Dear Colleagues,

The progressive paradigm shift from the centralized generation based on fossil fuels to the Distributed Generation (DG) based on Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) is posing relevant challenges to all energy stakeholders, particularly concerning the unreliability and scarce flexibility of heterogeneous systems made up of several—and typically intermittent—Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). To overcome these drawbacks, different technologies and strategies have been proposed and are going to be adopted at distinct stages of the energy supply-chain, from energy balancing assets (such as distributed energy storage and controllable loads), to advanced ancillary services and active demand-side schemes. The successful implementation of such measures would however require their proper integration and harmonization at various aggregation levels, from end-users to the grid management and control. The aim of this Special Issue is to assess how the recent advances in the design and implementation of the Virtual Power Plant (VPP) concept would help to face this challenge, by allowing improved observability, reliability and enhanced control capabilities. This Special Issue welcomes theoretical papers, methodological studies and empirical research (or combination thereof) on the design and implementation of the VPP concept, concerning (but not limited to) the application of: Active demand-side response, energy management, control and optimization, improved flexibility, reliability, and cyber-security, including the related key enabling information and communication technologies.

Dr. Stefano Rinaldi
Dr. Marco Pasetti
Guest Editors

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The progressive paradigm shift from the centralized generation based on fossil fuels to the Distributed Generation (DG) based on Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) is posing relevant challenges to all energy stakeholders, particularly concerning the unreliability and scarce flexibility of heterogeneous systems made up of several—and typically intermittent—Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). To overcome these drawbacks, different technologies and strategies have been proposed and are going to be adopted at distinct stages of the energy supply-chain, from energy balancing assets (such as distributed energy storage and controllable loads), to advanced ancillary services and active demand-side schemes. The successful implementation of such measures would however require their proper integration and harmonization at various aggregation levels, from end-users to the grid management and control. The aim of this Special Issue is to assess how the recent advances in the design and implementation of the Virtual Power Plant (VPP) concept would help to face this challenge, by allowing improved observability, reliability and enhanced control capabilities. This Special Issue welcomes theoretical papers, methodological studies and empirical research (or combination thereof) on the design and implementation of the VPP concept, concerning (but not limited to) the application of: Active demand-side response, energy management, control and optimization, improved flexibility, reliability, and cyber-security, including the related key enabling information and communication technologies.