J U N E 2 0 1 9 , V O L . 4

StoRESPromotion of Higher Penetration of Distributed PVthrough Storage for all

Dear Readers,It is our pleasure to welcome you to the third edition of theStoRES Newsletter! “StoRES — Promotion of higherpenetration of Distributed PV through storage for all” is anambitious Interreg MED modular project, implemented by aconsortium of 18 highly capable and well establishedorganisations (both private and public) spanning across theMediterranean region. Through this edition we would like to share with you newsabout the progress of the project. If you would like to keep up to date with all the latestdevelopments of our project follow us on Facebook & Twitter. Kind Regards, The StoRES Consortium

WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE

Online PV and StorageOptimisation Tool

Main Lessons Learnt forsystems with PV andStorage

Plan for transferring

Communication Activitiesand Events

Project Meetings andStoRES Final Event

Stakeholders andResidential Pilots Results

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About StoRESDuration: 36 months

Budget: €2m

9 Partners

StoRES foresees the development of an optimal policy for theeffective integration of photovoltaics (PV) and energy storagesystems (ESS) via testing smart solutions in 5 MED islands andrural areas. StoRES aims to increase PV penetration in the energy mix ofislands and rural areas in the MED region by integrating PVand ESS. This could be feasible, under an optimal marketpolicy by removing the constraints of grid reliability and RESintermittency. The primary challenge is to achieve high PV penetration intheir energy mix through solving all market/ technical/ grid/tariff issues without compromising grid stability and securityof supply. The project involves regions facing specific needs andchallenges: islands with isolated networks, almost 100% fossil-fuel dependency and increasing energy demand; rural areasexhibiting weaker networks, possibly greater energy needs,and higher environmental impact.

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StoRES focuses on 7EU regions, namelyCyprus, France,Greece, Italy,Portugal, Sloveniaand Spain. Relevantstakeholders havebeen identified ineach country andthe respective Levelof Relationship andInterest has beencalculated.

Stakeholders

The preliminary results of the residentialpilots installations suggest the below:

Significant increase of self-consumption and self-sufficiency.

Energy consumption covered mostlyby PV and storage for Cyprus, Italyand Spain.

Energy consumption is significantlycovered by PV and storage for Greeceand Portugal.

Reduction of PV export to the grid.

Preliminary Residential Pilots Results

J U N E 2 0 1 9 , V O L . 4Online PV and Storage Optimisation Tool

PV and Storage Online Optimisation Tool hasbeen built in the framework of the StoRESproject. It has been constructed based onspecifications commonly agreed by allpartners of the project and ensuring that it isas user-friendly as possible. The goal of the Optimisation Tool is toprovide relevant information to interestedstakeholders, investors and researchersabout the optimal sizing of both PV andStorage systems based on severalparameters. It aims at calculating the optimalsize of a hybrid PV and Storage system interms of net present value of the investment. The tool requires as inputs: electricityconsumption, solar irradiation, PV andbattery size, and electricity costs. 

The only requirement is to upload sampleaverage consumption profiles to be used inthe calculations. In terms of themeasurements of PV output power, thesecan either be provided by the user using aspecific template, or the user can select anarbitrary location on the map and the toolwill communicate with the PVGIS databaseto obtain the necessary climatic data for theestimation of the PV output power. A financial analysis is undertaken for a periodof 20 years, taking into considerationtechnical and financial parameters andvarious options of energy policies. Although the current version of the toolfocuses on the countries of the StoRESconsortium (i.e. Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy,Portugal, Slovenia, Spain) by having in-builtaverage consumption profiles, it can be easilyused for any other country/region as well.

The tool can be accessed at the following address: www.storestool.eu

J U N E 2 0 1 9 , V O L . 4Main Lessons Learnt for systems with PV and Storage

Documenting lessonslearnt is an integralpart of the StoRESproject. Lessons learntis the learning gainedfrom the process ofperforming the projectactivities. It capturesthe challenges facedthroughout theproject’s lifecycle aswell as the solutionsfound to ensure abetter execution in thefuture. The lessons learnt willbe formallycommunicated withthe project partnersand used as afoundation fortransferring theproject results to therelevant projectstakeholders.

