Interdependent social-technical modeling for the transformation of the multi-level energy system

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Rehtanz; Professor Dr. Johannes Weyer
• Subject Area: Electrical Energy Systems, Power Management, Power Electronics, Electrical Machines and Drives
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 409620273

The overall project contains three subprojects, which are supplementary to each other and deal with different dimensions of the transformation of the multi-level energy system. The target is to design a joint interdisciplinary model. The acronym multi-level comprises of technical devices, grid levels, interconnections to gas and heat systems as well as social activities in local, regional and supra-regional areas including various short- and longterm decisions. This contains individual persons and institutions like prosumers, companies and even political decisions.The joint approach of the project models the various entities on the different levels of the complex social-technical system within a multi-agent framework. In this respect the dynamic interdependencies and non-linear interactions within and between the technical and social modules will be modeled and analyzed. As a consequence it will be feasible to draw conclusions about scenarios and development paths and its optimization for the transformation of the energy system towards a system based on renewable energies. The following research questions are the core of this subproject as part of the overall project:- How can the complexity of very large numbers of devices and actors be reduced to model a supra-regional development of the energy system?- How can various time frames, from hourly generation schedules, to network loading until multi-year decisions, be included within one simulation framework?- How can optimization strategies of agents be modeled throughout time-frames and levels of the system?- What is the consequence of controlling inputs to the system and for the robustness of the system solution?- What is the impact of incentives on decisions of individual entities regarding long-term investments into PV, storages, power plants, etc.?- How can political decisions be implemented in the overall modeling framework, e.g. EEG-subsidies, regionalization, power station penalty payment, etc.?

• DFG Programme: Research Grants