Five things to know about OneNet Project
As our project gets into full swing, we asked Valerie Reif, Task Leader T3.4 “Challenging market concepts with demo results and regulation” to shine a light on OneNet and introduce our work to a wider audience.
1) What is OneNet?
OneNet (One Network for Europe) is a project funded through the EU’s eighth Framework Programme Horizon 2020 titled “TSO – DSO Consumer: Large-scale demonstrations of innovative grid services through demand response, storage and small-scale (RES) generation” and bringing together a consortium of over 70 partners, including key IT players, leading research institutions and the two most relevant associations for grid operators.
2) Why is it special?
OneNet aims to demonstrate that a system of systems approach in the European electricity system is possible and can be built on top of existing commercial and proprietary solutions thanks to an open IT approach.
The OneNet consortium is convinced that one single solution for grid and market operation in Europe is neither feasible nor reasonable. Instead, Europe needs new synergies and new levels of cooperation among the players so to really operate the electrical infrastructure as One Network for Europe (OneNet).
To achieve this OneNet will not start from scratch but build on the concepts and solutions that have been developed and demonstrated in previous EU H2020 projects like INTERRFACE and CoordiNet.
3) What can it bring to the energy sector?
As we are moving more and more from a load-driven to a generation-driven electricity system, we urgently need to rethink the relation between system operation and markets: while traditionally these two aspects were quite separated, they now need to be increasingly aligned to enable a close to real time situation management.
To tackle this challenge, OneNet aims to create unique synergies between all the players at European level. New and standardized products and services will be proposed and enabled through an open, interoperable, scalable, and standardized IT architecture. This will support finer-grained and closer to real-time coordinated market and network operation across different countries or geographical areas.
4) What can it bring to our society?
Including all the players also means enabling a real citizen inclusion: when defining products and services and designing markets, OneNet will always put the customer at the centre.
In doing so, OneNet embraces the new role of the customers in the energy transition, as expressed in recent EU legislation like the Clean Energy for All Europeans Package and The European Green Deal. Customers are moving from peripheral users to key players in the energy system. They may provide value to the energy system both through their generation assets and the flexibility in their load operation.
The removal of entry barriers to the flexibility markets together with the seamless coordination between grid and markets operators are among the key enablers for customer empowerment that will be addressed by OneNet.
5) Pan-European approach. What does it mean?
OneNet’s pan-European approach consists of four elements.
Extensive knowledge base. OneNet is bringing together the large base of knowledge and technology developed so far in H2020 projects. OneNet builds on previous projects like CoordiNet and INTERRFACE to create the standardized pan-European system of systems approach and the conditions for a single digital energy market for Europe.
Large demo clusters. OneNet will validate its vision in four demonstration clusters of unprecedented size. 15 European countries will be involved in demonstrating OneNet’s concepts and solutions at the regional and cross-border level.
True European consortium. The OneNet consortium is ideally placed to demonstrate a true European approach as it brings together 72 partners, including the two associations of European system operators E.DSO and ENTSO-E, a large set of TSOs and DSOs, leading IT companies, and renowned research institutions.
GRIFOn. OneNet will reach beyond the project consortium through the newly established GRIFOn (“GRId FOrum”) platform. GRIFOn will enable constant dialogue with all relevant stakeholders in Europe and will provide feedback to the OneNet concepts and solutions already during the development phase.
OneNet’s pan-European approach will create an unprecedented consensus at the European level. This will enable the development of concepts and solutions that, following the completion of the project, can immediately be taken up by the market. It will also pave the way for a quick and efficient standardisation process.
Valerie Reif is Task Leader T3.4 “Challenging market concepts with demo results and regulation” and Research Associate at the European University Institute’s Florence School of Regulation (FSR).
