Challenges for a transition towards the smart grids

Abstract

The recent evolution of the power and energy systems has been driven by a number of factors concerning network modernisation, energy efficiency improvements, growing attention to the environmental and social impact, higher diffusion of renewable energy generation, as well as guaranteeing system security and enabling new services and consumer participation. This paper presents an overview on the key challenges for the future energy systems, that will have to face with the energy trilemma including environmental and social sustainability, energy security and energy equity. The impact of the use of electricity in the energy systems is growing, calling for the assessment of future scenarios to understand the possibility of occurrence of critical conditions. The technical analyses can be supported by the definition of appropriate indicators, some of which are recalled in this paper. Emergent issues like transportation system electrification and system resilience have to be addressed in a holistic way. The various aspects of energy transition and energy integration require more interdisciplinary analyses merging competences from the technical, economic, and sociological fields.