With the prices of storage still relatively high, a PV systemwithout storage is more profitable to an investor under mostcircumstances in the studied MED countries.

Currently the MED countries do not have policies that favor theinstallation of storage alongside PV systems. Even in the caseswhere higher self-consumption is encouraged (e.g. the Net-Billing of Cyprus or the partial Net-Metering scheme in Greece),the resulting incentive is not adequate to make a hybridPV+storage system more profitable (with the current storagesystem prices).

The profitability of a PV+storage system depends upon severalparameters and, hence, requires careful planning. Theparameters include a) consumption profile, b) electricity costs,c) existing policy/scheme, d) solar irradiance and temperatureprofile of the installation location, e) technical related data ofPV and storage. The optimal sizing of the hybrid system shouldtake into account all the above parameters.

Policy makers that want to encourage the use of storagesystems alongside PV’s, should consider the adaptation ofexisting schemes in order to make systems with storage moreprofitable than those without. Small tweaks upon existingschemes in the MED region may be enough to achieve that.

The inclusion of storage systems should not be considered incases where the load consumption is very high compared to PVinstalled capacity. In that case, the storage system will rarely becharged by the PV excess energy and this will lead to either itsfast degradation, or to charging from the grid for maintenancereasons (keep SoC within operational limits).

The technology of the battery system should be carefully chosen. Lead-acid batteries may beeconomically preferable than Lithium-ion ones, but one should consider that they exploit a lowerlevel of their nominal capacity (lower usable kWh/nominal kWh rate) and they present higherself-discharge rates.

The choice of AC-coupled systems is the most preferable one for existing PV installations, since itcan be sized independently and with more technical available choices.

The choice of DC-coupled systems may be preferable for new systems, as the cost is kept lowcompared to AC-coupled ones, while losses may be limited.

The distribution system operators in MED region should adapt their regulations in order tofacilitate the widespread of PV+storage hybrid systems as soon as possible. Clear guidelinesshould be given to prospective investors in concise and simple way.

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J U N E 2 0 1 9 , V O L . 4Plan for Transferring

The objectives of transferring theresults are to ensure sustainability ofthe project results through building anetwork of contacts and relationships,to achieve adaptation of the results byrelevant institutions and to achievetheir integration into regional andnational plans. Up to now several activities have beencarried out where some of the projectresults have been transferred to severalstakeholders and general population. With continuation of these actions andimplementation of additional ones,building on the connections that havebeen already established, theConsortium will be able to successfullyimplement the transfer of the StoRESresults from pilot installations andother project outputs to all thepartners’ regions and the wider MEDarea. The goal is, not only to transfer theresults at the time of the projectimplementation, but also to ensuretheir continuous influence after theproject’s end.

During the project as well as after itsend the partners need to transfer theproject’s results to a diversified group ofrepresentatives. The target groups ofthe project are:

citizens/typical consumerslocal/regional authoritiesDSOs/utilitiesRegulatorsenergy expertsgovernment bodies involved inenergy policiespoliticians/policy makersrenewable energy associationsenergy agencies

The StoRES project outputs are listedbelow:

webpagevideoliving labpolicy recommendationspublications and articlesreports from workshops and theinternational conferencelessons learntguidelines procedures for optimizationof storage (roadmap for a proposedsolution)flyers, banners and infographicnewsletters and infographicspilotsonline optimisation tool

The Plan for transferring provides a strategy and roadmap for successfullyimplementing the transfer of the StoRES results. It deals with the formulation of aconcrete plan to transfer the lessons learnt from pilot installations, simulationscenarios and other project results to the stakeholders in partners’ regions, MEDarea and beyond. The aim is to transfer results to as many territories as possible andto assure continuity after the project’s end.

