ERIGrid, European Research Infrastructure supporting Smart Grid Systems Technology Development, Validation and Roll Out, HORIZON2020

Renewable energy resource integration is a key enabler to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and develop a sustainable electric power system for the future. The intermittent behaviour of renewable energy resources and their limited storage capabilities present new challenges to power system operators in maintaining security of supply, reliability and power quality. However, the increased availability of advanced automation and communication technologies has also provided new intelligent solutions to these challenges. Previous work has presented various new methods to operate highly interconnected power grids with corresponding components in a more effective way. As a consequence of technological developments, the traditional power system can be transformed into a networked, cyber-physical system, a so-called smart grid. Previous and ongoing research activities have mainly focused on validating certain aspects of smart grids, but until now there has been no integrated approach for analysing and evaluating complex configurations and advanced solutions in cyber-physical energy systems, which is what the ERIGrid project aims to do.