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An Analysis on Smart Grid Applications and Grid
Integration of Renewable Energy Systems in Smart
Cities
Tu÷rul Atasoy, Hülya Erdener AkÕnç, Özden Erçin
R&D and Automation Management
Enerjisa Electricity Distribution Company
Ankara, Turkey
Abstract— A smart city consists of several components such as
governance, mobility, economy and energy that play a key role in
transition towards a sustainable urban life, integrating critical
infrastructure and various stakeholders. Smart cities are a logical
extension of the smart grid concept and realization of smart cities
are tightly connected to the process of modernization of
traditional power systems. This paper provides an analysis on the
strong link between the two concepts, focusing on grid
integration of renewable energy resources, energy storage
systems, electric vehicles and smart lighting concepts in
sustainable smart cities.
Keywords; smart grid, smart city, renewable energy, energy
storage, ICT, distributed generation
I. INTRODUCTION
Increasing growth trends in urban population and
continuous transformation of governing concepts in urban
environments has led to a growing necessity of integrated and
interoperable systems to support and enable smart
management of complex systems in a city. To set the path
towards a more efficient, environmentalist and technological
approach for tackling challenges of rapid urbanization
especially in developing countries, significant research effort
has been put into topics that can be integrated within the
‘Smart City’ context. Enhanced usage of information and
communication technologies (ICT) and creation of data
services enable a wider span of services in a city and triggers a
transformation phase on the operational methods that
subsystems and services are handled within a city’s frame;
affecting technical criteria for system architectures,
operational constraints and integration requirements.
Management of critical infrastructure such as energy and
communication networks is obtaining even a higher priority
for provision of urban services. Resilience, functionality and
interoperability of systems governing these networks is a
determining factor in securing provision of higher level
services depending on them. In this manner, several
information & operational technologies (IT & OT) are used by
utilities in order to ensure continuous delivery of services and
reliable performance. However; there are several trends (e.g.
distributed generation, electric vehicles) which force utilities
978-1-4799-9982-8/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE
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to upgrade and adapt their existing business scopes,
methodologies and system capabilities to be able to respond to
swift changes in consumer behaviors and technological
developments that are alternative to conventional paradigms.
II. SMART CITIES & ENERGY DOMAIN
A. Components of Smart Cities
Evolving on the pre-existing concepts of more
digitalized cities that highly incorporate ICT for sustainable
development and creation of knowledge-based
communities, definition of a ‘Smart City’ is still thoroughly
discussed and the concept is evolving around various
definitions [1]. As one of the key initiators of research and
demonstration activities in this area, European Union
proposes a consolidated approach that handles the concept
along six main dimensions that effectively seeks out
‘smartness’ in domains of governance, economy, mobility,
environment, people and living; among which are mostly
considered side by side in evaluation of concrete examples
of smart city projects or initiatives [2].
Aligned with this perspective of characteristics, a smart
city has the potential to cluster a variety of systems,
services and roles that otherwise function according to their
own specific set of goals and with partial or no integration
with each other. This default scenario is rooted from the
fact that these systems, services or actors are generally
initiated and operated by independent entities (e.g. local
municipality, utilities, transportation companies). They are
all required to contribute to multi-level integration of data
services in order to unlock possibilities of developing
higher level solutions that benefit all of city’s stakeholders;
a case which cannot fully exist if each independent entity
solely focuses on its own functional objectives and
disregard collaborative services within its urban context.
B. Energy Domain Applications in Smart Cities
Energy infrastructure stands out as one of the key smart city
components, especially to improve a city’s goals of
sustainability and provide a cleaner environment for its
citizens.
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Extensive smart grid research both by academia and
industry all around the globe is creating a substantial support in
defining the future of smart urbanism and realizable benefits of
transforming cities. In parallel, technological developments in
small-scaled renewable energy systems and communication
technologies as well as increased environmental and economic
awareness of individuals triggered and created a major
paradigm shift in conventional structure of power system
operations. Integration of distributed generation and energy
storage systems is creating disruptions in grid operations and
energy market structures. Thus many countries have been
responding by initiatives at different levels and stages in order
to seamlessly progress through this transformation.
Many actors and roles have appeared in the energy system
and will potentially be playing important parts in its future.
