This article presents a case study of a single-family house with several photovoltaic micro-installations oriented in different directions, in which the energy electricity storage systems have been operating for several months. In the house, the heat source is the air−water heat pump cooperating with heat buffers. The first photovoltaic installation was installed in 2016 and, in the subsequent five years, was expanded using microinverters. The final amount of energy from photovoltaics covers 50% of the energy demand of the building. The procedure for dealing with technical and economic aspects was presented, allowing us to determine whether it is profitable to install energy storage in the given conditions of energy prices, equipment efficiency, and prices, as well as government support. This paper presents the effects of the designed and built home energy management system that supervises energy storage in heat and batteries, mainly through its impact on the self-consumption of energy... [more]

The increase in electricity demand is caused by population density, gross domestic product growth and technological conditions. A long-term forecast study on the electricity demand could be a promising alternative to the investment planning of power systems and distribution. In this study, the main aim is to forecast and understand the long-term electricity demand of the Taoussa area for the sustainable development of the regions of northern Mali, by using the Model for Analysis of Energy Demand (MAED) from the International Atomic Energy Agency. To fill such a knowledge gap, the long-term evolution of electricity demand is calculated separately for four consumption sectors: industry, transportation, service and household from 2020 to 2035. The demand for each end-use category of electricity is driven by one or several socioeconomic and technological parameters development of the country, which are given as part of the reference scenario (RS) and two alternative scenarios (Low and High... [more]

With recent developments, smart grids assured for residential customers the opportunity to schedule smart home appliances’ operation times to simultaneously reduce both the electricity bill and the PAR based on demand response, as well as increasing user comfort. It is clear that the multi-objective combinatorial optimization problem involves constraints and the consumer’s preferences, and the solution to the problem is a difficult task. There have been a limited number of investigations carried out so far to solve the indicated problems using metaheuristic techniques like particle swarm optimization, mixed-integer linear programming, and the grey wolf and crow search optimization algorithms, etc. Due to the on/off control of smart home appliances, binary-coded genetic algorithms seem to be a well-fitted approach to obtain an optimal solution. It can be said that the novelty of this work is to represent the on/off state of the smart home appliance with a binary string which undergoes c... [more]

Recent episodes of natural disasters have challenged the resilience of power grids. Adequate distribution grid planning that properly captures the risk aversion of the utility system planner is a key factor to increase the flexibility of distribution networks to circumvent these events. In this paper, we propose a methodology to determine the optimal portfolio of investments in lines and storage devices in order to minimize a convex combination between expected value and CVaR of operational costs, including energy not served, while taking into account the multistage nature of the energy storage management within this context. While the expected value of energy not served has been traditionally employed to tackle routine failures, we also minimize the CVaR of energy not served to address high-impact, low-probability (HILP) events. We illustrate the performance of the proposed methodology with a 54-Bus system test case.

In this work, a strategy for scheduling a battery energy storage system (BESS) in a renewable energy community (REC) is proposed. RECs have been defined at EU level by the 2018/2001 Directive; some Member States transposition into national legislation defined RECs as virtual microgrids since they still use the existing low voltage local feeder and share the same low-medium voltage transformer. This work analyzes a REC which assets include PV generators, BESS and non-controllable loads, operating under the Italian legislative framework. A methodology is defined to optimize REC economic revenues and minimize the operation costs during the year. The proposed BESS control strategy is composed by three different modules: (i) a machine learning-based forecast algorithm that provides a 1-day-ahead projection for microgrid loads and PV generation, using historical dataset and weather forecasts; (ii) a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) algorithm that optimizes the BESS scheduling for mini... [more]

There are various traffic calming measures that can be installed in village transition zones. So far, focus was placed on diversified use of pavement markings, amounts of horizontal deflection, shape of the installed chicanes or central islands, presence of gateway, etc., and their location along the transition zone. However, the combined effect of the different transition zone factors on speed reductions has been rarely studied so far. Authors put forward a hypothesis of there being some determinants, which in combination influence speed reduction. To corroborate the hypothesis on the combined impact of the transition zone features on speed reduction in the village transition zones and to validate the established relationships the authors conducted verification study in transition zones containing chicanes or central islands. To verify this hypothesis the authors studied twenty transition zones and managed to confirm the hypothesis at 95% confidence level. The authors used previously... [more]

