Prosumer networks – A key enabler of control over renewable energy resources

Abstract

The global challenges of recent years have exacerbated the energy crisis and highlighted the need for reactive and resilient energy systems. This paper emphasises the role of collaborative networks of prosumers in exploiting renewable energy sources to achieve sovereignty over critical resources. A bibliometric study reveals significant discrepancies between countries in statutory energy policies for renewable energy integration and incentives to prosumerism. A dataset of 27 Romanian individual prosumers illustrates the differences in load profiles between residential and industrial prosumers in a temperate continental climate, highlighting the benefits and limits of increasing the share of renewable energy in the national energy system. The study shows the advantage of aggregators balancing production and consumption, provided enough storage capability is available. It also illustrates the evolution of Romanian prosumers, discussing key regulatory and technological factors, advantages, and barriers to collaboration. This research offers municipalities, public authorities, and infrastructure operators a path towards energy independence, in alignment with international efforts toward the adoption of renewable energy. The study provides valuable insights into the benefits and challenges of renewable energy integration, offering practical solutions for achieving energy independence. It also offers relevant information in the effort of legislative harmonization to enable efficient and secure integration of new actors in the electricity system, encouraging responsible prosumers and aggregators and discouraging opportunistic aggregation.