Towards the next generation of smart grids: Semantic and holonic multi-agent management of distributed energy resources

TLDR

The energy sector is rapidly shifting from centralized, decarbonized systems to distributed, prosumer‑driven grids, creating new challenges and opportunities that demand advanced management and interoperability. This work proposes that holonic energy systems are needed to coordinate the dense, diverse, and distributed components of future grids, outlining their design and identifying research directions for sustainability and resilience. The authors review smart‑grid concepts—microgrids, virtual power plants, multi‑energy systems—and describe holonic architectures that promote autonomy, connectivity, diversity, and emergence through adaptive control and demand‑responsive management.

Abstract

The energy landscape is experiencing accelerating change; centralized energy systems are being decarbonized, and transitioning towards distributed energy systems, facilitated by advances in power system management and information and communication technologies. This paper elaborates on these generations of energy systems by critically reviewing relevant authoritative literature. This includes a discussion of modern concepts such as 'smart grid', 'microgrid', 'virtual power plant' and 'multi-energy system', and the relationships between them, as well as the trends towards distributed intelligence and interoperability. Each of these emerging urban energy concepts holds merit when applied within a centralized grid paradigm, but very little research applies these approaches within the emerging energy landscape typified by a high penetration of distributed energy resources, prosumers (consumers and producers), interoperability, and big data. Given the ongoing boom in these fields, this will lead to new challenges and opportunities as the status-quo of energy systems changes dramatically. We argue that a new generation of holonic energy systems is required to orchestrate the interplay between these dense, diverse and distributed energy components. The paper therefore contributes a description of holonic energy systems and the implicit research required towards sustainability and resilience in the imminent energy landscape. This promotes the systemic features of autonomy, belonging, connectivity, diversity and emergence, and balances global and local system objectives, through adaptive control topologies and demand responsive energy management. Future research avenues are identified to support this transition regarding interoperability, secure distributed control and a system of systems approach.