Salzburg is known as a pioneer in the field of smart grid development at the European level. It was awarded the title “1st Smart Grids Model Region” of Austria by the Climate- and Energy Fund. The Model Region Programme is supported by an interdisciplinary team consisting of a utility provider (Salzburg AG), a property developer (Salzburg Wohnbau), a technology vendor (Siemens) and research institutes (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna University of Technology, CURE and Fichtner).

The Clean Energy Solutions Center, in partnership with the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN) and the Global Smart Grid Federation, hosted this training webinar on the Salzburg Model Region Programme. The webinar focused on providing an overview of the Model Region Programme and discussing key findings from the Programme’s 12 projects, which include:

• The use of intelligent load management to reduce peak load and enhance energy efficiency in power grids
• Strategies and tools for reducing end-users to shift energy consumption times and reduce overall energy consumption
• Integrating electric vehicles intelligently into the energy system
• Distribution management and control
• Data exchange between smart grid actors and applications
• Integrating renewable generation using smart technologies.

Moderator

Irmgard Herold, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

Irmgard Herold studied Environmental Sciences at the University of Graz (Austria) and Exeter (UK) with a focus on renewable energy. After working for the Austrian Ministry for Agriculture and Environment, she joined the consultancy company Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London. She currently is responsible for research funding in the “Electric Energy Systems” business unit at AIT. In addition, Irmgard concentrates on international networking activities, for instance, in the framework of ISGAN, the European Electricity Grid Initiative and the European Coordination and Support Action GRID+.

Panelists

Daniel Reiter,Salzburg AG (DSO)

Daniel Reiter studied Eco-Energy Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and graduated in 2007. After joining Salzburg AG (Austrian Multi Utility Company), he worked for the Staff Unit Renewable Energies and the District Heating Department. Since 2009, he has been assistant to the Head of the Grid Division (including electricity, natural gas, district heating, water and telecom grids). From 2008 to 2010, Daniel led the R&D project OPTRES, which developed a roadmap for the future energy infrastructure in City of Salzburg, based on energy system models. Since 2009, he has been coordinating the R&D program Smart Grids Model Region Salzburg.

Sara Ghaemi, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

Sara Ghaemi holds her Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus on energy systems from the Technical University of Vienna (TU Wien). She joined Siemens as a software developer in the field of “load frequency control”. Currently, she works as scientist at AIT where she is responsible for the integration of demand response into smart grids in the “Electric Energy Systems” business unit. Sara is responsible for planning, developing and analysing projects related to active participation of demand side in smart grids.