. The capacity-pricing component successfully reduces the cooperative's peak demand and also increases the cost savings potential. Effective peak shaving is furthermore only possible in a cooperative setting. We conclude that cooperative DR programs are not only beneficial to customers but also to energy providers. The use of appropriate tariffs allows consumers and suppliers to share these benefits fairly. Full-text: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261916310431
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Integrated community energy systems (ICESs) emerged in the reform of local energy systems during the energy transition. Cost allocation within an ICES is one of the key issues determining the success of ICESs. The costs should be allocated fairly among the members of a local energy community. However, not much research has been directed towards cost allocation in local energy systems. In this paper, firstly, we compare ICESs with large power systems in terms of their physical and cost structure. Secondly, learning from experience with electricity tariff design, we derive cost allocation approaches for ICESs. To this end, we summarize tariff design objectives, cost allocation procedures and the underlying regulatory principles for major tariffication approaches and discuss how these concepts may be applied to cost allocation in ICESs. Discussions on the lessons learned so far and application issues in ICESs are included in this paper. This review paper paves the way for application of fair cost allocation in ICESs by providing a systemic framework.
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Rooftop solar power production is particularly relevant to climate change mitigation in Australia given the country's high insolation rates. However, residential adoption rates vary across the country with potential for increasing uptake, particularly on apartment buildings and rental properties. This study focuses on past and future motivations for the adoption of rooftop solar panels and the barriers people perceive upon adoption. An online survey was conducted with 1126 respondents across Australia showing that 65% of those who had no solar panels were intending to adopt them. Results of best-worst scaling showed that motivations for past and future adoptions did not differ significantly and that economic motivations predominated, particularly for homeowners. Renters, a group often overlooked in the production of solar energy, strongly desired solar panels, often for environmental reasons, but were discouraged by uncertainties about the costs and benefits of installing solar. This reveals a need for policies that help renters and landlords, and those in multi-unit dwellings, to find ways in which the costs and benefits can be shared equitably. This will become more important as energy costs rise and urbanisation intensifies.
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Following the development of decentralized production technologies, energy communities have become a topic of increased interest. While the potential benefits have been described, we use the framework of cooperative game theory to test the ability of such communities to adequately share the gains. Indeed, despite the potential value created by such coalitions, there is no guarantee that they will be viable: a subset of participants may find it profitable to exit the community and create another one of their own. We take the case of a neighborhood, having access to a limited resource—e.g. a shared roof or piece of land—which they can exploit if they invest in some renewable production capacity. By joining the community, participants also enjoy aggregation gains in the form of reduced network fees. We find conditions depending on the structure of renewable installation costs, on the magnitude of the aggregation effect and coordination costs and, most importantly, on the chosen sharing rule, under which the whole energy community is stable. In particular, we show that standard sharing rules often fail to enable communities to form and we suggest the adoption of slightly more sophisticated rules. Efficiency could require the intervention of a local planner or a change in network tariff structures.
Chapter
All multi-owned developments are, by definition, owned collectively by multiple individual owners. While for some, shared ownership can be part of the attraction, for others it is a necessary evil. This chapter focuses on the experience of strata title ownership in New South Wales, Australia. Based on consultation with strata owners, this chapter highlights the mismatch that can occur between the responsibilities of owners as members of an owners’ corporation (body corporate) as enshrined in legislation and people’s knowledge and acceptance of those responsibilities. The chapter concludes with a discussion of why such a mismatch occurs between collective responsibilities as outlined in the legislation, and practice and preferences ‘on the ground’ in strata developments.