J U N E 2 0 1 9 , V O L . 4Project Meetings and StoRES Final Event

Project Meetings in Lyon andCagliariTwo project meetings were successfullyheld in Lyon, France on the 28-29thNovember 2018 and in Cagliari, Italy onthe 27th of May 2019. The StoRESConsortium met to discuss the projectprogress to date and plan the next steps. During the 1st meeting all the partnerspresented their operational pilots andgave emphasis on the data collectionand analysis aspects, while they alsodiscussed in detail the execution of theWP4 transferring activities. They also hadthe chance to participate in the PollutecExhibition, the 28th international tradeshow for environmental equipment,technologies and services. During the 2nd meeting, the partnersdiscussed the progress and theencouraging results derived from theactivities of the project, including theoptimisation tool, the cost-benefitanalysis, the lessons learnt and thetransferring plan, as well as theoutcomes and tools that will becomeavailable before the end of the projectsuch as the living lab and the policyrecommendations. The StoRES finalevent was held the next day. The project partners will meet again inPortugal in September 2019.

Project Meeting, Lyon, France

Pollutec, Lyon, France

Project Meeting, Cagliari, Italy

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The StoRES project Consortium, with the support of the Interreg MED RenewableEnergy Community, organised its final event entitled “Innovative solutions forfostering low-carbon strategies and increasing renewable energy sources in theenergy mix of the MED area” on 28th of May 2019, in Cagliari, Italy. The event was held with great success and attracted the interest of more than 50stakeholders and experts. During the event, the StoRES Consortium presented theachievements and main results of the project and discussions were initiated in regardsto complementarities with other MED projects from the renewable energy communityof projects.  

StoRES Final Event Banner

StoRES Final Event

Project Meetings and StoRES Final Event

J U N E 2 0 1 9 , V O L . 4Communication Activities and Events

Flyer, Infographic & Videos

StoRES Flyer May 2019

StoRES Infographic April 2019

A flyer and an infographic weredesigned to showcase StoRES projectresults and outcomes until now andthey will be distributed at events andamong relevant stakeholders.

StoRES Project Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DRmG7WvF7g

In addition to other communication activities,two videos have been prepared to presentStoRES project and its objectives.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?

feature=youtu.be&v=THhBccIjNjA

J U N E 2 0 1 9 , V O L . 4Communication Activities and Events

WORLD CAFE "OVIRE PRI FINANCIRANJUENERGETSKIH SANACIJ JAVNIH OBJEKTOV"(OBSTACLES CONNECTED WITH FINANCINGRENOVATION OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS FORHIGHER ENERGY EFFICIENCY)On 17 January 2019, StoRES partners from Municipality ofSlovenska Bistrica, LEA Spodnje Podravje attended theevent in the municipality of Slovenska Bistrica whichattracted a large number of Academics, representativesof public authority, energy agencies, the SlovenianEnvironmental Public Fund and media.

SyNERGY MED 2019 1st Conference on Energy Transition inthe Mediterranean Area

The StoRES Consortium co-organised the 1st Conference on Energy Transition in the MediterraneanArea on 28-30th May 2019, in Cagliari, Italy. This Conference was the starting point of a series ofConferences with the aim of establishing a major energy platform in the region. The Conferenceattracted the interest of more than 50 stakeholders and provided a forum for discussion amongresearchers, policy-makers, regional and local authorities, renewable energy clusters and mainactors/stakeholders about the energy technology challenges in these regions and solutions for boostingeconomic and sustainable development. During the 1st day of the Conference, the StoRES partnerspresented the final project results and outputs.

EUSEW Energy Fair in BrusselsStoRES project was presented during the side event organised byInterreg MED Renewable Energy on the 18th of June 2019 in Brussels,in the context of the EU Sustainable Europe Week organised by theEuropean Commission and energy stakeholders on 17-21st June 2019.During the event an overview of the lessons learnt by recent INTERREGMED renewable energy projects were provided, about how to supportthe energy transitions of islands and rural areas. This overview wasbased on project results and regional consultations with stakeholdersacross the Mediterranean. StoRES also participated at the Energy Fairthat was held at the Networking Village on the 19th of June.

