SUPERGEN Highly Distributed Energy Future (HiDEF)

The SUPERGEN HiDEF project is being led by the University of Strathclyde in collaboration with academic partners at the Universities of Bath, Cardiff, Loughborough, Oxford and Imperial College. A number of leading industrial, consultancy and advisory organisations are also involved.

The HiDEF Consortium is developing the analytical, sustainability and economic evaluation tools that are required for a future decentralised power system, together with appropriate hardware and the coordination strategies for network interfacing. Such a power system will deliver sustainability and security through the widespread deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs), so will contribute to a low carbon future.

DERs include micro-generation, energy storage and demand side management. The introduction of new national incentives for local and domestic sustainable energy sources, improved market mechanisms based on smart metering, and new electric vehicles initiatives all promise a significant growth in the deployment of DERs and provide possible mechanisms for participation.

To better exploit this potential, the consortium is developing an improved understanding of the aggregate performance of large populations of devices and testing robust control algorithms through detailed modelling. In addition, new market mechanisms tailored to DERs are being explored and from this guidance concerning the effectiveness and macro-economic impact of alternative policy measures is emerging.