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Applied Sciences
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Advanced Smart Grid Technologies, Applications and Challenges
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Advanced Smart Grid Technologies, Applications and Challenges

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 1509

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Paulo Tavares

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Polytechnic of Coimbra, Coimbra Institute of Engineering, 3030-199 Coimbra, Portugal
2. INESC Coimbra – Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers at Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal
3. ADAI - Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pólo II, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: energy efficiency; automation of buildings; energy management; rational use of energy; sustainable development; buildings energy simulation; passive buildings; electrochromic windows
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Álvaro Gomes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. University of Coimbra, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pólo II, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal
2. INESC Coimbra – Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers at Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: efficient use of energy resources; demand-side management; load management; demand response
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advanced smart grid technologies are revolutionizing the way we produce, distribute, and consume energy. These technologies leverage advanced sensors, communication networks, and big data analytics to enable utilities to monitor, control, and optimize the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The benefits of these technologies include improved visibility into grid operations, faster responses to outages, the better integration of renewable energy sources, and reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Advanced smart grid technologies also enable more flexible and dynamic electricity pricing models, incentivizing customers to manage their consumption to appropriately.

The application of advanced smart grid technologies is being explored in several areas, including microgrids, electric vehicles, energy storage, and renewable energy integration. However, there are several challenges that need to be addressed, including data management, cybersecurity, regulatory and policy issues, and public acceptance. Addressing the challenges associated with the deployment of smart grid technologies will be critical to realizing their full potential.

In this context, this Special Issue seeks contributions that tackle a wide range of topics based on smart grids, including (but not limited to) the development of an intelligent network or a smart grid, the harmonization of the energy industry and information and communication systems, the safe and efficient integration of various components of smart grids (namely smart meters, active demand management, the distribution of generated energy, automatic network management, and the development of e-mobility), or electric mobility. Interdisciplinary contributions using real-world data will be particularly appreciated.

Dr. Paulo Tavares
Dr. Álvaro Gomes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smart grids
  • smart grids integration
  • automatic network management
  • communication systems to smart grids
  • smart buildings
  • demand response
  • vehicle to grid (V2G)
  • sustainable mobility

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

33 pages, 5180 KiB  
Article
Hybrid Energy Solutions for Enhancing Rural Power Reliability in the Spanish Municipality of Aras de los Olmos
by Pooriya Motevakel, Carlos Roldán-Blay, Carlos Roldán-Porta, Guillermo Escrivá-Escrivá and Daniel Dasí-Crespo
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(7), 3790; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15073790 - 30 Mar 2025
Viewed by 304
Abstract
As global energy demand increases, ensuring a reliable electricity supply in rural or semi-remote areas remains a significant challenge. Hybrid energy systems, which integrate renewables, generators, storage, and grid connections, offer a promising solution for addressing energy reliability issues. In this context, the [...] Read more.
As global energy demand increases, ensuring a reliable electricity supply in rural or semi-remote areas remains a significant challenge. Hybrid energy systems, which integrate renewables, generators, storage, and grid connections, offer a promising solution for addressing energy reliability issues. In this context, the rural community of Aras de los Olmos, Spain, serves as the focal point because of its frequent power outages despite being connected to the main grid. This study investigates innovative solutions tailored to the community’s unique needs. It highlights critical challenges in achieving reliable energy access and bridges the gap between existing limitations and sustainable, future-oriented energy systems. This is achieved by analyzing the current energy setup and evaluating potential alternatives. Two scenarios were evaluated: one optimizing the existing configuration for economic efficiency while retaining the grid as the primary energy source, and another introducing a biomass generator to enhance reliability by partially replacing the grid. Detailed technical, financial, and environmental assessments were performed using HOMER. These assessments identified an optimal configuration. This optimal configuration improves reliability, enhances stability, reduces disruptions, and meets growing energy demands cost-effectively. As will be indicated, the first scenario can reduce total costs to approximately USD 90,000 compared to the existing setup, whereas the second scenario can lower grid dependence by approximately 70%. In addition, introducing renewable energy sources, such as solar and biomass, significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. Additionally, these solutions create local job opportunities, promote community engagement, support energy independence, and align with broader sustainability goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Smart Grid Technologies, Applications and Challenges)
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16 pages, 3128 KiB  
Article
Risk Assessment Method of Solar Smart Grid Network Security Based on TimesNet Model
by Yushu Cheng and Bochao Zhao
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(6), 2882; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15062882 - 7 Mar 2025
Viewed by 526
Abstract
Smart grids have enormous potential in terms of reliability and sustainability, but with the large-scale integration of distributed energy like solar energy, the network security risks of smart grids have also increased. In response to the physical and information network threats faced in [...] Read more.
Smart grids have enormous potential in terms of reliability and sustainability, but with the large-scale integration of distributed energy like solar energy, the network security risks of smart grids have also increased. In response to the physical and information network threats faced in the network security risk assessment of solar powered smart grids, this study develops a smart grid theft detection model based on TimesNet and a smart grid intrusion detection model based on bidirectional long short-term memory networks. The results indicated that when the proportion of electricity theft data was 25%, the false detection rate of the proposed model was 3.52. The area under the curve of the proposed model was 0.98, and the detection rate, false negative rate, F1 value, and accuracy were 97.04%, 1.21%, 92.69%, and 97.15%, respectively. The loss value of the proposed intrusion detection model was stable at around 0.012 in the NSL-KDD dataset and around 0.02 in the CICIDS2017 dataset, with a detection accuracy of 97.54% and a false positive rate of 1.21%. The experiment demonstrated the electricity theft behavior and network intrusion detection performance of the proposed model, which can effectively detect security threats faced by solar smart grids and provide practical basis for network security risk assessment. The research results can help reduce the economic losses of power companies, maintain a good order of electricity consumption, and ensure the safe and stable operation of solar smart grids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Smart Grid Technologies, Applications and Challenges)
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