A tool for the analysis of energy systems in Smart Cities

Today cities house half of the world's population, and they are set to host three quarters in 2050 considering that urbanization is only set to increase. Cities represent three quarters of world energy consumption and 80% of CO2 emissions worldwide being the most critical of any environmental policy challenge. To cope with this continued urban growth we will need to invent new ways to manage cities and make them more effective. The convergence between the world of energy and digital technologies, will pave the way for a new ecosystem of services which should enable both reduced energy consumption and a better quality of life. The energy sector will see in the upcoming years an increasing numbers of consumers producing their own energy, not only sharing it with one another but also customizing it for their own personal use. Digital technologies, after revolutionizing the information technology sector, are now transforming all economic sectors, including energy. In this paper the main issues related to smart grids and their integration with the cities will be analyzed stressing the importance to dispose of simulation tools and models aimed at facilitating pre-feasibility and feasibility analysis of smarter energy technologies. A simplified tool is under development to introduce the microgrid and distributed power systems designs. The tool takes in account both conventional and renewable energy technologies and it is designed to simulate microgrids or as distributed generation within a larger grid. The first results of the tool have been compared with experimental results and with data from literature and used to perform simulations of various systems. As case study, some results regarding the integration of a battery energy storage system in the grid are reported.