Virtual Microgrid Management via Software-Defined Energy Network for Electricity Sharing: Benefits and Challenges

Digitalization has led to radical changes in the distribution of goods across various sectors. The tendency is to move from traditional buyer-seller markets to subscriptionbased, on-demand "smart" matching platforms enabled by pervasive information and communications technologies (ICTs). The driving force behind this lies in the fact that assets, which were scarce in the past, are readily abundant, approaching a regime of zero marginal costs. This is also becoming a reality in electrified energy systems because of the substantial growth of distributed renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind; the increasing number of small-scale storage units, such as batteries and heat pumps; and the availability of flexible loads that enable demand-side management (DSM).