Energy Day, University of CyprusAn Energy Day event was organised in the University of Cyprus onthe 5th of June 2019 by FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy.The Cypriot partners presented the StoRES project and batteryenergy storage, web tool demonstration and pilot systemdemonstration.  During the event the flyer and infographic were alsodisseminated to the 45 professionals (engineers, etc.), academics,utilities, ministries, authorities, policymakers who attended the event.

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StoRES Workshop in Thessaloniki

A workshop and a training session forstakeholders took place in Thessaloniki on the10th of June 2019, under the title “Towards energysystems of tomorrow and the role of electricalenergy storage”. The event was organized byStoRES partner in Greece, Aristotle University ofThessaloniki (AUTH), aiming to discuss theadvantages and the challenges of electricalenergy storage systems integration with PVs,based on the outputs of the project activities andthe experience gained. The workshop includedpresentations by AUTH and other invitedspeakers, while the prospects of electrical storagepenetration in Greece were discussed in a roundtable. The training session included hands-onexperience by stakeholders on the use of theStoRES PV and Storage Optimisation Toolthrough an interactive lab. Invited speakers included representatives fromthe Greek Distribution System Operator (DSO)and other projects related to energy storage. Morethan 50 people attended to the workshop and thetraining session, including: DSO representatives,policy makers, academia, researchers andengineers, along with representatives fromprivate companies and electricity providers. Theoutputs of the workshop were announced by thelocal and national press and television, whileparticipants assessed the event activities with thehighest score available in the event evaluationforms.

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University of Cyprus (UCY) UCY, through its Research Centre for Sustainable Energy (FOSS),plays a key role in research and technological developmentactivities in the field of sustainable energy within Cyprus and atinternational level with the aim of contributing to the achievementof the relevant energy and environment objectives set out byEurope. In particular, FOSS strives to become a centre of excellencein energy that will act as a structure where world-standard R&Dwork can be performed, in terms of measurable scientificproduction (including training) and/or technological innovation. George E. Georghiou, geg@ucy.ac.cy

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The project will be executed by the Power Systems Laboratory (PSL)which is running since 1980 and has been involved in 140+European, bi-lateral and national projects, related to research anddevelopment of power systems, renewable energy sources, electricpower and consumption control, environmental impacts frompower generation, applications of Information Technologies andenergy efficiency (http://power.ee.auth.gr/). The PSL and the teammembers involved in this project have significant experience in alltopics related to power systems analysis, operation and control,modelling, power line, communications, distributed generation andsmart grids, power electronics, harmonics, power quality, electricaldrive systems and renewable energy sources. Grigoris Papagiannis, grigoris@eng.auth.gr Giorgos Christoforidis, gchristo@teiwm.gr

AREAL – Regional Energy and Environment Agency ofAlgarve AREAL is a non-profit private Association, whose main goal is towork for the implementation of Regional Energy Politics as a way tocontribute for the Algarve Sustainable Development. Withinternational cooperation, AREAL will look for a More Efficient Use ofEnergy aiming to improve the actual usage of Algarve greatpotential of renewable Energy Sources. AREAL will benefit from thisproject by internalizing and disseminate the knowledge that will beacquired from the cooperation between all the partners involved. Cláudio Casimiro, ccasimiro@areal-energia.pt

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SARGA – Government of Aragon SARGA executes and provides assistance and advice to theGovernment in the passing of regulations and strategy definition.Through the Aragon Strategy for Climate Change and CleanEnergies & Energy Plan for Aragon, it has developed & implementedan energy policy that aims to contribute to the maintenance ofenergy supply quality and the improvement of energy efficiency.This is in consonance with the priority 4C of Aragon ERDFOperational Plan: O.4.3.1 "Improvement of energy efficiency andemissions reduction in public buildings" & OE.4.3.2 "increase the useof renewable energies for the production of electricity and use ofthermal solutions in public buildings and infrastructures, placingspecific interest in micro-generation". Javier Sancho, jsancho@sarga.es

