JOURNAL

As we complete the first year of our project, we look back at the key events that have shaped our journey and strengthened our network within the energy communities’ ecosystem. Over the past months, our consortium has actively engaged in discussions, shared insights, and exchanged knowledge with experts and stakeholders.

Here’s a recap of the major events we participated in:

🔹 06/02/2024 – Study Day: “Diagnostica e prognostica dei sistemi energetici e delle macchine” – the event was attended by top Italian Universities and global companies like Siemens and A2A to discuss advanced diagnostic and prognostic techniques in the energy sector.
🔹 26/06/2024 – Research to Business (R2B) – Workshop “Riqualificazione integrata degli edifici: efficienza energetica, comfort e sicurezza strutturale” – the event aimed to provide an in-depth exploration of integrated solutions for building renovation and the implementation of renewable energy communities, with a particular focus on the use of digital platforms and innovative technologies. (link)
🔹 26/09/2024 – AEIT International Annual Conference 2024 – “An application of distributed optimisation to energy communities in Italy” – We presented details about the distributed optimization tool developed within the project. (link)
🔹 21/11/2024 – Study Day: “Smart Energy Systems”– The Italian universities presented their research on the digitalization of integrated energy systems, their design and management, and the production and use of renewable fuels. (link)

These events have been crucial in advancing our research, fostering collaborations, and reinforcing our commitment to shaping the future of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs). We look forward to another year of impactful discussions and innovative solutions!

Stay tuned for more updates! 🚀

Gallery & Downloads

As we reach the one-year mark of PIAC(ER)², our consortium gathered for the second progress meeting on January 14th, 2025 to assess our advancements and define the next steps.

The discussion focused on three key areas, tracing the path to continue our work in the coming months:

🔹 Refining the state of the art – We have decided to extend our analysis of existing platforms, tools, and interoperability frameworks. This will allow us to better position our project’s platform within the broader landscape of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs).

🔹 Advancing tools development – We have started developing our project tools and took this opportunity to review the methodological approaches and initial progress. This work will continue over the next six months as we refine and enhance our solutions.

🔹 Structuring the case studies – We outlined a preliminary structure for defining and analyzing our case studies. In the upcoming months, we will begin characterizing them, paving the way for tool validation in the next year.

With these milestones in place, we are excited to move forward and bring PIACER closer to its goals. Stay tuned for more updates!

For more details, the presentations from the meeting are available for download:

On July 17, 2024, the first official meeting of the PIAC(ER)² project team took place. The meeting provided an opportunity to review the progress made so far and to assess the advancements across various components of the project.

The discussions centered around the development of the PIACER platform and the individual tools that will be its core components. These tools are designed to help Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) with everything from planning and management to optimizing energy usage: distributed forecasting and optimization tools (LEAP), a tool for the optimal sizing of Renewable Energy Communities (CIDEA), a model for the assessment of the opportunity of integrating the REC with heating, cooling and fuel streams (CIRI-FRAME), a diagnostic tool able to exploit both data-driven and physics-based approaches (IN4). Meanwhile, CROSS-TEC is analyzing possible use-cases of the tools and the overall platform to identify data-exchange scenarios on which test the interoperability protocols and approaches provided.

For more details, the presentations from the meeting are available for download:

With the Kick-off Meeting held in December, the PIAC(ER)² project officially begins.

This initiative aims to develop a toolbox to support users and investors through all phases of an REC’s lifecycle—from design to real-time management of energy production, storage, and consumption systems—while promoting proactive user involvement in energy-sharing processes and interaction with local energy networks (not only electrical).

Thanks to the development of innovative tools, the project will leverage data from various sources and devices to realize the potential energy, economic, environmental, and social benefits associated with an REC.

The project, expected to last 30 months, has been made possible thanks to co-funding from the Emilia-Romagna Region through European funds under the PR-FESR 2021-27 program.

The partnership
PIAC(ER)² is coordinated by LEAP and includes participation from four other laboratories accredited by the Emilia-Romagna High Technology Network, who were also partners in the Efficity and Energynius projects: CIDEA of the University of Parma, CIRI-FRAME of the University of Bologna, MechLav of the University of Ferrara, and CROSS-TEC of ENEA.

With the involvement of SmartDomotics, Getec Italia, and Siram, as well as active participation from Confindustria Piacenza, the project will benefit from the perspective of the business world—both from companies developing and offering solutions for the implementation and management of RECs and those seeking to quantify the benefits of REC participation.