The KIOS Centre of Excellence for Research and Innovation of the University of Cyprus is joining forces with two small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Aeolian Dynamics and H. Wise Wire Energy Solutions, to develop a platform that will enable the smooth operation and optimal participation in the energy market of renewable energy source (RES) production units equipped with battery energy storage systems (BESS).
The development of the platform forms part of the project “OptimRES”, which is funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) through the European NextGenerationEU initiative and the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan (Cyprus – Tomorrow).
As Europe rapidly advances towards a climate-neutral economy, the deployment of RES technologies such as wind and solar energy is expected to increase significantly. However, challenges such as the uncontrollable nature of RES and the limitations of grid capacity threaten to hinder the full exploitation of green energy’s potential. The OptimRES project addresses these challenges through the development of an intelligent platform that equips RES and hybrid RES-BESS owners with advanced decision-making tools.
Specifically, the platform will integrate innovative forecasting, planning, market participation, and real-time control functions, including:
- Optimisation tools for the proper sizing and design of RES installations.
- Data analysis and forecasting tools for real-time monitoring of RES-BESS operations, performance assessment based on historical data, and forecasting of expected production for the following hours or day.
- Intelligent decision-making for negotiating participation in the energy market (day-ahead market) to maximise profit, taking into account the uncertainty of RES production and battery ageing.
- Real-time control of RES-BESS units to achieve regulated production, reducing fluctuations in generated energy.
A key innovation of the project is the pilot demonstration and implementation of the platform in a real-world environment, at a production unit in Cyprus that combines wind turbines, photovoltaics, and battery storage. The OptimRES platform is already under development and has been integrated into the pilot plant, enabling two-way data exchange for management, monitoring, and control. In the next phase, the platform will incorporate advanced RES forecasting, market participation decision-making, and real-time automatic control of RES-BESS units, in order to fully exploit its potential and demonstrate its innovative features under real operating conditions.
The OptimRES project is expected to play a decisive role in improving the efficiency and reliability of RES-BESS systems, reducing RES energy curtailments, and supporting the transition towards a stable, carbon-free energy system.
Source: University of Cyprus | Latest news (https://tinyurl.com/32ctu34m)