Transition Towards Smart Grids From a Socio-Technical Perspective
F. Norouzi (TU Delft - DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage)
Pavol Bauera – Promotor (TU Delft - DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage)
T. Hoppe – Promotor (TU Delft - Organisation & Governance)
Aditya Shekhar – Copromotor (TU Delft - DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage)
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Abstract
The transition from the current paradigm of electricity systems to a more efficient and environmentally sustainable form while maintaining power system reliability and stability is a complex and challenging task. Integrating renewable energy sources (RESs) into the electrical grid alone will not accelerate the transition, as they cannot independently drive the fundamental systemic changes. Large-scale renewable energy sources (RESs), such as offshore wind farms, are still being developed within the traditional centralised power system framework. A true shift toward decentralisation requires fundamental changes in electrical systems, which can be achieved by adopting smart grids.
The transition towards smart grids is not just a technological challenge and involves the interplay between human behavior and innovation. Therefore, the availability of technologies within a given society must be considered alongside social acceptance, institutional frameworks, regulations, and policies. These factors involve various stakeholders, including technology developers, adopters of the technologies, regulatory authorities, policymakers, system operators, and energy suppliers, all of which have interests of their own, some of which may conflict. The first step toward accelerating the transition process requires understanding the interaction between technical and non-technical factors. Consequently, an interdisciplinary approach is essential, integrating methods and theoretical insights from multiple disciplines.
In the first step of this thesis, the barriers to smart grid development are analysed by adopting a holistic lens. Global smart grid projects are reviewed, and the barriers are categorised into regulatory, market, social, and institutional dimensions. The interactions among these barriers are also explored.
The second step focuses on smart grid innovation in the specific context of the Netherlands, which was chosen as a case study due to the context-dependent nature of the transition. Theoretical frameworks of the Technological Innovation System (TIS) and transformational failures from the sustainable transition field are used to systematically analyse the actors, technologies, institutions, and network configurations related to smart grid development.By using these frameworks, a history-event-based analysis conducted from 2000 to 2021 reveals the transformative and systemic challenges that hinder the widespread adoption of smart grid technologies in the Netherlands. Among these challenges, the lack of market formation and the need to scale up projects and technologies are critical failures.
In the third phase, a techno-economic study is conducted to analyse the effects of different pricing policies in an assumed smart microgrid equipped with photovoltaic (PV) systems and battery energy storage (BES) in the Netherlands. As the interests of end-users and system operators often conflict, this study provides policy implications to support the further adoption of the PV-BES system within the assumed smart microgrid context.
Finally, the focus shifts to a model-free Energy Management System (EMS). Unlike a model-based EMS, a model-free EMS utilising a reinforcement learning algorithm is developed to evaluate how machine learning algorithms can support the scaling up of EMSs in smart microgrids. The results indicate the capability of reinforcement learning as an adaptive approach for different policy scenarios.