Distributed Energy Systems: Progress, Challenges, and Prospects
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "F2: Distributed Energy System".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2026 | Viewed by 30
Special Issue Editors
Interests: energy system engineering; renewable energy integration; distributed energy management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Achieving a decarbonized society requires a fundamental transformation in how energy is generated, delivered, and consumed. In particular, distributed energy systems have gained increasing attention as an essential approach for integrating renewable energy, enhancing energy resilience, and promoting local sustainability. Distributed energy resources, such as solar PV, wind power, biomass, and combined heat and power, offer significant potential; however, their effective utilization poses challenges related to variability, uncertainty, optimal system configuration, and coordinated operation with energy demand. Furthermore, advances in electrification, thermal and hydrogen energy use, energy storage technologies, and demand-side management are expected to reshape future distributed energy systems.
To address these issues, not only system-level analysis but also the research and development of individual component technologies play a critical role. Optimization techniques, energy system modelling, scenario analysis, field demonstrations, and technology performance evaluations all contribute to understanding how distributed energy systems can support decarbonization while maintaining reliability and economic feasibility.
This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the latest progress, challenges, and future prospects of distributed energy systems. Submissions are encouraged on novel analytical and evaluation methods, design approaches, and operational strategies for distributed energy systems, as well as on theories, modelling techniques, and control methods related to individual component technologies that constitute such systems.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Energy system analysis, energy system design, equipment planning, system operation scheduling, and energy management for distributed energy systems
- Development and performance evaluation of novel facilities, equipment, and elemental technologies for distributed energy systems
- The targeted distributed energy systems encompass a wide range of scales, including residential homes, apartment complexes, factories, office buildings, public facilities, communities such as district heating/cooling (DHC) and combined heat and power (CHP) systems, aggregated EV fleets, and multiple interconnected communities linked via power grids and fuel supply networks.
Dr. Takashi Ikegami
Dr. Shintaro Negishi
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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. Energies 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 2600 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
- distributed energy systems
- system analysis
- system design
- system operation strategy
- energy management
- decarbonization
- renewable energy
- energy resilience
- local sustainability
- district heating and cooling
- combined heat and power
- electric vehicle fleets
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
