PulseExploreJournal ClubDebatesTrendingResearchersJournals
Instagram
HomeExploreJournal ClubTrending
Synapse
⌘+K
Synapse
February 5, 2026Sustainability3 citationsOpen Access

Energy Communities Design and Optimisation: A Decision-Making Tool for the Italian Case

View Full Paper
TFTommaso FerrucciSWSarah WinklerMEManuel Antonio Perez Estevez

Key Points

  • The research aims to develop a decision-support tool for optimizing the design and operation of renewable energy communities while balancing multiple objectives.
  • Developed a two-level decision-making tool named Adapters for hybrid renewable energy systems.
  • Coupled long-term planning with short-term operational adaptation in the tool.
  • Integrated multi-objective optimisation with weighted terms for cost, CO2 emissions, and unserved energy.
  • Demonstrated the tool's effectiveness through prototype single-household case studies.
  • Showed how different stakeholder preferences influence objective weights and system configurations.
  • Highlighted trade-offs between economic performance, environmental impact, and reliability.

Abstract

Renewable Energy Communities are expected to play a key role in the decarbonization of power systems, but their design and operation involve multiple, often conflicting objectives and evolving regulatory frameworks. However, prospective REC promoters and members must make early-stage design choices under policy constraints while balancing economic, environmental, and reliability goals, which motivates the need for transparent and reproducible decision-support tools. This paper presents Adapters, a two-level decision-making tool that couples long-term planning with short-term operational adaptation for hybrid renewable energy systems. The core optimisation model is explicitly multi-objective, with three weighted terms (w1, w2, and w3) that represent total cost, CO2 emissions, and unserved energy, respectively, allowing users to explore trade-offs between economic performance, environmental impact, and reliability. The tool integrates detailed component models (such as photovoltaic, wind, and battery storage) with a flexible optimisation layer and architecture compatible with digital-twin approaches. Its capabilities are illustrated through prototype single-household case studies, showing how different stakeholder preferences and regulatory conditions can be reflected in the choice of objective weights and system configurations. The overall aim is to provide a transparent and reproducible environment to support the emergence and operation of RECs in line with EU energy and climate goals.

Ask AI
Helpful
Bookmark
Share
View Full Paper

Cite This Study

Ferrucci et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/698435e5f1d9ada3c1fb5482https://doi.org/10.3390/su18031553
Ask AI
Helpful
Bookmark
Share
View Full Paper