The power system is changing towards a decarbonized one. The Kyoto protocol and the Paris climate agreement have prompted many nations to approve energy policies based on volatile renewable energy sources (RESs). However, the integration into the grid of the power generated by RESs as well as the electrification of the heating, gas and transportation sectors is becoming a huge challenge. Planning industrial and tertiary sites as net-zero energy systems (NZESs) might contribute to advance the solutions of fully integrating volatile RESs into the power system. This study aims to point out the importance of planning large energy consumer sites such as NZESs, and to depict a holistic modeling approach for this. The methodology is based on a multi-layer approach, which focuses on on-site power generation by RESs, on the improvement of energy efficiency, and on the increase of system flexibility. A qualitative case study has been conducted. It considers the planning of a Net-Zero Energy Data Center located in Germany. Results point out that new interdisciplinary and in particular social analysis methods are necessary. They might be used for accelerating the decision making process during the planning of RES-based on-site power generation systems. Besides, for computation and cooling systems, new technologies that are continuously emerging in the market should be taken into account. If well designed, they contribute to significantly decrease the whole energy demand of data center. Finally, optimal sizing of energy storage systems (electric and thermal) as well as an expedient choice of performance indicators to evaluate technology options are identified as the key factor for decreasing the external energy demand of tertiary sites, such as data center.

HVDC-Technology is assuming ever greater importance in the transmission of electric power. This requires development of equipment that takes highly precise and time synchronized measurements in DC systems. The data acquisition, the data transfer and a standardized communication interface are important factors to fulfill the requirements for secure and safe power system operation. This paper describes the development of one such system for HVDC measurement with communications interfaces compliant with IEC 61850. Taking the system modeling as the starting point, the finished measurement system and some initial results of the equipment's operation are presented.

Efficient train driving plays a vital role in reducing the overall energy consumption in the railway sector. An energy minimising control strategy can be computed using the framework given by optimal control theory; in particular, the Pontryagin maximum principle can be used. Our optimisation approach is based on an algorithm presented by Khmelnitsky that considers electric trains equipped with regenerative braking. A derivation of Khmelnitsky’s theory from a more general formulation of the maximum principle is given in this article, and a complete list of switching cases between different driving regimes is included that is essential for practical application. A number of numerical examples are added to visualise the various switching cases. Energy consumption data from real-life operation of passenger trains are compared to the calculated energy minimum. In the presented study, the optimised strategy was able to save 37 percent of the average energy demand of the train in operation. The sensitivity of the energy consumption to deviations of the train speed from the optimum speed profile is studied in an example. Another example illustrates that the efficiency of regenerative braking has an effect on the optimum speed profile.

Due to the Process of Digital Readiness for Energy Transition, taking place in Germany, the necessary systems have been deployed at the 50Hertz Transmission GmbH (50Hertz) site. Using these systems, 50Hertz prepares for managing the Smart Meter data as its role as Transmission System Operator (TSO). In cooperation between Fraunhofer IFF and 50Hertz an investigation took place, to make sure the deployed systems are ready for handling the expected amount of data in real operation. This article describes the method used for the investigation of the MaKo 2020 communication as well as the direct Smart Meter Gateway communication. The results of the investigation and necessary measures derived from the results are presented.