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Power and Energy Systems

The centre is a world reference in large-scale integration of Distributed Energy Resources. Our expertise led us to take on key roles in important EU projects and also led to contracts for development and consultancy with manufacturing equipment companies and with power generation, transmission and distribution companies, regulators, government agencies and investors in Europe, South America, the United States of America and Africa.

At CPES, we address the following main research areas: Decision Making, Optimisation and Computational Intelligence, Forecasting, Static and Dynamic analysis of Energy Grids, Reliability, Power Electronics.

Part of our activity is developed in the Laboratory of Smart Grids and Electric Vehicles that supports the validation of major developments in a real environment.

Over the last years, we have made several developments in the electrical network planning and operation, namely the inclusion of distributed energy resources forecasting and network  optimisation tools embedded in different voltage layers, exploiting the MicroGrid hierarchical concept. Relevant steps were given on the inclusion of computational intelligence in control algorithms that were demonstrated under real conditions in several pilots.   

Latest News
Power and Energy Systems

INESC TEC and New Mexico State University signed a collaboration protocol in the field of Energy

Promoting opportunities for exchange and scientific collaboration is one of the main objectives of the cooperation agreement between INESC TEC and the New Mexico State University (NMSU). This opportunity stemmed from the participation of a professor at NMSU, Olga Lavrova, in the first edition of INESC TEC International Visiting Researcher Programme (IIVRP) – an initiative that grants researchers from other countries the opportunity to carry out research activities at INESC TEC and NMSU, up to a maximum period of three months.

17th January 2025

INESC TEC developed a system to estimate the flexibility of energy consumption in supermarkets

Refrigeration systems are responsible for a considerable share of energy consumption in the retail sector. INESC TEC led the European project InterConnect and developed a tool that addressed the consumption of said systems according to several scenarios, providing a potential source of flexibility for the DSO.  

09th January 2025

INESC TEC technology allows European consumers to manage their energy consumption

INESC TEC developed a mechanism that uses data to share voluntary recommendations to consumers, reducing or increasing consumption according to the needs of the grid. The suggestions come through mobile applications and Portugal joined this endeavour.  

03rd December 2024

Power and Energy Systems

Enlit Europe: INESC TEC with a consolidated presence at the largest European event on energy solutions

Three days. 15,000 power and energy experts. More than 700 stands. Hundreds of sessions and debates on digitalisation, decentralisation and decarbonisation. The numbers are impressive, but the impact generated by Enlit Europe is difficult to measure. INESC TEC participated, yet again, in the world’s largest stage of energy and technological innovation to present tech solutions for the sector. Want to know more?

05th November 2024

Supporting the European power grid from our homes? Yes, it is possible – and this INESC TEC solution proves just that

The InterConnect project brought the concept of interoperability into our homes and provided residential consumers the possibility to contribute to a more resilient power grid. A tool consisting of an energy manager and a mobile application made this possible. The result? More participation, less network load at peak times and “reduced intensity in terms of carbon produced”.

31st October 2024

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Featured Projects

CampusREN2025

Formação Avançada para a REN CAMPUS REN2025

2025-2025

REATIVA_MINHO

Estudo de otimização de potência reativa do Parque Eólico do Alto Minho I

2024-2025

EnerTEF

Common European-scale Energy Artificial Intelligence Federated Testing and Experimentation Facility

2024-2027

Team
001

Laboratories

Laboratory of Smart Grids and Electric Vehicles

Publications

CPES Publications

View all Publications

2025

Location of grid forming converters when dealing with multi-class stability problems

Authors
Fernandes, F; Lopes, JP; Moreira, C;

Publication
IET GENERATION TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION

Abstract
This work proposes an innovative methodology for the optimal placement of grid-forming converters (GFM) in converter-dominated grids while accounting for multiple stability classes. A heuristic-based methodology is proposed to solve an optimisation problem whose objective function encompasses up to 4 stability indices obtained through the simulation of a shortlist of disturbances. The proposed methodology was employed in a modified version of the 39-bus test system, using DigSILENT Power Factory as the simulation engine. First, the GFM placement problem is solved individually for the different stability classes to highlight the underlying physical phenomena that explain the optimality of the solutions and evidence the need for a multi-class approach. Second, a multi-class approach that combines the different stability indices through linear scalarisation (weights), using the normalised distance of each index to its limit as a way to define its importance, is adopted. For all the proposed fitness function formulations, the method successfully converged to a balanced solution among the various stability classes, thereby enhancing overall system stability.

2025

Multiobjective energy management of multi-source offshore parks assisted with hybrid battery and hydrogen/fuel-cell energy storage systems

Authors
Kazemi-Robati, E; Varotto, S; Silva, B; Temiz, I;

Publication
APPLIED ENERGY

Abstract
With the recent advancements in the development of hybrid offshore parks and the expected large-scale implementation of them in the near future, it becomes paramount to investigate proper energy management strategies to improve the integrability of these parks into the power systems. This paper addresses a multiobjective energy management approach using a hybrid energy storage system comprising batteries and hydrogen/fuel-cell systems applied to multi-source wind-wave and wind-solar offshore parks to maximize the delivered energy while minimizing the variations of the power output. To find the solution of the optimization problem defined for energy management, a strategy is proposed based on the examination of a set of weighting factors to form the Pareto front while the problem associated with each of them is assessed in a mixed-integer linear programming framework. Subsequently, fuzzy decision making is applied to select the final solution among the ones existing in the Pareto front. The studies are implemented in different locations considering scenarios for electrical system limitation and the place of the storage units. According to the results, applying the proposed multiobjective framework successfully addresses the enhancement of energy delivery and the decrease in power output fluctuations in the hybrid offshore parks across all scenarios of electrical system limitation and combinational storage locations. Based on the results, in addition to the increase in delivered energy, a decrease in power variations by around 40 % up to over 80 % is observed in the studied cases.

