Optimal mix in the „Energy Transformation Observatory” project
2023.06.07 12:27 - Piotr SpinalskiCarrying out an effective energy transformation requires, among others: comprehensive monitoring of the progress of its implementation, which must be based on current and reliable data analyses. Such activities will be carried out at NCBJ as part of the „Energy Transformation Observatory” project that is just starting.
Energy transformation is one of the greatest challenges that many countries, including Poland, currently have to struggle with, especially in the conditions of rapidly progressing changes in the energy sector. The new project in which NCBJ participates will allow the creation of the Energy Transformation Observatory (OTE), which will support making optimal decisions in this area. OTE will be responsible for monitoring the state of the ongoing energy transformation, as well as modeling and analyzing the effects of the implemented solutions. These analyzes will allow for postulating further directions of changes and specific actions in the following areas: economic, climate and environmental, social and technical. In addition to the precise analytical apparatus, the Observatory will be a repository of reliable and up-to-date data that will be used to assess the costs and benefits resulting from the development and implementation of energy technologies. All this will create tools that will allow planning activities and programs based on objective and impartial criteria.
As a member of the consortium, NCBJ will provide tools for optimizing the energy mix as part of the project. This will be made possible by solutions developed by the Interdisciplinary Department of Energy Analysis of NCBJ, such as „Zefir for home” and „Zefir for Poland”. The Zefir system is a set of analytical tools supporting investment decisions in the areas of heating and electricity. As the names of the above tools indicate, they can be used to optimize the energy mix on the scale of a single property or enterprise, through city districts and entire cities, up to the entire country. The system will take into account the adopted energy transformation criteria, such as CO2 reduction, as well as restrictions in the demand for electricity, useful heat and hot water. Analyzes will be performed with hourly resolution, which, combined with automatic or semi-automatic data acquisition, will allow for the provision of up-to-date and reliable knowledge about the progress of transformation. Moreover, such a system will enable testing the effects of implementing potential changes, e. g. by analyzing the effects of introducing support systems for specific technologies before their actual launch.
Project titled „Energy Transformation Observatory as an instrument to support the socio-economic development of Poland” is implemented as part of a consortium consisting of the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ), the Ministry of Development and Technology (MRIT) and the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow (AGH). The project itself received the best rating of all submitted projects in the 9th GOSPOSTRATEG competition of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) and obtained financing in the amount of over PLN 7.7 million. The project has been implemented since June 1 this year, and the planned completion date is December 1, 2025.
Additionally, on June 16, 2023, from 11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p. m., Seminar 1 will be held: „Conference inaugurating the Energy Transformation Observatory project”, devoted to the presentation of the project’s assumptions. The event will be held remotely via the MS Teams platform. The registration link, event program and other information are available at https://www.energetyka-rozproszona.pl/wydarzenia/seminarium-1-konferencja-inaugurujaca-projekt-ote/.
Additional information:
The ninth GOSPOSTRATEG competition covers the entire scope of the Strategic Program for Scientific Research and Development „Social and economic development of Poland in the conditions of globalizing markets”. It Was divided into four thematic areas: traps of average income and average product, traps of imbalance, demographic trap and traps of institutional weakness. In the proposed areas, research and development projects will be financed, the implementation of which is expected to bring real and measurable benefits to society by 2028. The project implementation will result in the development and preparation of innovations applicable in the social and economic life of Poland. Mandatory participation in consortiums implementing projects of scientific units in cooperation with a partner obliged to implement the project results (enterprises, public institutions, central and local government bodies, third sector organizations) will stimulate the increase in innovation and competitiveness of the Polish society and economy. The long-term effect of the program assumes an increase in social capital and wider involvement of Poles in various forms of public activity. As a result, important reserves of social energy and agency will be unlocked, as a result of which citizens will be able to actively influence the improvement of the quality of their lives and the economic condition of the country.
As part of the GOSPOSTRATEG competition, NCBR provides financial support at all stages of the project: from basic work, through industrial research and development work (phase A), to pre-implementation work (phase B), which is mandatory in the project.