With their advantages of high experimental safety, convenient setting of scenes, and easy extraction of control parameters, driving simulators play an increasingly important role in scientific research, such as in road traffic environment safety evaluation and driving behavior characteristics research. Meanwhile, the demand for the validation of driving simulators is increasing as its applications are promoted. In order to validate a driving simulator in a complex environment, curve road conditions with different radii are considered as experimental evaluation scenarios. To attain this, this paper analyzes the reliability and accuracy of the experimental vehicle speed of a driving simulator. Then, qualitative and quantitative analysis of the lateral deviation of the vehicle trajectory is carried out, applying the cosine similarity method. Furthermore, a data-driven method was adopted which takes the longitudinal displacement, lateral displacement, vehicle speed and steering wheel angle... [more]

As renewable energy increasingly penetrates into electricity-heat integrated energy system (IES), the severe challenges arise for system reliability under uncertain generations. A two-stage approach consisting of pre-scheduling and re-dispatching coordination is introduced for IES under wind power uncertainty. In pre-scheduling coordination framework, with the forecasted wind power, the robust and economic generations and reserves are optimized. In re-dispatching, the coordination of electric generators and combined heat and power (CHP) unit, constrained by the pre-scheduled results, are implemented to absorb the uncertain wind power prediction error. The dynamics of building and heat network is modeled to characterize their inherent thermal storage capability, being utilized in enhancing the flexibility and improving the economics of IES operation; accordingly, the multi-timescale of heating and electric networks is considered in pre-scheduling and re-dispatching coordination. In simu... [more]

The European Union’s New Green Deal generates changes in the socio-economic development of regions. An element of this change is the transformation of the regional profiles of the energy portfolio towards more pro-ecological ones. The aim of this article is to identify the conditions and reasons for the transformation of the energy portfolio of the Eastern Poland macroregion, and to define the directions of the energy portfolio evolution caused by the need to implement the goals of the European Green Deal by 2030, in order to consequently develop the forecast energy portfolio for the Eastern Poland macroregion. It has been assumed that the energy transformation of the Eastern Poland macroregion will be implemented through gradual transformation of the energy portfolio towards dispersed sources of local and civic energy. The research is based on both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative research was carried out on the basis of the diagnostic survey method with the us... [more]

This research investigates how biomass supply chains (BSChs) for bioenergy within the broader bioeconomy could contribute to the post-COVID-19 recovery in three dimensions: boosting economic growth, creating jobs, and building more resilient and cleaner energy systems in four future scenarios, in the short term (by 2023) and long term (by 2030). A SWOT analysis on BSChs was used for generating a questionnaire for foresight by a two-round Delphi study. To interpret the results properly, a short survey and literature review is executed to record BSChs behavior during the pandemic. In total, 23 (55% response rate) and 28 (46% response rate) biomass experts from three continents participated in the Delphi and the short survey, respectively. The strongest impact from investment in BSChs would be on economic growth, followed by a contribution to the resilient and cleaner energy systems and job creation. The effects would be more visible in the long- than in the short-term period. Investments... [more]

Within the framework Solar Heating and Cooling Programme of the International Energy Agency Task 51 “Solar Energy in Urban Planning”, case studies from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark were collected and analyzed through a comparative approach. The cases were first classified based on their urban characterization (existing and new urban areas) and then compared within the same country or in a cross-country perspective according to three areas of interest (i.e., Scale and planning process, Legislation and planning process, Targets and goals). The comparisons follow a common template of five sections describing the role of the involved stakeholders and highlighting challenges, barriers, and opportunities for the deployment of active solar systems and passive solar strategies. Both technical and non-technical aspects are considered. Among the technical aspects, the focus is on the adoption of solar energy strategies (e.g., solar accessibility, daylighting), the estimation of solar potential an... [more]

Energy systems require technological changes towards climate neutrality. In Poland, where the power system is dominated by outdated coal-fired power plants, efforts to minimize the environmental impact are associated with high costs. Therefore, optimal paths for the development of the energy sector should be sought in order to achieve ambitious long-term strategic goals, while minimizing the negative impact on the consumers’ home budget. A methodology and a model for the development of the electricity and heat generation structure were developed and implemented in market allocation (MARKAL) modelling framework. Two scenarios were presented, i.e., business as usual (BAU) and withdrawal from coal (WFC) scenarios. The calculations showed a significant role of nuclear energy and offshore wind power in the pursuit of climate neutrality of electricity generation. In the BAU scenario, the model proposes to stay with coal technologies using carbon capture and storage systems. Withdrawal from c... [more]

