On November 10, Pedro Faria, an assistant researcher at the GECAD Research Center of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, and Fernando Lezama were invited to participate in the "Frontiers of Smart Construction and Smart City Research" academic forum via online platform. The two experts delivered two high-level academic presentations titled "Consumer Engagement in Flexible Smart Grids" and "Local Energy Markets: From Aggregator-Based Operations to Fair Local Energy Communities" respectively. The lectures delved into cutting-edge topics in building electrification and intelligent energy systems, sharing the latest research advancements and practical achievements in the field. The discussions generated enthusiastic exchanges and received positive feedback from attendees.
Pedro proposed a refined demand response strategy. By calculating the adjustable potential of flexible loads such as water heaters and air conditioners in real time, the system can proactively issue control commands when power shortages are minimal, ensuring grid stability while minimizing user impact. The discussion revealed that the energy consumption prediction model based on decision tree algorithms outperforms some deep learning models in prediction accuracy due to its simple structure and strong interpretability. Meanwhile, reinforcement learning technology has demonstrated excellent adaptability in optimizing control strategies.
Regarding market model transformation, Pedro noted that under the dual impetus of the "dual carbon" goals and distributed energy technologies, traditional centralized power market models have become inadequate for new circumstances. Local energy markets effectively address issues like rigid resource management and delayed responses by bridging end-users with wholesale markets. Current market focus is shifting from the "aggregator model" to building "energy communities," emphasizing user-centric approaches and self-balancing resource capabilities. With the widespread adoption of household photovoltaics, the energy supply-demand relationship has undergone fundamental changes. Point-to-point energy sharing mechanisms based on credit systems and linear programming algorithms can achieve optimized pricing and efficient resource allocation within communities.
In the context of promotion challenges, Fernando Lezam highlighted that user acceptance remains the critical bottleneck. The adoption of smart devices among end-users still faces multiple obstacles. Beyond technical compatibility issues, key constraints include insufficient public awareness, privacy data security concerns, and inadequate incentive policies. Experts emphasize the need to enhance public education, improve data security frameworks, and design more attractive benefit-sharing mechanisms to effectively boost public participation.
In terms of fairness assurance, Fernando particularly emphasized the development of market fairness. Through advanced optimization tools such as differential evolution algorithms, fairness indicators like bill standard deviation can be systematically improved, enhancing the energy usage experience quality for vulnerable users while ensuring overall efficiency. Future tests will be conducted in more complex community scenarios to explore multi-objective optimization solutions.
Looking ahead, Fernando proposes three key breakthroughs: First, continuously improving algorithmic efficiency and response speed; second, expanding fairness evaluation dimensions; third, conducting pilot verification in highly heterogeneous communities. Simultaneously, it is crucial to actively engage regulatory authorities to promote the introduction of supporting policies, thereby creating a favorable institutional environment for the large-scale development of local energy markets.
The outcomes of this seminar provide crucial theoretical support and practical guidance for addressing challenges in renewable energy integration and establishing a flexible user-side resource system. With advancing technological maturity and improved policy frameworks, local energy markets are poised to become pivotal components in China's new power system development.
Forum Overview: The "Frontiers in Intelligent Construction and Smart City Research" forum is a collaborative academic initiative organized by Huazhong University of Science and Technology, University College London, The University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, Technical University of Berlin, Hunan University, University of Alberta, and Beijing University of Technology. This series of academic forums targets professionals and scholars in the intelligent construction sector, featuring both monthly sessions and the annual "International Youth Forum".
The forum aims to strengthen academic exchanges in the field of intelligent construction, and provide a high starting point, large scope and multi-field communication platform for domestic and foreign industry experts, university teachers and postgraduates, so as to stimulate research enthusiasm and innovative thinking.
All forum sessions are open to the public, and we warmly welcome your participation. For updates, please follow the official WeChat account 'HustEConstruction Engineering Management'.
