Smart Grid Opportunities and Challenges in Integrating Renewable Energies

Fossil fuels are largely used to meet the extensive increase in energy demands caused by population growth, technological advancement, and industrialization. Recently, the atmosphere is witnessing worse global warming because of over-reliance on these finite and polluted fossil fuel sources. Therefore, it is becoming imperative to integrate more and more inexhaustible and indigenous renewable energy sources (like solar-photovoltaic and wind) to meet energy demands with the least amount of environmental damage. However, these Variable Renewable Energy Sources (VRES) pose stability challenges that can be addressed with the help of energy storage and energy management techniques like demand response. Another potential solution to integrate VRES, improve sectoral utilization and fuel diversification is by integrating different energy carriers (electricity, heating, cooling), energy sources (thermal power plants, VRES), and energy-efficient technologies (such as heat pumps and Combined Heat and Power (CHP)) to form an Integrated Energy System (IES), coupled by an energy hub. IES is also one step in the direction of switching conventional energy network (single energy carrier) toward multiple energy networks in an attempt to attain sustainable, reliable, economical, and decarbonized energy networks. In such a context, smart grids become a vital prerequisite as it employs information and communication technologies from generation sites to consumers’ premises smartly and intelligently. Smart grids can become a pivotal part of integrated energy infrastructure because of their ability to adjust energy flow from utilities to users which not only helps to enhance system reliability and flexibility but also allows integrations of various components like variable renewable energy sources and energy storage units.

This research topic aims to collect articles related to the role of the smart grid in integrated energy systems including stochastic renewable energy sources and present important findings to overcome the volatile nature of renewables with the help of energy storage and demand response programs. The invited papers can investigate the role of ICT in smart grid, energy infrastructure transitions from single energy network to multiple energy networks to meet customer’s diverse energy needs while increasing system flexibility with the aid of various storages integration in an energy hub. Moreover, pertinent review articles explaining the state of the art are also welcomed.

Areas covered in this Research Topic include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Opportunities and challenges of integrating renewable energy in smart grid system.
• The role of demand response in the future renewable energy system.
• Renewable energy control and smart grid-interfacing techniques.
• Deep learning and metaheuristics for demand response integration in smart grids.
• The role of renewable energy in the global energy transformation.
• Forecasting methods for renewable energy generation and demand load for smart grid applications.
• Emerging technologies for prosumer energy management.
• Adapting the traditional power system with smart grid.
• Renewable energy policies that lead to development of prosumers in smart grid.
• Emerging communication and information technologies for smart grid.