Acceptance of Demand Response and Aggregators as a Solution to Optimize the Relation between Energy Producers and Consumers in order to Increase the Amount of Renewable Energy in the Grid

Abstract

Demand response plays a very important role in balancing the intermittent production of an increasing share of renewable energy sources on the energy market. This article analyses the importance of demand response and the role of aggregators for the new development of the electricity market, where the renewables will play a more important role. The main objective of this research is to determine the acceptance level of demand response and its implementation on the energy consumer side. This acceptance should include a professional actor, the aggregator which is assuming the role of optimizing the relation between energy producers and consumers, and to monitor the implementation and use of demand response. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with experts in energy from Hungary, Romania and Serbia, on workshops with experts and a wider online survey with end customers for electricity. The results indicate that there is a willingness potential to implement demand response programs with aggregators as intermediaries between energy providers and end consumers of electrical energy.

Key Factors Which Contribute to the Participation of Consumers in Demand Response Programs and Enable the Proliferation of Renewable Energy Sources

“…Detailed results are presented in Figure 8. These results confirm the conclusions of the previous study [21]. Therefore, the consumers without experience in the energy field also agreed to their participation in DR programs in order to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions global warming.…”

“…The residential consumer demand is distributed and heterogeneous; therefore, the implementation of DR programs is enabled due to the involvement of new service providers in electricity markets, such as aggregators [21]. Therefore, in order to promote sustainability in the future, energy sectors dominated by renewable DR solutions would play a more important role [16,22], but these have to be implemented through flexible contracts.…”

Business Models for Energy Community in the Aggregator Perspective: State of the Art and Research Gaps

“…In [41], it is demonstrated that, independently from the adopted control strategy, the Aggregator performs a carbon dioxide emission reduction. In [38], the same result is achieved, and this influences the reputation of the Aggregator in the eyes of customers. Clients in fact express a positive attitude towards collaboration with the company to reach lower emissions, coherent with the current sensibility on climate issues.…”

“…Forecasting capability is also a required skill for Aggregators, who must predict load, price, and generation. The same themes are faced in [38], where the main goal of the research is to define the optimal acceptance level of DR from consumers' perspective. In [46], the focus is instead on the remuneration tariff offered by the Aggregator to customers.…”

“…Another interesting categorization reported in both [37,38] Aggregators as consumers and producers: Aggregators perform activities of both previous categories and use energy storage devices to increase efficiency. These facilities can be static, like batteries, or dynamic, like electric vehicles (EVs).…”