Reviewing homeostasis of sustainable energy systems: How reactive and predictive homeostasis can enable electric utilities to operate distributed generation as part of their power supply services
Date
2018
item.contributor.advisor
item.page.orcidurl
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
item.page.isbn
item.page.issn
item.page.issne
item.page.doiurl
Abstract
Homeostatic control (HC) of electric power systems (EPS), particularly those that fall into the distributed
generation (DG) category, can enable utilities to broaden their power supply services in line with industry
changes worldwide while at the same time safeguarding their customers’ power supply against environmental
challenges. Such solutions are being considered nowadays by industry giants like ENEL, by far the largest
electric power utility operating in Chile. ENEL is seeking to tap into the DG market with a microgrid solution
that can be installed in every building that is part of its customer base. In order to accomplish this, such DG
solutions should first and foremost behave like sustainable energy systems (SES). For this they ought to emulate
homeostasis mechanisms present in all living organisms. Both reactive homeostasis (RH) and predictive
homeostasis (PH) enable living organisms to respond early and proactively to internal changes in the grid-tied
DG system as well as to environmental challenges and threats. Particularly PH does so by foreseeing when these
are most likely to occur, adjusting their energy intake and expenditure accordingly to maintain a stable, efficient
and sustainable equilibrium. Based on the above, this paper presents a theoretical approach with an empirical
base for engineering sustainability in hybrid energy systems. The project is part of a joint research initiative
between a small group of university researchers and ENEL Distribucion, formerly Chilectra1 of Chile to develop
a commercial prototype to be implemented in apartment buildings being serviced by ENEL throughout
Santiago. This is important in order to advance DG solutions implemented by utilities like ENEL Distribucion, to further EPS decentralization, offer a broad, more flexible and personalized spectrum of services and, at the
same time, preparing them for growing environmental challenges and threats.
Description
item.page.coverage.spatial
item.page.sponsorship
Citation
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Keywords
Reactive and Predictive Homeostasis, Resilience, Environmental Challenges, Homeostatic Control, Thriftiness, Energy, Sustainable Hybrid Energy Systems, Proactive Response
item.page.dc.rights
Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 Chile (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 CL)