For years, concentrated solar power (CSP) has been considered an emerging technology that could disrupt the energy production sector. The possibility to store the electricity generated during the sunny operating hours in the form of heat enhances energy dispatchability and gives CSP a unique value proposition that conventional renewable energies cannot provide cost-efficiently since it requires the integration of costly large-scale battery systems. CSP is a cleaner technology compared to photovoltaics, but photovoltaics currently has lower overall capital costs, making it more attractive to investors and stakeholders who want to spend less money upfront. This is one of the main reasons why CSP has never really led either the electricity market or the heating one, even if its combined generation capability (heat and electricity) is globally recognized as a great advantage for a renewable technology. In this study, we analyze the reasons why CSP is not as widespread as it could be; at the same time, we look at the opportunities and the enablers for a further deployment of this technology, focusing on the European region.

The purpose of this paper is to standardised four-step flexibility assessment methodology for evaluating the available electrical load reduction or increase a building can provide in response to a signal from an aggregator or grid operator. The four steps in the methodology consist of Step 1: systems, loads, storage and generation identification; Step 2: flexibility characterisation; Step 3: scenario modelling; and Step 4: key performance indicator (KPI) label. A detailed case study for one building, validated through on-site experiments, verified the feasibility and accuracy of the approach. The results were benchmarked against available demonstration studies but could benefit from the future development of standardised benchmarks. The ease of implementation enables building operators to quickly and cost effectively evaluate the flexibility of their building. By clearly defining the flexibility range, the KPI label enables contract negotiation between stakeholders for demand side services. It may also be applicable as a smart readiness indicator. The novel KPI label has the capability to operationalise the concept of building flexibility to a wider spectrum of society, enabling smart grid demand response roll-out to residential and small commercial customers. This paper fulfils an identified need for an early stage flexibility assessment which explicitly includes source selection that can be implemented in an offline manner without the need for extensive real-time data acquisition, ICT platforms or additional metre and sensor installations.

GEOFIT, “Deployment of novel GEOthermal systems, technologies and tools for energy efficient building retrofitting,” is a recently launched 4-year H2020 project funded by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) under the call topic LCE-17-2017: Easier to install and more efficient geothermal systems for retrofitting buildings. GEOFIT is a part of INEA’s Energy Portfolio Low Carbon Economy (LCE), Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) and brings together 24 partners from 10 European countries to work on the development of novel and smart shallow geothermal systems. This paper introduces the project.

This paper presents the results from the workshop organized by the NEXTOWER project aimed at creating a cluster and exchange forum for projects and research activities in the area of Concentrated Solar Power. Synergies and experiences were shared, common difficulties, specially when dealing with innovative materials were found and discussed and new collaboration opportunities where presented.

The cluster on Enabling Technologies in the framework of the Fast Track on Energy Communities workshop held in Rome during the Sustainable Places 2021 conference presented a series of H2020 projects and their innovative technological solutions to facilitate the uptake of energy communities, demand-response and energy efficiency projects in Europe.

DRIvE is a 36 months Horizon 2020 project which main objective is to unlock the Demand Response (DR) potential of residential and tertiary buildings in the distribution grid. DRIvE comprehensive platform can be seamlessly integrated with existing assets and buildings to achieve optimal operations in the next generation of Smart Grids, paving the way to a fully deployed DR market in the distribution network.