Prosumers, aggregators, energy-aware consumers are all setting
a new base for dynamic energy market structure and active
participation in the energy system itself. As a result, active
management of energy resources are available to a much
greater extent that can eventually benefit urban ecosystems and
contribute to various aspects of a smart city. Awareness of real-
time system status, active participation to mutually beneficial
actions requested by system operators (e.g. demand response
actions during power shortages in order to avoid a larger scale
problem), improved planning and investment activities,
seamless grid integration of electric vehicles could be listed as
few examples of potential benefits that take smart city services
to another level, reducing carbon footprint of the city and its
people.
III. SMART GRIDS IN SMART CITIES CONCEPT
The energy infrastructure is arguably the single most
important feature in any city. If unavailable for a significant
period of time, all other functions will eventually cease. In this
case cities around the world are working to get ahead, and one
method gaining popularity is to become a smart city. In this
purpose smart cities should provide these conditions in below;
- Smart cities should be green, sustainable and self-
sufficient.
- Smart cities can only function with a smart grid that
utilizes flexible assets such as energy storage, to ensure
efficient, intelligent energy management.
- In urban centers, buildings themselves will become
energy generators through PV panels,
- In residential neighborhood communities energy
storage is available directly to the energy consumer
through EV charging units and community installed
energy storage systems,
- Commercial structures built in a smart city have energy
storage installed to enable efficient energy
management and improve renewable energy
integration.
- Grid operators will require more options to balance
variable renewable and distributed energy resources.
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A smart grid alone has three functions [3]. First, the grid is
modernized by smart grid through automation, remote
monitoring and control, self-healing designs and microgrids.
Second, consumers are informed and educated by smart grid as
to their energy usage, costs and options to enable their energy
decisions. Third, safe, secure and reliable integration of
distributed and renewable energy resources are provided by
smart grid. All these make an energy infrastructure more
reliable, more sustainable and more resilient. Thus, a smart grid
sits at the heart of the smart city, which cannot fully exist
without it.
A. Grid Integration of Renewables & Storage in Smart Cities
Renewable energy technologies, driven by climate change,
fuel security and other motives, will be providing more and
more of our electricity in the future. Renewable energies
represent an opportunity and a risk. It is very clear that the
more renewables are connected into the grid, the more difficult
the grid and its electrical properties will be to operate and to
control efficiently. The risks include frequency and voltage
fluctuations and outages, as well as major inefficiencies
creating energy losses in the grid.
Urban environment require that the grid increases the use of
renewable energy sources and balances energy supply and
demand more efficiently. Residential, commercial, and
industrial customers will continue to deploy renewable energy
source and storage, even though it may cost more in the short
run. Their motivation is not only to save money:
independence, sustainability, reliability, security, power
quality, and customer service are also drivers.
Major infrastructure upgrades must be made before smart
cities can become a reality, especially in terms of energy
distribution. Much of this need for upgraded infrastructure is
driven by the intermittent use of renewable energy in smart
cities, as well as the need for means of reducing the
community's peak load when demand for electricity is high.
Energy storage has been used successfully in the past to resolve
similar challenges for distribution grids by utilities.
Furthermore the distributed energy storage technology could
likely provide similar support for smart cities across the
country.
Energy storage can be integrated at different levels of the
electricity system in smart city concept:
- Generation level: Arbitrage, balancing and reserve
power, etc.
- Grid level: frequency control, investment deferral,
voltage control, capacity support, etc.
- Customer level: peak shaving, time of use cost
management, etc.
Smart grid technologies offer a long list of benefits,
including reduced operational costs and a more efficiently
operated electricity system. Nevertheless, a primary benefit is
that smart grid technologies enable high levels of renewables to
be included in an electricity network.
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A smart grid and a smart city can coordinate control and
monitor the city's power demand and energy consumption to
either reduce the utility's peak power demand and/or schedule
it during times when the electricity prices are lower.
There are natural parallels between the smart grid and smart
cities in terms of deployments and concepts. Both rely on ICT
applications to enable devices and systems to be remotely
monitored and controlled. Both are infrastructure plays that
often require significant financial investments and have
payback periods that are not always immediate.
Reliability, security, and efficiency of the electricity grid
are improved by increased use of ICT through a dynamic
optimization of grid operations and resources. The backbone
of smart grid is communication as a whole.
B. Impact of Renewables and Energy Storage in Distribution
Networks
The technological development of renewable energy
generation units and related subsidies, as well as liberalization
and changing structure of the electricity market have
stimulated an increased use of renewable energy sources.
Increased installation of renewable energy sources will not be
without problems. Renewable energy sources will have an
impact on the whole utility value chain and how it operates.
