The BestRES project aimed to develop innovative business models for integration of renewable energy sources by aggregating distributed generation such as wind, PV, biogas, biomass, hydro, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and combining this with demand side management and energy storage.
BestRES was funded by the Horizon 2020 EU Research and Innovation programme and involved 11 partner organizations that are active in 9 different European countries. The project started in March 2016 and lasted three years.
European electricity markets were historically designed around centralized and mostly fossil-fuel generation. The electricity market landscape is however changing because the growth in renewable energy is increasing the share of intermittent electricity and price volatility in the power system.
In this framework, the market integration of intermittent electricity from renewable energy sources cannot be achieved by single individual, commercial or domestic consumers since they would only have a limited impact. It is only through a coordinated steering of vast amounts and types of consumers and producers in a market that the use of distributed generation, demand side management and energy storage can be effective. Therefore, there is an important role for renewable energy aggregators who act on behalf of consumers.
“Renewable energy aggregators are legal entities that aggregate the load or generation of various demand and/or generation/production units and aim at optimizing energy supply and consumption technically and/or economically.”
On the one hand, energy aggregators provide energy services upstream the power system for industrial, commercial or domestic customers, who own generation and energy storage units and offer demand side management services. On the other hand, they also offer flexibility for ancillary services to the traditional downstream market players such as Balance Responsible Parties (BRPs), Distribution System Operators (DSOs), Transmission System Operators (TSOs), energy suppliers and prosumers. The energy aggregators support these market actors to optimize their portfolios and for balancing and grid congestion management. Furthermore, energy aggregators can create value on wholesale (intraday, day-ahead and futures)