The location of smart sustainable city multi-floor manufacturing (CMFM) directly in the residential area of a megapolis reduces the delivery time of goods to consumers, has a favorable effect on urban traffic and the environment, and contributes to the rational use of land resources. An important factor in the transformation of a smart city is the development of CMFM clusters and their city logistics nodes (CLNs); the key elements of the logistics system of a megapolis. The primary goal of this study was to examine the role of the CLN4.0, as a lead sustainability and smart service provider of a CMFM cluster within the Industry 4.0 paradigm, as well as its value in the system of logistics facilities and networks of a megalopolis. This paper presents an innovative model of a CLN4.0 under supply uncertainty using a material flow analysis (MFA) methodology, which allows for specific parameters of throughput capacity within the CMFM cluster and the management of supply chains (SCs) under un... [more]

The densification of raw material into fuel briquettes is one of the routes to convert biomass into energy. This method provides uniformity to the solid fuel, better physical and energy properties, facilitating its storage and transport, in addition to more homogeneous combustion. Given the importance of these characteristics, this work presents a literature review, emphasizing the experimental levels of the variables of the briquetting process, as well as on the most relevant quality parameters for obtaining briquettes. We also carry out a survey of the main technologies used in the production of briquettes, as well as the experimental methodologies and statistical analysis used in the planning and validation of processes. It was observed among the studies that the raw material granulometry, followed by pressure, initial moisture, compaction time and binder are the most used process variables for the production of briquettes. Other factors, such as the proportion of biomass, process t... [more]

Large-scale failures of electric power systems (blackouts) have been the subject of intensive research in most countries for several years. This research aims primarily at seeking solutions to improve the reliability of the operation of power systems and the development of effective strategies to protect critical infrastructure from the effects of energy shortages and power cuts. In contrast, systematic research on crisis management and civil protection under conditions of prolonged blackout has been undertaken in Europe only recently, and these extremely important aspects of energy security have been delayed by the COVID-19 crisis. The ability of the Polish crisis management system to cope with the consequences of long-term, large-scale shortages and interruptions in the supply of electricity, as well as the consequences of possible failures in this field, has not been systematically examined to date. This issue is of growing strategic importance, not only from the point of view of se... [more]

The current global competitive scenario and the increase in complexity and automation of equipment and systems demand better results from maintenance management in organizations. As maintenance resources are limited, prioritizing maintenance activities is essential to allocate them properly and to meet maintenance management objectives. In the face of these challenges, multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are commonly used in organizations to support decision-making. Nevertheless, selecting a suitable MCDM method for maintenance planning can be complicated given the diversity of methods and their strengths and weaknesses. In this context, this paper proposes a novel knowledge-based method for deciding a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) method to prioritize maintenance work orders of hydroelectric plants. As the main novel contribution, it translates the intrinsic characteristics of the main MCDM methods into questions related to maintenance planning to guide the recommendat... [more]

The robustness of the timetable is a sensitive issue in the daily realization of railway operations. As shown in the paper, robustness is a function of time reserves that helps to prevent unscheduled stops resulting from traffic disruptions and causing a higher energy consumption. The correct handling of time reserves while scheduling is a multidimensional issue, and it has a significant influence on the energy consumption of railway traffic. Therefore, the paper aims to show a simulation-based method, taking into account failure occurring probabilities and their consequences to get an acceptable level of robustness, that can be quantified by the probability of no delay propagation. This paper presents a method for the addition of time margins to the railway timetable. The iterative time buffer adding method is based on operational data as a knowledge source, to achieve the punctuality target. It was verified on a real railway line. An analysis of energy consumption for unscheduled tra... [more]

The popularity of electric vehicles has been limited by factors such as range, long charging times and fast power failure in winter. In order to overcome these challenges, battery swapping stations (BSS) have been constructed and greatly promoted in recent years. In this paper, the related literature on electric vehicle service is reviewed and the co-occurrence of keywords is analyzed using CiteSpace. The literature is classified according to clustering results and recurring themes, such as the location of BSS, inventory decisions, charging strategies and BSS assignment. In each topic, typical optimization models and algorithms proposed in previous studies are summarized. Then, this paper gives a case about the business model and revenue capacity calculation of BSS. Finally, it points out the future research direction of battery swapping stations for electric vehicles.

