IntEGrity - Integration and Diffusion of Energy Communities

Starting point / motivation

Energy communities (ECs) are still the exception, despite their many positive aspects. In order to help ECs harvest their undeniably positive potential, it is imperative to fully integrate these new concepts into the existing energy system and thus incentivise an efficient diffusion.

Contents and goals: In order to enable the full integration of ECs, the project explores innovative developments on three levels – social level, energy community level and service level.

The social level is concerned with introducing all citizens and interest groups - both household and non-household entities - to ECs. The energy community level focuses on the one hand on basic research in the field of ECs in the heating sector. Although legal requirements for ECs are formulated in an energy carrier-neutral way, they are de facto tailor-made for the electricity sector, which may be one reason for the low implementation of heat ECs so far.

This will be investigated within IntEGrity, as well as possibilities for cost sharing in the implementation of heat infrastructure. On the other hand, the focus is on further developments in the field of electricity-based ECs: 

• Development of "behaviour patterns" to enable precise simulations, 
• quantification of impacts on the electricity grid, 
• market integration of ECs, 
• potential to contribute to climate neutrality when rolled out on a large scale. 

At the service level, the team.4energy platform is being further developed in terms of information provision, billing and optimal further development of existing ECs.

Methods

In order to achieve the objectives set in relation to the social aspects, target group segments with different backgrounds and interests in relation to ECs are defined and it will be investigated through which media/channels they can be reached. Based on this, strategies are developed on how information must be made available in order to reach all interest groups. These strategies will also be tested in a residential quarter of Sozialbau.

With regard to ECs in the heating sector, an analysis of the legal framework is carried out to check the compatibility of the legal requirements for the heating sector. Barriers are identified and recommendations formulated. The possibilities of heat sharing in densely-built urban areas are also examined, including infrastructure investments and associated costs. Algorithms for cost sharing and billing are developed. In particular, the tension between the need for large investments and the exclusion of large companies from participating in renewable energy communities is examined.

In order to realistically evaluate electricity-based ECs, it is essential to develop new "behaviour patterns" (based on the previously elaborated target group segments) that replace outdated standard load profiles. Furthermore, it is necessary to quantify the heatedly-discussed grid impacts of ECs. With regard to the market integration of ECs, research questions must be answered in the area of small-scale flexibility provision and the possibilities/potential of ECs for providing balancing energy.

Another innovation in the area of electricity-based ECs is to investigate which contribution the roll-out of ECs can make to achieve climate neutrality. For developing the platform team4.energy further, results from the social level of this study are used to present information in a way that is appropriate for different target groups.

Moreover, two new services are introduced: 

• One service enables EC participants to perform energy consumption estimations based on the comparison of forecasted generation and equipment/machine load profiles without additional technologies. Billing mechanisms to incentivise active use of this service are also being developed. 
• The second service analyses existing ECs in terms of load and generation and, based on the developed behaviour patterns recommendations regarding optimal further development are provided.

Expected results

The project intends to contribute to the development of strategies for reaching citizens of different backgrounds, provide information accordingly, and thus raise awareness of ECs.

Furthermore, the project aims to bring ECs in the heating sector - which have hardly been implemented so far - into the spotlight and aid to simplify their implementation in the future. By quantifying the effects of ECs on the grid, a much-discussed research question is answered.

Possibilities for market integration through small-scale flexibility provision and determination of the potential for balancing energy provision should offer further options for ECs as well as for their stakeholders. The further development of the platform team4.energy supports existing ECs through target-group specific information, billing algorithms and recommendations for optimal future development.

Project management

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

Project or cooperation partners

• Sozialbau AG
• Energie Kompass GmbH
• Fachhochschule Technikum Wien
• WattAnalytics
• IVALU GmbH

Dr. DI Bernadette Fina
Giefinggasse 4
A-1210 Wien
Tel.: +43 664 883 900 46
E-Mail: bernadette.fina@ait.ac.at
Web: www.ait.ac.at