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Sustainability
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Smart Grids and Sustainable Energy Networks
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Smart Grids and Sustainable Energy Networks

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2026) | Viewed by 2272

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Michael Short

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Computing, Engineering, and Digital Technologies, Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX, UK
Interests: control and protection; optimization; embedded systems; real-time systems; industry 4.0; industrial digitization and smart factories; smart grids; smart energy systems; advanced robotics/process control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Huda Dawood

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Sustainable Engineering, School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technology, Centre for Sustainable Engineering, Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX, UK
Interests: smart grids; sustainable energy efficient building; building information modelling (BIM); data analytics; artificial intelligence; optimization and predictive control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sean Williams

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, Tees Valley TS1 3BX, UK
Interests: control theory; MATLAB simulation; advanced control theory; system modeling; embedded systems; control systems engine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Smart grids have emerged as a vital element within contemporary power generation systems. The proportion of sustainable distributed energy sources (DER) reliant on renewable energies has progressively risen, offering energy at a competitive rate. This is facilitated through smart power generation systems and a pro-consumer generation approach, which remain operational even when the utility grid is accessible. Such advancements serve to minimize losses within the transmission and distribution systems.

The Special Issue titled “Smart Grids and Sustainable Energy Networks” is dedicated to driving progress in research, expanding knowledge, and fostering innovations within the realm of smart grids and sustainable energy systems. We actively seek contributions that delve into various crucial aspects of this field, including but not limited to: the integration of renewable energy sources to bolster sustainability; the pursuit of enhanced grid efficiency to optimize energy distribution; the implementation of demand response strategies and side management techniques to enhance grid performance; the fortification of grid resilience and reliability for uninterrupted energy supply; the pursuit of optimization of grid operations for maximum efficiency; the imperative need for grid modernization and infrastructure upgrade to meet evolving energy demands; and the overarching goal of environmental sustainability to safeguard our planet’s resources for future generations.

The topics of interest in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

  • Renewable energy.
  • Enhanced grid efficiency.
  • Demand response and side management.
  • Grid resilience and reliability.
  • Optimization of grid operations.
  • Grid modernization and infrastructure upgrades.
  • Environmental sustainability.

We particularly encourage the submission of research articles or review papers that offer a well-defined focus on any of these critical areas, as they play a pivotal role in advancing our collective understanding and shaping the future of smart grids and sustainable energy systems.

Prof. Dr. Michael Short
Dr. Huda Dawood
Dr. Sean Williams
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. Sustainability 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
  • sustainable energy systems
  • renewable energy
  • grid infrastructure
  • environmental sustainability

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

35 pages, 3221 KB  
Article
Hazard- and Fairness-Aware Evacuation with Grid-Interactive Energy Management: A Digital-Twin Controller for Life Safety and Sustainability
by Mansoor Alghamdi, Ahmad Abadleh, Sami Mnasri, Malek Alrashidi, Ibrahim S. Alkhazi, Abdullah Alghamdi and Saleh Albelwi
Sustainability 2026, 18(1), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010133 - 22 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 897
Abstract
The paper introduces a real-time digital-twin controller that manages evacuation routes while operating GEEM for emergency energy management during building fires. The system consists of three interconnected parts which include (i) a physics-based hazard surrogate for short-term smoke and temperature field prediction from [...] Read more.
The paper introduces a real-time digital-twin controller that manages evacuation routes while operating GEEM for emergency energy management during building fires. The system consists of three interconnected parts which include (i) a physics-based hazard surrogate for short-term smoke and temperature field prediction from sensor data (ii), a router system that manages path updates for individual users and controls exposure and network congestion (iii), and an energy management system that regulates the exchange between PV power and battery storage and diesel fuel and grid electricity to preserve vital life-safety operations while reducing both power usage and environmental carbon output. The system operates through independent modules that function autonomously to preserve operational stability when sensors face delays or communication failures, and it meets Industry 5.0 requirements through its implementation of auditable policy controls for hazard penalties, fairness weight, and battery reserve floor settings. We evaluate the controller in co-simulation across multiple building layouts and feeder constraints. The proposed method achieves superior performance to existing AI/RL baselines because it reduces near-worst-case egress time (T95 and worst-case exposure) and decreases both event energy Eevent and CO2-equivalent CO2event while upholding all capacity, exposure cap, and grid import limit constraints. A high-VRE, tight-feeder stress test shows how reserve management, flexible-load shedding, and PV curtailment can achieve trade-offs between unserved critical load Uenergy  and emissions. The team delivers implementation details together with reporting templates to assist researchers in reaching reproducibility goals. The research shows that emergency energy systems, which integrate evacuation systems, achieve better safety results and environmental advantages that enable smart-city integration through digital thread operations throughout design, commissioning, and operational stages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Grids and Sustainable Energy Networks)
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