With the ongoing trends in the energy sector such as vehicular electrification and renewable energy, the Smart Grid (SG) is clearly playing a more and more important role in the electric power system industry. One essential feature of the SG is the information flow over high-speed, reliable, and secure data communication networks in order to manage the complex power systems effectively and intelligently. SGs utilize bidirectional communication to function whereas traditional power grids mainly only use one-way communication. The communication requirements and suitable techniques differ depending on the specific environment and scenario. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive and up-to-date survey on the communication technologies used in the SG, including the communication requirements, physical layer technologies, network architectures, and research challenges. This survey aims to help the readers identify the potential research problems in the continued research on the topic of SG communications.

Increasing awareness of climate issues and environmental policy has been a key factor behind the continuous transition of energy systems at different levels. This paper aimed to analyse the energy system of Viken county, located in Norway. An energy system model using the energy system analysis tool EnergyPLAN was developed. Based on the reference year 2018, two future scenarios which focus on changes in the transport sector for the year 2030 and 2050 were designed. Besides changes in the transport sector, the integration of renewable energy sources is considered in the future scenarios. The results of the analysis regarding the future scenario shows substantial CO2 reduction as a result of energy-carrier switching within the transport sector. The integration of new energy sources, in this case, solar PV and wind power, helps to offset increased import dependency. The primary energy supply decrease and the share of renewable energy increases significantly.

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With the ongoing trends in the energy sector such as vehicular electrification and renewable energy, smart grid is clearly playing a more and more important role in the electric power system industry. One essential feature of the smart grid is the information flow over the high-speed, reliable and secure data communication network in order to manage the complex power systems effectively and intelligently. Smart grids utilize bidirectional communication to function where traditional power grids mainly only use one-way communication. The communication requirements and suitable technique differ depending on the specific environment and scenario. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive and up-to-date survey on the communication technologies used in the smart grid, including the communication requirements, physical layer technologies, network architectures, and research challenges. This survey aims to help the readers identify the potential research problems in the continued research on the topic of smart grid communications.

Increasing awareness of climate issues in recent decades has led to new policies on buildings’ energy consumption and energy performance. The European Union (EU) directive 2010/31/EC, i.e., the energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD), is one of the measures initiated to achieve climate and energy goals by reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector. The EPBD required all new buildings to be nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEBs) by 2021. Nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEBs) are buildings with a very-high-energy performance and nearly zero or low-energy requirements covered to a very significant extent by energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby. The utilisation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels is a common approach for achieving the nZEB standard. The carbon footprint of PV panels is often not discussed as a parameter. This paper aimed to analyse the environmental performance of an existing nearly zero-energy university building in a Norwegian use case scenario. This analysis is performed by assessing annual electricity and heat consumption from both energetic and environmental perspectives. The energy required for the building during the studied period is then used to analyse the environmental and energy performance of the building. When it comes to the environmental assessment, the commercial software SimaPro was used. The proposed revision EPBD and nZEB definition from 2021 suggests that nZEBs should also consider operational greenhouse gas emissions and life-cycle global warming potential from 2027. The life cycle assessment (LCA) of the building’s energy sources looks at the global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and how they compare to Norwegian grid electricity. The results of the analysis highlights potential challenges to justifying the use of alternative energy sources to fulfil the criteria of nZEBs. When installing solar PV, it is important to consider the energy mix of the country where the solar PVs are produced. To solely consider the energy performance of the building, the installation of solar PV panels in countries with a high share of renewable energy may result in a reduced impact in terms of emission reduction from a life cycle perspective.