Currently, electricity is mainly generated by a few far-off high-capacity generators. However, due to environmental concerns, electrical energy is increasingly being produced by small scale generators located close to the point-of-use. This decentralized model for energy generation will bring with it many challenges to maintain grid robustness. The NOBEL project (www.ict-nobel.eu) takes a radical approach towards addressing these issues. We design and realize an IT infrastructure where consumers also become producers of electricity, as well as information, termed "prosumers" within the NOBEL project.
One promising way to investigate this is to consider a market-driven approach as a tool to integrate the users and enable both information exchange and prosumption behaviour. For instance, a surplus of energy generated from a rooftop photo-voltaic panel of one user, could be used to cover partially the demand of another user. In NOBEL, we investigate the impact of such a small scale market on energy efficiency of a neighborhood.
In order to better conduct our research, we would like to better understand how a small scale market could affect your interests.
Therefore a survey has been initiated currently. You can find surveys for private consumers, business consumers and public utitlities.
The survey can be found here.
Prof. Dr. Pedro José Marrón