Adapted and lightly edited from: http://www.dream-smartgrid.eu/project/

The DREAM project has laid the foundations for a novel heterarchical management approach of complex electrical power grids, providing new mechanisms for stable and cost-effective integration of distributed renewable energy sources, as well as for enhanced consumer involvement in economic and ecological electricity use. Applying the principles of autonomous agent-based systems to the control and management of the electricity distribution grid allows the system to constantly adjust to current operational conditions and make it robust to exogenous disturbances.

In turn, this allows for greater penetration of intermittent resources and will make the distribution grid more resilient to failures. DREAM includes several layers of controls for normal, congested and post-contingency situations that uses different coordination strategies ranging from market based transactions to emergency demand response and creates ad-hoc federations of agents that flexibly adjust their hierarchy to current needs. The consortium consisted of representatives from seven European countries, four of which hosted demonstrations in the project’s final phases.

The DREAM project focuses on:

• Market benefits for empowered consumers and prosumers.
• The evolution from “passive” to “active” smart distribution grids.
• Efficient generation from distributed renewable sources.