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Increasingly, residential customers are deploying PV units to lower electricity bills and contribute to a more sustainable use of resources. This selective decentralization of power generation, however, creates significant challenges, because current transmission and distribution grids were designed for centralized power generation and unidirectional flows. Restructuring residential neighborhoods as residential microgrids might solve these problems to an extent, but energy retailers and system operators have yet to identify ways of fitting residential microgrids into the energy value chain. One promising way of doing so is the tailoring of residential microgrid tariffs, as this encourages grid-stabilizing behavior and fairly re-distributes the associated costs. We thus identify a set of twelve tariff candidates and estimate their probable effects on energy bills as well as load and generation profiles. Specifically, we model 100 residential microgrids and simulate how these microgrids might respond to each of the twelve tariffs. Our analyses reveal three important insights. Number one: volumetric tariffs would not only inflate electricity bills but also encourage sharp load and generation peaks, while failing to reliably allocate system costs. Number two: under tariffs with capacity charges, time-varying rates would have little impact on both electricity bills and load and generation peaks. Number three: tariffs that bill system and energy retailer costs via capacity and customer charges respectively would lower electricity bills, foster peak shaving, and facilitate stable cost allocation.
Chapter
The increase in the number of people living in apartments, combined with recent debate about the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has put pressure on managing bodies to adopt sustainable retrofits for common areas in apartment buildings. The literature posits that involving different stakeholders in the process and developing strategies to overcome the barriers to their implementation will increase the likelihood of adoption. As gaps exist in the literature, a mixed method approach using depth interviews and an online survey with apartment owners is used. The findings demonstrate that some stakeholders have different opinions and expectations with respect to adopting sustainable retrofits, with owners corporation (body corporate) committees members and apartment owners who live in the apartment being the most likely to encourage the adoption of such measures. To overcome the three main barriers to sustainable retrofits, namely, practicality, individuality, and responsibility, this paper recommends three steps be adopted. As well as identifying who are the initiators, an online information tool is needed, as well as financial and other incentives.
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This paper reviews different methods for ensuring economic efficiency when devising tariffs for distribution network services while meeting the revenue constraint.11For further discussions about different regulatory frameworks in regulating network tariffs, the reader can refer to Nepal et al. (2014). There is a long tradition in welfare economics which suggests that prices should be based on long run marginal costs to achieve economic efficiency. However, network revenue requirements are often based on embedded costs, which are typically higher than long run marginal costs. This creates the problem of recovering residual costs. There are several methods available for doing so. Of course, economic efficiency is not the only criterion for designing tariffs. Fairness and gradualism are two other criteria that play heavily in the design of electricity tariffs. By drawing upon representative data from Australia, we illustrate the various methods and evaluate their likely performance on these criteria.
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Increasing the self-consumption of photovoltaic (PV) power is an important aspect to integrate more PV power in the power system. The profit for the PV system owner can increase and the stress on the power grid can be reduced. Previous research in the field has focused on either self-consumption of PV power in individual buildings or PV power curtailment for voltage control. In this paper self-consumption of residential PV power in a community of several single-family houses was investigated using high-resolution irradiance and power consumption data. Cases with individual or shared battery energy storages for the houses were examined. PV power curtailment was investigated as a method to reduce feed-in power to the grid, i.e. peak shaving. Results indicated that the self-consumption ratio increased when using shared instead of individual storage. Reducing the feed-in power from the community by almost 50% only led to maximum 7% yearly production losses due to curtailment and storage losses. The economics for shared storage are slightly better than for individual ones. These results suggest that residential PV-battery systems should use (i) shared energy storage options if local regulations allow it and (ii) PV power curtailment if there are incentives to lower the feed-in power.
Article
Microgrids are promising in reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, compared with the current centralised energy generation systems. Smart homes are becoming popular for their lower energy cost and provision of comfort. Flexible energy-consuming household tasks can be scheduled co-ordinately among multiple smart homes to reduce economic cost and CO2. However, the electricity tariff is not always positively correlated with CO2 intensity. In this work, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is proposed to schedule the energy consumption within smart homes using a microgrid system. The daily power consumption tasks are scheduled by coupling environmental and economic sustainability in a multi-objective optimisation with ε-constraint method. The two conflicting objectives are to minimise the daily energy cost and CO2 emissions. Distributed energy resources (DER) operation and electricity-consumption household tasks are scheduled based on electricity tariff, CO2 intensity and electricity task time window. The proposed model is implemented on a smart building of 30 homes under three different price schemes. Electricity tariff and CO2 intensity profiles of the UK are employed for the case study. The Pareto curves for cost and CO2 emissions present the trade-off between the two conflicting objectives.
