Innovative Strategies for Renewable Energy Communities: Planning, Management, and Grid Stability

Dear Colleagues,

With its ever-increasing concentration in urban areas, global population growth has made cities the main centers of energy consumption. However, the transition to a low-carbon energy system requires a substantial increase in the penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) to meet growing energy demands.

This scenario presents a significant challenge: in large cities and metropolitan areas, the high population density and urban morphology severely limit the availability of space for RES installations. Rooftops are often insufficient, and other forms of RESs, such as wind energy, are generally not viable in dense urban environments due to technical, regulatory, and aesthetic constraints.

In this context, Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) emerge as a promising model to overcome these limitations. However, their effectiveness in urban settings depends on the ability to aggregate urban loads with peri-urban and rural areas, where RES installations are more feasible. This requires overcoming regulatory barriers such as those present in Italy, where energy sharing is currently incentivized only within the boundaries of the same primary substation (AT/MT). Similar constraints may be found in other countries, potentially limiting the scalability of RECs in metropolitan areas.

Beyond regulatory challenges, the technical operation of RECs also presents significant complexities. The intermittent nature of RESs, such as solar and wind, requires advanced planning strategies to ensure system stability and resilience. This is where innovative solutions such as distributed storage systems, demand-side management (DSM), and the integration of electric mobility come into play.

The ability of a storage system to store excess energy for use during periods of low production is crucial. Likewise, demand response (DR) strategies allow energy consumption to be shifted to maximize the use of available RES energy. The integration of electric vehicles, through solutions such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G), can also provide additional grid support, transforming vehicle fleets into mobile energy storage resources.

A key technological enabler in this transition is the Grid-Forming (GFM) inverter, which can emulate the behavior of conventional synchronous generators. Beyond providing synthetic inertia, GFM inverters must also support primary and secondary frequency regulation and implement load leveling and peak shaving strategies, provided that adequate storage systems are available.

Planning and managing these RECs requires a multidisciplinary approach that combines engineering, computer science, and economics. Technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) offer the necessary tools for data analysis, forecasting, and energy flow optimization within communities. To address these challenges, innovative planning and management strategies are needed to enable RECs to operate across broader geographical areas, integrating distributed generation, storage, and flexible demand. These strategies will not only enhance technical performance but also contribute to the social and economic sustainability of energy communities, fostering inclusiveness and long-term viability.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Modeling and planning of renewable energy communities and their impact on the grid and the system.
• Strategies to overcome spatial and regulatory limitations in urban RECs through integration with peri-urban and rural areas.
• Advanced strategies for integrating storage systems (including battery storage and V2G) into energy communities.
• Applications of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data for optimal energy management in communities.
• Planning demand response and demand-side management strategies for communities.
• Simulation of energy markets and economic models for energy sharing within communities.
• Integration and management of microgrids and smart grids in the context of communities.
• Resilience and cybersecurity of energy community infrastructure.
• Forecasting renewable generation and load demand in energy communities.
• Grid-Forming inverter control models to provide grid stability (synthetic inertia, frequency regulation, load leveling, and peak shaving).

Prof. Dr. Daniele Menniti
Dr. Giovanni Brusco
Dr. Giuseppe Barone
Guest Editors

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• renewable energy communities
• smart grids
• energy management control
• grid-forming inverter
• synthetic inertia
• grid stability
• frequency regulation
• demand response
• demand side management
• energy storage system