Gas driven cogeneration network systems as impetus for a smart grid

With the global increasing energy requirement and at the same time decreasing energy resources sustainable alternatives to the conventional energy supply will become necessary. An important step in this interrelation to achieve an enduring electrical power supply is the development of a flexible and smart grid in order to allow the integration of a high contingent of renewable energies. The reason for the necessity of a dynamic grid lies therefore in the volatility of the availability of for example hard predictable wind or solar energy. In the same way it is important to increase the energy efficiency of future power plants using fossil resources compared to today's facilities. A concept, which allows the realisation of both requirements, is the combined generation of electricity and heat in local gas driven cogeneration units, installed in local single - or multi - family houses. Whereas the single units are connected and controlled via a centralised data connection to a highly dynamic and efficient virtual power plant. The paper gives an overview of the research results regarding to the optimal dimensioning of the cogeneration unit itself as well as the dimensioning of the necessary storage systems under economical and environmental boundary conditions.