Surprisingly, little is known whether the net present value (NPV) used as a financial metric in budgeting and investment planning to analyse a projects’ profitability is universal. Meanwhile, the epochal green energy revolution ensuring carbon neutrality through green innovations requires enormous investments, and projects realised must ensure energy security. Therefore, there is a need to reanalyse financial metrics used in financial planning, including NPV. We eliminate this research gap and, based on data from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, the USA, the United Kingdom, Japan, Israel, and Euro Zone, explain why one may not perceive the currently used NPV formula as a universal financial metric. We show that the variable discount rate influences the time value of money. Therefore, there is a need to redefine the NPV formula. This study makes two main contributions. First, it creates new ground by revisiting the NPV formula in the emerging market context compared to stable economie... [more]

Path planning is often considered as an important task in autonomous driving applications. Current planning method only concerns the knowledge of robot kinematics, however, in GPS denied environments, the robot odometry sensor often causes accumulated error. To address this problem, an improved path planning algorithm is proposed based on reinforcement learning method, which also calculates the characteristics of the cumulated error during the planning procedure. The cumulative error path is calculated by the map with convex target processing, while modifying the algorithm reward and punishment parameters based on the error estimation strategy. To verify the proposed approach, simulation experiments exhibited that the algorithm effectively avoid the error drift in path planning.

Path planning can be considered the most vital task of the autonomous robot. In this task, selecting an optimal route from the starting to the target position becomes an important problem that must be addressed when multiple competing optimization priorities are considered. Thus, a novel route assessment strategy based on a multi-criteria decision-making approach is proposed. The m-generalized q-neutrosophic PROMETHEE (PROMETHEE-mGqNS) method is applied to aggregate the competing route assessment requirements and choose an optimal route. A case study is investigated to explain the proposed strategy for path planning in a typical environment and indicates the method stability when incomplete input data characteristics are present.

A distributed electric vehicle (EV) charging scheduling strategy with transactive energy (TE) management is presented in this paper to deal with technical issues in distribution network operation and discuss the economic benefits of EV charging. At an individual EV level, EV owners propose bids to actively participate in the distribution system operation. At the node level, an electric vehicle aggregator (EVA) optimally allocates the available charging power to meet EV charging requirements and cost benefits. At the distribution network level, a distribution system operator (DSO) integrates an electricity price market clearing mechanism with the optimal power flow (OPF) technique to ensure the reliability of the distribution network. Moreover, a distributed algorithm is discussed for solving the EV charging problem with transactive energy management (TEM). The clearing electricity price is achieved through a negotiation process between the DSO and EVAs using the alternating direction m... [more]

China aims to peak carbon emissions by 2030. As a result, small-scale coal-fired combined heat and power (CHP) units and self-provided units are gradually shut down, and large-scale coal-fired CHP units are a solution to undertake the industrial heat loads. From the perspective of the industrial heat load allocation during the non-heating season, the problems regarding the coal-saving scheduling strategy of coal-fired CHP units are addressed. The steam-water equations of CHP units are established to analyze the heat-power coupling characteristics. The energy utilization efficiency, exergy efficiency and the coal consumption are analyzed. The optimization model of saving coal consumption is established and the adaptive mutation particle swarm optimization (AMPSO) is introduced to solve the above model. The 330 MW coal-fired CHP unit is taken as an example, and the results show that for the constant main flow rate, each increase of 1 t/h industrial steam extraction will reduce the power... [more]

Although many factors affect the investment of individual households in renewable energy sources, we highlight one of them: the local spatial development plan. It is one of the planning tools for implementing development policies at the local level. Since it is on the basis of local spatial plans that investments are carried out on the ground, their role in the implementation of renewable energy sources is one of the most important. This article presents the results of a study of local spatial plans in terms of facilitating, on the one hand, and limiting, on the other hand, the implementation of various renewable energy investments. To a large extent, the focus was on examples of planning acts adopted in Polish communes, but they were compared with examples from other European countries. The authors focused on qualitative assessment, taking into account the regulations applicable to all investors, containing generally binding standards, which specify the development’s land use and deta... [more]

The main aim of the paper was to develop an innovative approach to the preliminary estimation possibility of train energy cooperation based on data from timetables, without traction calculations. The article points out the need to strive for sustainable and environmentally friendly transport. It was pointed out that rail transport using electric traction is one of the more ecological branches of transport. It also offers a number of possibilities for improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption, one of which is the recovery and reuse of energy lost in the electrodynamic braking process. The main ways in which such energy can be used are listed, but the focus is mainly on the aspect of the so-called “energy cooperation” of trains. Then, the current state of the research and knowledge on the narrowed scope of rail traffic management and recuperative braking in rail transportation is presented; an innovative approach to the indirect optimization of the amount of recuperated... [more]