RESPONDENT is a Horizon Europe funded project that stands for “Renewable Energy Sources Power FOrecasting and SyNchronisation for Smart GriD NEtworks MaNagemenT“.
Renewable energy sources (RES) play a major role to the EU’s aspiration to transform to a climate-neutral economy. Their integration into the power grid is pivotal to the green transition and to the decarbonisation of the energy sector. However, as the most commonly used RES (solar, wind and hydropower) are also weather-dependent, their power generation capacity varies according to the local microclimatic conditions. This power production variability makes RES difficult to integrate into the power grid and to provide seamless, stable and secure amounts of power. On the other hand, power demand also affects the power grid operation since there must always be a supply/demand balance in the power grid. Grid power imbalances can cause frequency fluctuations and other unwanted transient phenomena, which can compromise grid stability and operation. For that matter, advanced grid monitoring techniques have been developed, employing phasor measurement units (PMUs) to measure the electrical signals in a precise and synchronised way, based on a reliable timing reference. Yet, currently, no Galileo-based applications on PMU timing exist.
In the above framework, RESPONDENT comes to address the challenges of RES power generation forecasting, demand forecasting and smart power grid monitoring and supply/demand balancing. An AI/ML RES power generation forecasting algorithm is proposed, exploiting both Copernicus EO and site-specific weather data, along with renewable energy power conversion models. Furthermore, an AI/ML – multiphysics model for power demand of certain communities is also developed.
Lastly, RESPONDENT will build a Galileo-enabled PMU and develop a monitoring module, in order to test and verify the advantages offered from the Galileo timing and synchronization services in smart grid monitoring, power balancing and overall operation.
The project has a total budget of about 2.7 M€, started on November 1st, 2022, and will run for 30 months. The consortium is formed by 8 European partners including Future Intelligence (leader), VICOMTECH, CARR Communications, KIEFER Tek, Greenesco, Estabanell Energia, IREC and EUSKABEA.
José Luis Domínguez, head of the Power Systems group at IREC, will contribute to the electrical grid modelling, control and PMU synchronisation to ensure the proper tools and platform usage on the electrical grid. In addition, IREC will lead WP5 as smart grid experts. Also, IREC will lead exploitation of the project by bringing into the consortium the Exploitation Manager, Marta Fonrodona, head of the Corporate Development, Knowledge and Technology Transfer Unit at IREC.
You can check the kick-off news from the LinkedIn page of the RESPONDENT project here.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EUSPA/MKD. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
