D4.4 Interoperability of holistic energy systems in Leipzig
The report provides an overview of the strategies for interoperability in the city of Leipzig. It answers the question of what potentials exist in the city of Leipzig that aim to interconnect systems and organisations based on modern innovations and technologies.
The global need to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions make changes in the energy system necessary. This combines with an urban transformation caused by increasing digitalisation. To match the fluctuating energy supply with potentially flexible demand, one strategy is to create ecosystems that enable data exchange of various stakeholders. These are often called “Virtual Power Plants” (VPP) or “virtual energy communities” (VEC). A VPP is a central platform. Here, data are collected, processed and made available for forecasts, etc. The goal of such an ecosystem is to connect relevant stakeholders, such as municipalities, energy operators and service providers as well as end users. Ideally, as much data as possible and necessary will be provided digitally as well as automatically with the help of digital infrastructure in the energy positive blocks/districts. Thus, the energy demand can be optimised through holistic energy control over the whole energy management system. As a further development step, this will enable the development of digital business models for energy aggregation, the implementation of virtual power plants (VPP) and demand side management (incentivisation or automated steering). The platform integration aims at an open, interoperable and scalable architecture capable of integrating renewable energy into the existing grid infrastructure through intelligent grid solutions. In addition to digital infrastructure, platforms should be able to provide data storage and operations management, test and evaluation procedures and GIS-based visualisation.
In the long term, this will enable cities and user systems to automatically respond to fluctuating conditions in near real-time and identify patterns and/or problems, which will help make informed decisions and stimulate better use of city resources.
