Optimal Planning and Operation of a Residential Energy Community under Shared Electricity Incentives

Pierpaolo Garavaso, Fabio Bignucolo, Jacopo Vivian, Giulia Alessio and Michele De Carli
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Pierpaolo Garavaso: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Giovanni Gradenigo 6/A, 35131 Padua, Italy
Fabio Bignucolo: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Giovanni Gradenigo 6/A, 35131 Padua, Italy
Jacopo Vivian: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Giovanni Gradenigo 6/A, 35131 Padua, Italy
Giulia Alessio: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Giovanni Gradenigo 6/A, 35131 Padua, Italy
Michele De Carli: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Giovanni Gradenigo 6/A, 35131 Padua, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-24

Abstract: Energy communities (ECs) are becoming increasingly common entities in power distribution networks. To promote local consumption of renewable energy sources, governments are supporting members of ECs with strong incentives on shared electricity. This policy encourages investments in the residential sector for building retrofit interventions and technical equipment renovations. In this paper, a general EC is modeled as an energy hub, which is deemed as a multi-energy system where different energy carriers are converted or stored to meet the building energy needs. Following the standardized matrix modeling approach, this paper introduces a novel methodology that aims at jointly identifying both optimal investments (planning) and optimal management strategies (operation) to supply the EC’s energy demand in the most convenient way under the current economic framework and policies. Optimal planning and operating results of five refurbishment cases for a real multi-family building are found and discussed, both in terms of overall cost and environmental impact. Simulation results verify that investing in building thermal efficiency leads to progressive electrification of end uses. It is demonstrated that the combination of improvements on building envelope thermal performances, photovoltaic (PV) generation, and heat pump results to be the most convenient refurbishment investment, allowing a 28% overall cost reduction compared to the benchmark scenario. Furthermore, incentives on shared electricity prove to stimulate higher renewable energy source (RES) penetration, reaching a significant reduction of emissions due to decreased net energy import.

Keywords: energy community; energy hub; electricity sharing; multi-energy; optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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