Energy resources scheduling in competitive environment

The increasing use of distributed generation units based on renewable energy sources, the consideration of demand-side management as a distributed resource, and the operation in the scope of competitive electricity markets have caused important changes in the way that power systems are operated. The new distributed resources require an entity (player) capable to make them able to participate in electricity markets. This entity has been known as Virtual Power Player (VPP). VPPs need to consider all the business opportunities available to their resources, considering all the relevant players, the market and/or other VPPs to accomplish their goals. This paper presents a methodology that considers all these opportunities to minimize the operation costs of a VPP. The method is applied to a distribution network managed by four independent VPPs with intensive use of distributed resources.

O desafio do digital no século XXI: a análise à estratégia de Comunicação da Presidência da República

Temos assistido, especialmente ao longo dos últimos dois anos,a um progressivo aumento da utilização das redes sociais por parte da Presidência da República Portuguesa, com destaque para o Facebook. Tal repete a tendência registada a nível mundial, com especial destaque para os EUA e para o seu actual presidente, Barack Obama. No caso português, a Presidência da República, órgão de soberania liderado pelo Prof. Cavaco Silva,é um dos mais activos nesta frente, procurando utilizar as redes sociais como um barómetro sobre a forma como os portugueses sentem a democracia e o estado da nação.

ANN based support for distributed energy resources scheduling in smart grids

The future scenarios for operation of smart grids are likely to include a large diversity of players, of different types and sizes. With control and decision making being decentralized over the network, intelligence should also be decentralized so that every player is able to play in the market environment. In the new context, aggregator players, enabling medium, small, and even micro size players to act in a competitive environment, will be very relevant. Virtual Power Players (VPP) and single players must optimize their energy resource management in order to accomplish their goals. This is relatively easy to larger players, with financial means to have access to adequate decision support tools, to support decision making concerning their optimal resource schedule. However, the smaller players have difficulties in accessing this kind of tools. So, it is required that these smaller players can be offered alternative methods to support their decisions. This paper presents a methodology, based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), intended to support smaller players’ resource scheduling. The used methodology uses a training set that is built using the energy resource scheduling solutions obtained with a reference optimization methodology, a mixed-integer non-linear programming (MINLP) in this case. The trained network is able to achieve good schedule results requiring modest computational means.

Intelligent energy resources management in the context of smart grids

Smart grids are envisaged as infrastructures able to accommodate all centralized and distributed energy resources (DER), including intensive use of renewable and distributed generation (DG), storage, demand response (DR), and also electric vehicles (EV), from which plug-in vehicles, i.e. gridable vehicles, are especially relevant. Moreover, smart grids must accommodate a large number of diverse types or players in the context of a competitive business environment. Smart grids should also provide the required means to efficiently manage all these resources what is especially important in order to make the better possible use of renewable based power generation, namely to minimize wind curtailment. An integrated approach, considering all the available energy resources, including demand response and storage, is crucial to attain these goals. This paper proposes a methodology for energy resource management that considers several Virtual Power Players (VPPs) managing a network with high penetration of distributed generation, demand response, storage units and network reconfiguration. The resources are controlled through a flexible SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system that can be accessed by the evolved entities (VPPs) under contracted use conditions. A case study evidences the advantages of the proposed methodology to support a Virtual Power Player (VPP) managing the energy resources that it can access in an incident situation.

Multilevel negotiation in smart grids for VPP management of distributed resources

A multilevel negotiation mechanism for operating smart grids and negotiating in electricity markets considers the advantages of virtual power player management.

Towards the wide implementation of standards IEC 61968/70 (CIM) and IEC 61850 in the distribution system (CIGRÉ C6-105_2010)

Currently, power systems (PS) already accommodate a substantial penetration of distributed generation (DG) and operate in competitive environments. In the future, as the result of the liberalisation and political regulations, PS will have to deal with large-scale integration of DG and other distributed energy resources (DER), such as storage and provide market agents to ensure a flexible and secure operation. This cannot be done with the traditional PS operational tools used today like the quite restricted information systems Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) [1]. The trend to use the local generation in the active operation of the power system requires new solutions for data management system. The relevant standards have been developed separately in the last few years so there is a need to unify them in order to receive a common and interoperable solution. For the distribution operation the CIM models described in the IEC 61968/70 are especially relevant. In Europe dispersed and renewable energy resources (D&RER) are mostly operated without remote control mechanisms and feed the maximal amount of available power into the grid. To improve the network operation performance the idea of virtual power plants (VPP) will become a reality. In the future power generation of D&RER will be scheduled with a high accuracy. In order to realize VPP decentralized energy management, communication facilities are needed that have standardized interfaces and protocols. IEC 61850 is suitable to serve as a general standard for all communication tasks in power systems [2]. The paper deals with international activities and experiences in the implementation of a new data management and communication concept in the distribution system. The difficulties in the coordination of the inconsistent developed in parallel communication and data management standards - are first addressed in the paper. The upcoming unification work taking into account the growing role of D&RER in the PS is shown. It is possible to overcome the lag in current practical experiences using new tools for creating and maintenance the CIM data and simulation of the IEC 61850 protocol – the prototype of which is presented in the paper –. The origin and the accuracy of the data requirements depend on the data use (e.g. operation or planning) so some remarks concerning the definition of the digital interface incorporated in the merging unit idea from the power utility point of view are presented in the paper too. To summarize some required future work has been identified.

