During the first International Conference on the Integration of Renewable Energy Sources and Distributed Energy Resources back in December 2004, industrial stakeholders and the research community suggested the creation of a Technology Platform for the Electricity Networks of the Future to tackle the challenge of integrating renewable energies into the energy mix.
Subsequently, the European Commission Directorate General for Research was charged with developed the initial concept and guiding principles of the Technology Platform with the support of an existing FP5+6 research cluster (IRED -see www.ired-cluster.org-, Integration of Renewable Energies and Distributed Generation) representing over 100 stakeholders in the electricity networks sector. The SmartGrids European Technology Platform for Electricity Networks of the Future was born and began its work in 2005 in order to formulate and promote a vision for the development of European electricity networks looking towards 2020 and beyond.
Now, the European Commission is close to publishing its so-called Strategic Energy Technology Plan which, according to a draft obtained by Reuters, includes plans to select between 25 and 30 EU cities to test a smart grid which will allow the various renewable energy sources to be integrated smoothly. “These Smart Cities will be the nuclei from which smart networks, a new generation of buildings and alternative transport means will develop into European wide realities," the European Commission said in the draft. “The goal is that by 2020, 50% of networks in Europe would enable the seamless integration of renewables and operate along 'smart' principles, effectively matching supply and demand.”
Ofgem – smart cities
Meanwhile, Britain has announced plans to create up to four “smart grid cities” after the energy regulator set aside £500 million (€556 million) from customers’ utility bills to start rewiring the nation’s electricity system. Ofgem wants companies to choose several towns or cities where it will pay for households to have smart energy technologies installed to monitor how it works on a large scale.
Mini “smart grids” will be built that will be able to handle more unpredictable large volumes of power from intermittent wind farms. The grids will also make it easier for households that have their own micro-generation – such as solar panels on their roofs – to supply electricity back to the grid. Smart meters will be fitted in homes, which are better able to manage demand unpredictable supply peaks from renewable forms of generation, such as wind and solar power.
Steve Smith, Ofgem’s managing director of markets, told the Guardian that the model would be the US town of Boulder, Colorado, dubbed the world’s first “smart grid city”.
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