Reviewing energy system modelling of decentralized energy autonomy

Research attention on decentralized autonomous energy systems has increased
exponentially in the past three decades, as demonstrated by the absolute number of
publications and the share of these studies in the corpus of energy system modelling
literature. This paper shows the status quo and future modelling needs for research on
local autonomous energy systems. A total of 359 studies are roughly investigated, of
which a subset of 123 in detail. The studies are assessed with respect to the
characteristics of their methodology and applications, in order to derive common trends
and insights. Most case studies apply to middle-income countries and only focus on the
supply of electricity in the residential sector. Furthermore, many of the studies are
comparable regarding objectives and applied methods. Local energy autonomy is
associated with high costs, leading to levelized costs of electricity of 0.41 $/kWh on
average. By analysing the studies, many improvements for future studies could be
identified: the studies lack an analysis of the impact of autonomous energy systems on
surrounding energy systems. In addition, the robust design of autonomous energy
... mehr
systems requires higher time resolutions and extreme conditions. Future research
should also develop methodologies to consider local stakeholders and their
preferences for energy systems.