Final event of the project took place on 30 and 31 March in Lisbon and Évora

Project SuSTAINABLE (Smart distribution system operation for maximizing the integration of renewable generation), which began in January 2013, has come to an end. The goal with this project was to develop advanced algorithms and features to support the operation of the distribution network in order to maximise the integration of renewable energies in a safe and sustainable way. The closing event took place on 30 and 31 March in Lisbon and Évora, respectively.

The goals

The researchers involved in the SuSTAINABLE developed advanced tools for planning and operating the distribution network, with INESC TEC’s Laboratory of Smart Grids and Electric Vehicles providing the ideal conditions for validating the concepts that were later tested in InovCity in Évora.

After three years and three months, the project came to an end with the final conference on 30 March, at the EDP’s building in Lisbon. The next day, 31 March, the participants travelled from Lisbon to Évora, where there was a visit to the main points of interest of the SuSTAINABLE demonstrator.

In this event, the goal was to address the challenges of the distribution network operators by developing and demonstrating a new operation paradigm, using information from a measurement infrastructure and localised short-term forecasts, which will make it possible to manage the distribution systems in a more efficient and economical way. This will enable a greater integration of different distributed resources in a safe manner, taking advantage of the main results of the sustainable design obtained by the consortium.

What are the main results?

Over the three years of the project, it was possible to develop features for managing distribution networks with high integration of distributed energy resources, including renewable energy sources.

According to André Madureira, researcher at INESC TEC’s Centre for Power and Energy Systems (CPES), “this materialised in a number of highly innovative tools that were able to address comprehensive areas, such as renewable energy forecasts, state estimation, coordinated voltage control, protection and network planning within the smart grid context.”

The impact of SuSTAINABLE

The SuSTAINABLE will have a significant impact on society by facilitating the integration of distributed resources, particularly renewable-based technologies, which benefits not only the electricity distribution system, but also the consumers themselves and society in general, as it makes it possible to walk toward a more sustainable, decarbonised and efficient energy system.

During the project, the main developments were integrated into the EDP’s overall smart grids demonstrator in Évora, the InovCity. It is expected that these small demonstrators can be expanded, improved and strengthened both in terms of equipment and in terms of new algorithms, which may be developed as part of future R&D projects.

Led by the EDP Distribuição, project SuSTAINABLE also featured as partners: EFACEC, the University of Manchester (UK), the Technical University of Berlin (Germany), the University Pontificia Comillas – Madrid (Spain), the Technical University of Athens (Greece) and the Hellenic Distribution Operator (Greece).

The INESC TEC researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with UP-FEUP.

INESC TEC, March 2016