Technical and economic resources management in smart grids using heuristic optimization methods

Intensive use of Distributed Generation (DG) represents a change in the paradigm of power systems operation making small-scale energy generation and storage decision making relevant for the whole system. This paradigm led to the concept of smart grid for which an efficient management, both in technical and economic terms, should be assured. This paper presents a new approach to solve the economic dispatch in smart grids. The proposed methodology for resource management involves two stages. The first one considers fuzzy set theory to define the natural resources range forecast as well as the load forecast. The second stage uses heuristic optimization to determine the economic dispatch considering the generation forecast, storage management and demand response

Scheduling distributed energy resources in an isolated grid - an artificial neural network approach

Power Systems (PS), have been affected by substantial penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) and the operation in competitive environments. The future PS will have to deal with large-scale integration of DG and other distributed energy resources (DER), such as storage means, and provide to market agents the means to ensure a flexible and secure operation. Virtual power players (VPP) can aggregate a diversity of players, namely generators and consumers, and a diversity of energy resources, including electricity generation based on several technologies, storage and demand response. This paper proposes an artificial neural network (ANN) based methodology to support VPP resource schedule. The trained network is able to achieve good schedule results requiring modest computational means. A real data test case is presented.

Intelligent multi-player smart grid management considering distributed energy resources and demand response

The smart grid concept is rapidly evolving in the direction of practical implementations able to bring smart grid advantages into practice. Evolution in legacy equipment and infrastructures is not sufficient to accomplish the smart grid goals as it does not consider the needs of the players operating in a complex environment which is dynamic and competitive in nature. Artificial intelligence based applications can provide solutions to these problems, supporting decentralized intelligence and decision-making. A case study illustrates the importance of Virtual Power Players (VPP) and multi-player negotiation in the context of smart grids. This case study is based on real data and aims at optimizing energy resource management, considering generation, storage and demand response.

Energy resources management for more sustainable distribution systems: an intelligent approach

Energy Resources Management can play a very relevant role in future power systems in SmartGrid context, with high penetration of distributed generation and storage systems. This paper deals with the importance of resources management in incident situation. The system to consider a high penetration of distributed generation, demand response, storage units and network reconfiguration. A case study evidences the advantages of using a flexible SCADA to control the energy resources in incident situation.

Distributed energy resources management with cyber-physical SCADA in the context of future smart grids

In the energy management of a small power system, the scheduling of the generation units is a crucial problem for which adequate methodologies can maximize the performance of the energy supply. This paper proposes an innovative methodology for distributed energy resources management. The optimal operation of distributed generation, demand response and storage resources is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming model (MILP) and solved by a deterministic optimization technique CPLEX-based implemented in General Algebraic Modeling Systems (GAMS). The paper deals with a vision for the grids of the future, focusing on conceptual and operational aspects of electrical grids characterized by an intensive penetration of DG, in the scope of competitive environments and using artificial intelligence methodologies to attain the envisaged goals. These concepts are implemented in a computational framework which includes both grid and market simulation.

A literacia digital como pré-requisito do acesso ao conhecimento: estudo numa população estudantil da licenciatura em Farmácia da ESTSP-IPP

Introdução: O uso das TIC, nomeadamente dos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, são uma possibilidade pedagógica promissora e atractiva pois permitem a construção de conhecimento e a interacção entre alunos, professores e tutores. Na perspectiva do estudante, compreende-se que, em contextos virtuais de aprendizagem a tendência é a de se valorizar cada vez mais a sua participação no processo de ensino e de aprendizagem. No entanto, para que seja possível a implementação de educação a distância é necessário que os estudantes, para além da motivação e da responsabilidade acrescida, possuam um conjunto de competências específicas para participar, efectivamente, num contexto virtual de aprendizagem. Nesse contexto, e para verificar se o uso das tecnologias no processo educacional é exequível, é necessário conhecer as competências digitais dos alunos da Licenciatura em Farmácia da Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Porto. Métodos: O estudo é descritivo-transversal e permitiu a recolha de dados através do inquérito por questionário, previamente validado. A amostra em estudo foi retirada da população formada pelos 230 estudantes da Licenciatura de Farmácia, por um processo de amostragem não probabilística por conveniência, perfazendo um total de 52 indivíduos que frequentam o 2º ano. Apresentação de Resultados e Discussão: Os resultados permitiram concluir que os estudantes utilizam as TIC de forma variada mas normalmente em actividades de lazer. Em relação ao conhecimento e utilização das ferramentas da Web 2.0 concluí-se que, na generalidade, os estudantes não conhecem e não dominam a maioria das ferramentas da Web 2.0.Ou seja, os estudantes, mesmo com as suas habilidades e conhecimentos sobre tecnologia, principalmente em relação ao uso de computadores e da Internet, e conhecendo a importância destes recursos como simplificadores nos estudos, continuam a apresentar limitações, provavelmente devido a falta de informação ou a informações duvidosas provenientes de uma utilização incorrecta dos recursos. Estes resultados representam também um desafio, uma vez que caberá à Escola capacitar os estudantes na utilização de novas tecnologias, uma vez que, estas capacidades são cada vez mais solicitadas no mercado de trabalho, e serão primordiais para o sucesso do estudante numa formação a distância mediada por computador.