Article
This paper reviews different methods for ensuring economic efficiency when devising tariffs for distribution network services while meeting the revenue constraint. 1 1For further discussions about different regulatory frameworks in regulating network tariffs, the reader can refer to Nepal et al. (2014). There is a long tradition in welfare economics which suggests that prices should be based on long run marginal costs to achieve economic efficiency. However, network revenue requirements are often based on embedded costs, which are typically higher than long run marginal costs. This creates the problem of recovering residual costs. There are several methods available for doing so. Of course, economic efficiency is not the only criterion for designing tariffs. Fairness and gradualism are two other criteria that play heavily in the design of electricity tariffs. By drawing upon representative data from Australia, we illustrate the various methods and evaluate their likely performance on these criteria.
Article
The interest in self-consumption of PV electricity from grid-connected residential systems is increasing among PV system owners and in the scientific community. Self-consumption can be defined as the share of the total PV production directly consumed by the PV system owner. With decreased subsidies for PV electricity in several countries, increased self-consumption could raise the profit of PV systems and lower the stress on the electricity distribution grid. This review paper summarizes existing research on PV self-consumption and options to improve it. Two options for increased self-consumption are included, namely energy storage and load management, also called demand side management (DSM). Most of the papers examine PV-battery systems, sometimes combined with DSM. The results show that it is possible to increase the relative self-consumption by 13–24% points with a battery storage capacity of 0.5–1 kW h per installed kW PV power and between 2% and 15% points with DSM, both compared to the original rate of self-consumption. The total number of papers is however rather limited and further research and more comparative studies are needed to give a comprehensive view of the technologies and their potential. Behavioral responses to PV self-consumption and the impact on the distribution grid also need to be further studied.
Article
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the legislative creation of high rise and master planned communities to provide a common basis for future discussions, research and international comparison in the field. Design/methodology/approach The case study addresses relevant legislation in the Australian state of New South Wales. This has been a model for that in other jurisdictions, including Singapore, the UK and the Dubai International Financial Centre. The legal terms and their significance are discussed in a way that is comprehensible to both lawyers and non‐lawyers. Findings The legislation is shown to have achieved a range of outcomes that are not possible in ordinary Anglo‐Australian property law. For example, it has created governing “bodies corporate” which regulate communities with private by‐laws and facilitates the continued enforcement of detailed architectural guidelines imposing a master plan. Research limitations/implications The research describes the legal framework for the creation of communities in a single jurisdiction. More research is needed on the specific way that legal structures hinder or promote satisfactory community living in this and in other jurisdictions. Originality/value The paper will aid discussions between a range of academics and practitioners working on high rise and master planned communities. It will assist communication between lawyers and non‐lawyers, providing a clear description of the significance of legislation in the creation of communities. It will facilitate transnational discussion, as differences in legal systems and inconsistent terminology are a barrier to effective communication and common understanding.
Article
Dynamic pricing holds out the promise of shifting peak demand as well as reducing overall demand. But it also raises thorny issues of fairness. All practical pricing systems involve tradeoffs between equity and efficiency. I examine the circumstances under which equity ought to be allowed to trump efficiency and whether or not this constitutes a defense of flat pricing.
Article
In “The Ethics of Dynamic Pricing,” Ahmad Faruqui lays out a case for improved efficiency in using dynamic prices for retail electricity tariffs and addresses various issues about the distributional effects of alternative pricing mechanisms. The principal contrast is between flat or nearly constant energy prices and time-varying prices that reflect more closely the marginal costs of energy and capacity. The related issues of fairness criteria, contracts, risk allocation, cost allocation, means testing, real-time pricing, and ethical policies of electricity market design also must be considered.1
Renewables 2020 -Analysis and forecasts to 2025 -Solar PV
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Mapping Australian Photovoltaic Installations
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Embedded Networks - Government Action Required
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