Upgrading the Future Power Grid: Current Research, Trends and Challenges in Distributed Energy Resources and Mobility Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

The power system is facing significant changes due to several factors. Among them, the climatic emergency is forcing the transition towards more efficient and sustainable power sources, such as renewable energy systems. As new generation assets are progressively introduced into the electricity grid, so are the storage systems. New ways to store energy surplus are emerging to increase the flexibility of the system as well as the efficiency and sustainability, another two key drivers towards decarbonization. In addition, the change in paradigm in the conception of the power system itself, from a hierarchical structure towards a decentralized system, is also pushing the integration of distributed assets along the grid. Those scenarios set the basis for the distributed energy resources (DERs) concept. While the benefits of the introduction of DERs, as listed before, enjoy worldwide consensus, there is a need for further research to address the challenges that lie ahead: from the management point of view to planning and monitoring. Considering the massive deployment of DERs foreseen for the coming years, research regarding control techniques, forecasting, planning of assets, data analytics, algorithms, machine learning and power electronics is needed for the successful deployment of DERs. In addition, a wide range of new services and applications derived from the introduction of these techniques can be also foreseen.

In this context, new trends in mobility, especially those related to electric mobility, present a great challenge to the power grid, very in line with those presented by DERs. On the one hand, there is a notable increase in charging stations, which is expected to continue in the future, since according to different forecasts, up to 40 million charging points will be installed by 2030, which can definitely challenge the stability of the power system. In this sense, high levels of prediction algorithms, grid planning and real-time managing are absolutely mandatory. These requirements are fundamentally based on three pillars: data analytics, algorithm and power electronics included in the charging stations. On the other hand, emerging strategies and technologies, such as vehicle to grid concept (V2G), introduce a new paradigm, since EVs can be envisioned as a power source when necessary, rather than just a load, therefore being assimilated to a DER, as well as in terms of the challenges that they present to the power system. These scenarios increase the complexity of the management of the electric system and only increase the need for further research on DERs and e-mobility integration in the power grid.

This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality manuscripts covering new research on topics related to current trends and challenges in DERs and mobility ecosystems, with the goal of addressing a better overall management of the future power grid and the derived services and applications. Authors are encouraged to consider circular economy principles in their proposals. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Integration of RES and DERs;
• Energy management and control systems for DERs and/or mobility systems;
• Wired/wireless/hybrid communication technologies for DERs and/or mobility systems;
• Big Data analytics for DERs and/or mobility systems;
• Machine learning and artificial intelligence for DERs and/or mobility systems;
• Quality of service and quality of supply assessment;
• Grid stability and resiliency performance;
• Utility-scale storage systems;
• Net-zero energy buildings (NZEB);
• AC/DC microgrids;
• Microgrid clusters/communities;
• Ancillary services under high variable RES penetration;
• Management of high ecosystems of charging stations;
• Coordinate charging;
• Smart charge management;
• Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X);
• V2G strategies to support resilience and efficient operation of the power grid.

Dr. Noelia Uribe Pérez
Dr. Pablo Arboleya
Guest Editors

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• distributed energy resources
• e-mobility
• power electronics
• power grid flexibility
• prosumers
• demand forecasting
• power grid planning
• V2G
• charging stations management
• communication systems