2025

Budget-Constrained Collaborative Renewable Energy Forecasting Market

Authors
Goncalves, C; Bessa, J; Teixeira, T; Vinagre, J;

Publication
IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy

Abstract
Accurate power forecasting from renewable energy sources (RES) is crucial for integrating additional RES capacity into the power system and realizing sustainability goals. This work emphasizes the importance of integrating decentralized spatio-temporal data into forecasting models. However, decentralized data ownership presents a critical obstacle to the success of such spatio-temporal models, and incentive mechanisms to foster data-sharing need to be considered. The main contributions are a) a comparative analysis of the forecasting models, advocating for efficient and interpretable spline LASSO regression models, and b) a bidding mechanism within the data/analytics market to ensure fair compensation for data providers and enable both buyers and sellers to express their data price requirements. Furthermore, an incentive mechanism for time series forecasting is proposed, effectively incorporating price constraints and preventing redundant feature allocation. Results show significant accuracy improvements and potential monetary gains for data sellers. For wind power data, an average root mean squared error improvement of over 10% was achieved by comparing forecasts generated by the proposal with locally generated ones. © 2010-2012 IEEE.

2025

Life cycle assessment comparison of electric and internal combustion vehicles: A review on the main challenges and opportunities

Authors
da Costa, VBF; Bitencourt, L; Dias, BH; Soares, T; Andrade, JVBD; Bonatto, BD;

Publication
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS

Abstract
A notable shift from an internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) fleet to an electric vehicles (EVs) fleet is expected in the medium term due to increasing environmental concerns and technological breakthroughs. In this context, this paper conducts a systematic literature review on life cycle assessment (LCA) research of EVs compared to ICEVs based on highly impactful articles. Several essential aspects and characteristics were identified and discussed, such as the assumed EV types, scales, models, storage technologies, boundaries, lifetime, electricity consumption, driving cycles, combustion fuels, locations, impact assessment methods, and functional units. Furthermore, LCA results in seven environmental impact categories were gathered and evaluated in detail. The research indicates that, on average, battery electric vehicles are superior to ICEVs in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (182.9 g CO2-eq/km versus 258.5 g CO2-eq/km), cumulative energy demand (3.2 MJ/km versus 4.1 MJ/km), fossil depletion (49.7 g oil-eq/km versus 84.4 g oil-eq/km), and photochemical oxidant formation (0.47 g NMVOC-eq/km versus 0.61 g NMVOC-eq/km) but are worse than ICEVs in terms of human toxicity (198.1 g 1,4-DCB-eq/km versus 64.8 g 1,4-DCB-eq/km), particulate matter formation (0.32 g PM10-eq/km versus 0.26 g PM10-eq/km), and metal depletion (69.3 g Fe-eq/km versus 19.0 g Fe-eq/km). Emerging technological developments are expected to tip the balance in favor of EVs further. Based on the conducted research, we propose to organize the factors that influence the vehicle life cycle into four groups: user specifications, vehicle specifications, local specifications, and multigroup specifications. Then, a set of improvement opportunities is provided for each of these groups. Therefore, the present paper can contribute to future research and be valuable for decision-makers, such as policymakers.

2025

Understanding wind Energy Economic externalities impacts: A systematic literature review

Authors
Ramalho, E; Lima, F; López-Maciel, M; Madaleno, M; Villar, J; Dias, MF; Botelho, A; Meireles, M; Robaina, M;

Publication
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS

Abstract
Electricity generation from wind energy is one of the main drivers of decarbonization in energy systems. However, installing wind farm facilities may have beneficial and harmful impacts on the habitat of living beings. This study reviews the literature based on economic analysis to identify the main externalities related to the installation of wind farms and the economic methodologies used to assess these externalities, filling an existent literature gap. A systematic literature review followed the Preferred Reporting Items on Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis standards. A total of 33 studies were identified, most of them carried out in Europe. The studies cover 24 years, between 1998 and 2022. The externalities associated with wind electricity generation are classified into three categories: the impact on well-being, the impact of wind turbines, and the impacts of avoided externalities. Most studies (24 out of 33) determine economic values by stated preference methods through choice experiments, discrete choice experiments, and contingent valuation. Revealed preference methods were identified in 5 studies using hedonic pricing and travel cost techniques. The challenges and limitations of this analysis in terms of externalities identification and their assessment are also discussed, concluding that additional updated review studies are needed since the latest ones were published in 2016 and 2017. Moreover, it gives insights to policymakers and academics on a more complete approach they can use to evaluate the impacts of decarbonization, which, apart from the technological view, also considers and estimates the socio-economic and environmental perspectives.

Facts & Figures

12R&D Employees

2020

60Papers in indexed journals

2020

1Book Chapters

2020

Contacts