Pelos mares da leitura literária no ensino superior: há lugar(es) para/do livro na era digital?

É consensualmente reconhecida na atualidade a relevância da leitura na sociedade, abrindo-se, de forma crescente, a uma multiplicidade de dimensões alimentadas pela comunicação em rede. No ensino superior, tais dimensões merecem particular atenção, não só pelos desafios lançados pelo seu caráter cada vez mais diversificado, como pelas possíveis consequências que daí podem advir para o futuro profissional dos estudantes. Assim, nesta comunicação temos como objetivo indagar a importância do livro na era digital enquanto possível suporte configurador de práticas de leitura literária de estudantes do ensino superior a frequentar um 1.º Ciclo de estudos de Bolonha. No que se refere à metodologia adotada, face aos objetivos do estudo, considerámos adequada uma abordagem de natureza qualitativa, tendo como referencial metodológico o estudo de caso. Os participantes foram 27 estudantes inscritos na unidade curricular de Iniciação à Leitura e à Escrita que integra o plano de estudos da licenciatura em Educação Básica, na Escola Superior de Educação de Viseu (3.º ano, 1.º semestre, ano letivo 2015-2016). Os instrumentos utilizados foram 27 reflexões escritas individuais realizadas no âmbito do trabalho autónomo dos estudantes. A técnica privilegiada foi a análise de conteúdo. Apesar dos amplos itinerários de leitura proporcionados pela era digital, conclui-se que os estudantes atribuem grande importância ao livro impresso enquanto potenciador da motivação para a leitura literária, relegando para segundo plano possíveis vantagens do livro em suporte digital. Embora a tecnologia seja omnipresente no seu quotidiano, é o livro que resguarda os lugares das memórias que se entretecem nos seus percursos de leitura.

Mental health research in Brazil: policies, infrastructure, financing and human resources

The objective of this descriptive study was to map mental health research in Brazil, providing an overview of infrastructure, financing and policies mental health research. As part of the Atlas-Research Project, a WHO initiative to map mental health research in selected low and middle-income countries, this study was carried out between 1998 and 2002. Data collection strategies included evaluation of governmental documents and sites and questionnaires sent to key professionals for providing information about the Brazilian mental health research infrastructure. In the year 2002, the total budget for Health Research was US$101 million, of which US$3.4 million (3.4) was available for Mental Health Research. The main funding sources for mental health research were found to be the São Paulo State Funding Agency (Fapesp, 53.2%) and the Ministry of Education (CAPES, 30.2%). The rate of doctors is 1.7 per 1,000 inhabitants, and the rate of psychiatrists is 2.7 per 100,000 inhabitants estimated 2000 census. In 2002, there were 53 postgraduate courses directed to mental health training in Brazil (43 in psychology, six in psychiatry, three in psychobiology and one in psychiatric nursing), with 1,775 students being trained in Brazil and 67 overseas. There were nine programs including psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, psychobiology and mental health, seven of them implemented in Southern states. During the five-year period, 186 students got a doctoral degree (37 per year) and 637 articles were published in Institute for Scientic Information (ISI)-indexed journals. The investment channeled towards postgraduate and human resource education programs, by means of grants and other forms of research support, has secured the country a modest but continuous insertion in the international knowledge production in the mental health area.

Cost of schizophrenia: direct costs and use of resources in the State of São Paulo

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the direct costs of schizophrenia for the public sector. METHODS: A study was carried out in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, during 1998. Data from the medical literature and governmental research bodies were gathered for estimating the total number of schizophrenia patients covered by the Brazilian Unified Health System. A decision tree was built based on an estimated distribution of patients under different types of psychiatric care. Medical charts from public hospitals and outpatient services were used to estimate the resources used over a one-year period. Direct costs were calculated by attributing monetary values for each resource used. RESULTS: Of all patients, 81.5% were covered by the public sector and distributed as follows: 6.0% in psychiatric hospital admissions, 23.0% in outpatient care, and 71.0% without regular treatment. The total direct cost of schizophrenia was US$191,781,327 (2.2% of the total health care expenditure in the state). Of this total, 11.0% was spent on outpatient care and 79.2% went for inpatient care. CONCLUSIONS: Most schizophrenia patients in the state of São Paulo receive no regular treatment. The study findings point out to the importance of investing in research aimed at improving the resource allocation for the treatment of mental disorders in Brazil.