Municipality of Slovenska Bistrica The Municipality of Slovenska Bistrica is organized under the LocalSelf-Government Act (Official Gazette of RS, no. 94/07) and is thebasic local self-governing community of settlements, which areassociated with common needs and interests of their citizens.Municipality is managing 45 public buildings and want to (in theframe of energy management) implement some of the actions fromthe Local energy concept. For example: extended energeticexamination of public buildings, case studies about possibilities forHydro, Wind, Solar, biomass and Bio gas usage/exploitation, new PVinstallations on public buildings etc. Tomaž Pristovnik, tomaz.pristovnik@ric-sb.si

Regional Energy and Environment Agency inRhôneAlpes The Regional Energy and Environment Agency in Rhône-Alpes is incharge for the development of sustainable energy projects andprograms both at regional, but also local levels. The objective of theRegional Energy and Environment Agency in Rhône-Alpes is tomobilize public authorities and other key stakeholders at regionaland local levels in order to develop new policies and introduce newinstruments having a significant impact on the development ofsustainable energy projects within the region. Noemie Poize, noemie.poize@auvergnerhonealpes-ee.fr

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Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism The Energy Service has the overall responsibility of Energy in Cyprus,including the promotion and utilization of RES & the formation ofthe national energy policy for Cyprus. In this capacity the EnergyService is keenly interested in the further development of PV inCyprus through the adoption of appropriate policy, market rulesand supporting technologies. To this effect the proposed projectStoRES is aligned with the objectives of the Energy Service and thusthe Energy Service is interested to play an active role in completingthe planned installations and identifying the benefits of usingdistributed storage facilities in support of PV sources of energy. George Partasides, gpartasides@mcit.gov.cy

Municipality of Ussaramanna The members of municipality of Ussaramanna can share importantskills and experiences in European project design as well as in theSustainable Energy field. They have in particular a good know-howin electrical engineering such as electrical power system, and goodknowledge of electrical distribution networks and smart grids. Inaddition, administrators have several experience and skills inmanaging European projects. The Municipality of Ussaramanna isalready signatory of the Covenant of Mayors and the relevant SEAPimplementation is already started and in progress. This SEAPinvolves local integrating actions of 18 Municipalities, as well asglobal actions for the whole territory of the “Municipalities Union ofMarmilla”. Marco Sideri, sindaco@comune.ussaramanna.vs.it

Electricity Authority of Cyprus/Distribution SystemOperator The DSO is the organisation responsible for the efficient, reliable andsecure operation, maintenance & expansion of the electricitydistribution system. The DSO is responsible for the integration ofdistributed RES in the distribution network of Cyprus. The technicalstaff have great experience regarding the integration of PVs into theenergy mix, identifying possible problems and troubleshooting.Also, it has great experience in designing technical solutions for theintegration of domestic PV systems to the electricity grid. Theinvolvement of the DSO of Cyprus in this project is of vitalimportance. Tasos Gregoriou, TGregori@eac.com.cy

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Associated Partners Mediterranean Technology Platform for Smart Grids Venizelos Efthymiou, vefthymiou@hotmail.com University of Cagliari Susanna Mocci, susanna.mocci@diee.unica.it  Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority Andreas Poullikkas, andreas.poullikkas@cut.ac.cy Autonomous Region of Sardinia – Regional Planning Centre Massimo Carboni, mascarboni@regione.sardegna.it Federacion Aragonesa De Municipios Comarcas Y Provincias Romina Magni De Antonio, rmagni@famcp.org Ministry of Environment and Energy/General Secretariat of Energy and Mineral RawMaterials/General Directorate of Energy/Directorate of Renewable Energy Sourcesand ElectricityPapadogianni Aikaterini, papadogiannia@prv.ypeka.gr Municipality of Kozani Despotidis Konstantinos, Programmatismos@kozanh.gr HEDNO S.A. (Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A.) Dimitrios K. Lianas, D.Lianas@deddie.gr Dimitra Telaki, D.Telaki@deddie.gr EDP Distribuicao Energia S.A. Antonio Aires Messias, aires.messias@edp.pt SODO electricity distribution system operator, d. o. o. Matjaž Vodušek, matjaz.vodusek@sodo.si

Project CoordinatorProf. George E. Georghiou, FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy, PV

Technology Lab, University of Cyprus, Tel. +357 22892272, geg@ucy.ac.cy