3FOOD

Third Industrial Revolution Consulting Group
Third, storage technologies including batteries, hydrogen tanks (in combination with fuel cells),
pumped hydro storage, large thermal stores, etc., will need to be embedded at local generation
sites and across the energy system to manage both the daily and seasonal intermittency of
green electricity, heat and cold and the reduction of peak loads.
Fourth, advanced metering infrastructures and other digital technologies like energy
management systems will need to be installed in every building, transforming the energy grid
into a fully digitized bidirectional system in order to manage multiple sources of energy flowing
to the grid from local generators (smart grid implementation). This will enable passive
consumers of energy in Luxembourg to become active prosumers of their own green energy,
which they can then use off-grid to manage their facilities, store, or sell back to the Energy
Internet. Luxembourg's smart grid efforts have been primarily focused on the technical aspects
of the smart grid. A more complete smart energy system is needed that includes connected,
distributed markets for trading energy at both a local and national scale. Such a system will
need to provide a positive business case for all stakeholders and enable end-user propositions
that resonate well with Luxembourg’s residents and businesses.
Fifth, industrial, commercial, and residential spaces will need to be equipped with charging
stations to allow electric vehicles to secure power from the Energy Internet, as well as to sell
power back to the electricity grid. Electric vehicles connected to the Energy Internet also
provide a massive storage system that help reduce the load on the grid during peak demand by
providing local power and storing (local) power at times of excess renewable energy
generation. New business models for the energy value chain are needed that allow vehicle
owners to be appropriately compensated for the storage and generation services they provide.
The phase-in and the integration of the above pillars transform the entire energy infrastructure
and, especially the electricity grid of Luxembourg, from a centralized to a distributed energy
system, and from fossil fuel and nuclear generation to renewable energy. In the new system,
every business, neighborhood, and homeowner becomes the producer of electricity, sharing
their surplus with others on a smart Energy Internet that is beginning to stretch across national
and continental landmasses.
This massive shift has started to appear in Germany with the establishment of energy
cooperatives. Most of these cooperatives were successful in securing low interest loans from
banks to install solar, wind, and other renewable energies on-site. The banks were more than
happy to provide the loans, assured that the funds will be paid back by the premium price the
cooperatives will receive—via feed-in-tariffs—from selling the new green electricity back to the
grid.
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