No electricity utility is exempt, and it does not matter if the
market is fully regulated or fully de-regulated, there will be an
impact.
Smart grids enable the integration of small distributed
energy resources in the urban network, increase the customer
awareness, provide real-time optimization of energy flows at
the urban level, enable interdependence and facilitating a
multi-services approach linking the electricity network with
other infrastructures [4].
The installation of renewable energy source in distribution
networks has a number of major technical implications. These
technical implications are being widely investigated and can
be divided into four main groups [5]:
• Load Flows
• Voltage Control
• Fault Levels
• Network Security
These problems can lead to difficulties or barriers in
operation and planning of distribution networks with
increasing distributed generation penetration level in the future
[6].
In this perspective, storage technologies will play a key role
for electricity distribution network. Storage has the potential of
increasing deployment with an increasing cost difference
between peak and valley hours.
Distributed storage, in particular, can take advantage of
increased synergies with distributed generation, demand side
management and the increased deployment of ICT at
distribution level. Taking all the conditions into account,
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distributed energy storage systems are the major components
that will follow deployment of distributed generation
technologies.
Several applications are presented by distributed storage in
terms of the power system, as they contribute in terms of
congestion relief, network upgrade deferral, peak shaving, time
of use energy cost management, voltage support, variable
renewables capacity firming, variable renewables grid
integration, reserve capacity, power quality and reliability
improvement.
IV. EFFECTS OF SMART GRID TRANSFORMATION IN SMART
CITIES
A. New business models for Distribution System Operators
The widespread utilization of renewable energy resources
such as solar, wind, etc. lead to a new concept called
“prosumer”; the customers who are not only consumers but
also energy producers. Prosumers have the ability to sell
electricity back to the grid, if they produce more energy than
they consume. Thus, the integration of renewable energy
resources and proper energy management becomes crucial.
These entities will form microgrids which can be described as
localized grids that can connect and disconnect from the
traditional grid in case of islanding.
In the future, smart cities and neighborhoods will have a
micro grid function known as “islanding.” The islanding
function supplies power generated by distributed energy
resources within the city to customers for several hours when
power from the main grid is absent [7]. Management of
microgrids can create new business models for distribution
system operator who is in charge of serving uninterrupted
electricity.
B. New Concepts in Smart Grid Domain Affecting Smart
City Concept
Urban mobility is one of the indispensable concepts for
smart cities. Considering the negative effects of fossil fuel
emissions for both environment and public life quality,
alternative ways for transportation based on alternative green
fuels and electricity is becoming a hot topic. Most of the car
manufacturers are releasing their hybrid and electric vehicle
models. However, there exist a chicken & egg dilemma; since
people hesitate to buy electric vehicles unless there exist the
proper infrastructure for electric chargers; on the other hand,
renovating current infrastructure is motivated by demand. For
this reason, deployment of electric vehicles creates a new
business potential for smart grid applications. The electricity
stored in the electric car batteries can be sold back to the grid
which is known as ‘vehicle-to-grid’ concept (V2G). Thus,
smart grid has to provide the required infrastructure for new
charger designs and implementations enabling both energy
and money transactions.
Smart lighting is another smart grid concept that directly
affects the life quality in smart cities. The starting point of
smart lighting is to ensure proper luminance within the city
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while saving energy. This new smart light technology
enhanced with sensor networks will measure the luminance
levels in streets and dim accordingly.
CONCLUSION
A smart city consists of major components and
stakeholders that are clustered around economy, environment,
mobility, governance, people and urban living. Provision of
smart city services requires reliable energy supply and
integration with smart grid components that are operated by
utilities in order to realize a sustainable transformation in
urban environments.
Within this framework, energy infrastructures and smart
grid applications have an increasingly important role. Major
trends triggering the paradigm shift towards smart grid
developments are integration of distributed generation, energy
storage systems, electric vehicles and smart lighting systems.
The cross-cutting nature of smart grids and smart cities’
components will take part in shaping the future of urban
living.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Enerjisa Electricity Distribution Company is currently
developing and deploying smart city and smart grid projects
for its electricity distribution regions under its responsibility.
In that respect, Baskent Electricity Distribution Company has
participated in the consortium of Smart Energy Aware
Systems (SEAS) project under ITEA2 program. The SEAS
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project is tackling the problem of inefficient and unsustainable
energy consumption by enabling the interworking of energy,
ICT and automation systems at consumption sites, introducing
dynamic, intricate ICT-based solutions to control, monitor and
estimate energy consumption.
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