Summary:
Attaining the goals of the six GRID4EU demonstrations as well as the potential subsequent wide-scale deployment of smarter distribution grids requires the involvement of several stakeholders, besides DSOs. For instance, consumers or DG units may be asked to provide system services or manufacturers may be required to deliver new smart grid technologies. Hence, it is important to identify what are the expectations of other stakeholders involved and why or how they could oppose to the development of the smart grids. The main stakeholders that have been identified comprise the following: regulators, TSOs, consumers, DG operators, equipment manufacturers, retailers, aggregators or software/ICT services providers.
Therefore, the goal of this report was to characterize the viewpoints of different stakeholders, besides DSOs, relevant to the success of the demonstration activities and smart grid deployment. This was done by means of an online questionnaire, designed after reviewing several similar studies previously carried out, which enquired respondents about their opinions about the main components, drivers and barriers for smarter distribution grids.
The survey results show that stakeholders expect smart grids to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of our future power system. The wider adoption of ICTs is frequently mentioned as an essential component of smarter grids. Moreover, stakeholders expect smart grids to benefit end consumers directly and to contribute to meeting energy policy objectives such as energy independence and lower emissions.
Nonetheless, important barriers are envisioned. Despite the fact that implementation costs are indeed seen as a major issue, the most important barriers are considered to be related to inappropriate regulatory frameworks and unclear or insufficient benefits.
The active participation of DG is seen hampered mainly by regulation whereas demand response reportedly needs to overcome unresponsive consumers and ineffective retail markets. Furthermore, demand response is considered to be hindered by very low individual gains. Lastly, EVs are considered to be under developed mainly due to costs and technology-related aspects.
The aforementioned results will be used as an input for scalability and replicability analysis as they allow the identification of potential barriers for the implementation of certain smart grid solutions.
IIT Project: GRID4EU_FP7 (GRID4EU_FP7)
Funding entity: Comisión Europea. FP7 - Cooperation / Energy
Publication date: 30-10-2014
IIT-14-166I
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