EU Energy Projects Podcast: Empowering energy consumers with Project Sustenance

Project Sustenance aims to empower energy consumers by facilitating their participation in the energy transition using smart technological concepts.

The project focuses on flexibility for energy grids and helps both energy communities and distribution system operators (DSOs).

In this episode, our host,  Areti Ntaradimou, is joined by Professor Birgitte Bak-Jensen, the coordinator of the EU-funded project.

Bak-Jensen explains how Project Sustenance introduces renewable energy to small villages or neighborhoods and involves local communities in the development process.

One of the central goals of Project Sustenance is to enhance the flexibility of the EU energy grid. As renewable energy sources like solar and wind become more prevalent, the grid must adapt to their intermittent nature. This is where the concept of demand response comes into play. Bak-Jensen explains that what the project is doing “is aggregate the demands of different customers in a way so it can provide flexibility both to the overall balancing of the grid, by acting on the day-ahead market, but also so it can create better capacity limits on the local grid."

Have you read:
Project SUSTENANCE: Finding a bottom-up approach to grid challenges

The project consortium includes research institutions, local utilities, municipalities, and private companies, and it conducts demonstrations in the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, and India.

Birgitte discusses the project's concept of maximizing self-consumption of locally produced energy, the challenges posed by different regulations, and the importance of involving citizens to ensure the solutions are adapted and used effectively.

The EU Energy Projects Podcast is a fortnightly show presenting Europe’s key EU-funded energy projects. Subscribe and listen to all our episodes on your preferred streaming platform below.

Listen to previous episodes:
Renovating buildings for energy efficiency with outPHit
Sustainable PV Recycling with PHOTORAMA
Communities in urban energy islands with Project RENergetic