by Christoph Klikovits (Forschung Burgenland) and Christoph Fabianek (OwnYourData)
The energy sector generates a high volume of data, but data analysts face significant barriers due to issues like security, privacy, and GDPR compliance. These challenges often hinder data sharing, analysis, and interpretation, which are essential for unlocking the added value and insights that data can provide. How can accessible governance solutions help to overcome these obstacles in the energy domain?
As part of a research project, a model for a data service ecosystem is being developed to advance the energy transition. The overarching goal of the flagship project USEFLEDS is to create services that address key challenges in the energy sector. These include energy economics, governance, data security, privacy, data spaces, and data analytics, all crucial for fostering sustainable energy systems.
The project involves various academic, industrial, and governmental institutions collaborating to ensure a holistic approach. These include energy providers, technology developers, legal experts, and research organizations specialising in data governance and security. The research is conducted in Austria, with pilot studies in specific energy communities that serve as testbeds for innovative data sharing and analytics models.
The energy sector faces significant barriers to data utilisation due to regulatory frameworks like the GDPR and the EU Data Governance Act. Challenges include managing sensitive data securely, mitigating liability risks, and addressing a lack of know-how and resources. These obstacles hinder the effective use of data for analysis and decision-making. The project seeks to demonstrate how data intermediaries can overcome these barriers, enabling secure data sharing and federated analytics.
The primary aim is to leverage data intermediaries to create transparent, secure, and privacy-compliant data ecosystems in the energy domain. Specifically, the project focuses on how intelligent, federated data processing can calculate energy surpluses in energy communities, enhancing efficiency and sustainability [1].
The project employs advanced techniques to address the challenges of data management and governance in the energy sector. Real-time data is collected from smart meters, generating vast amounts of information that serve as the foundation for analysis. To facilitate secure and compliant data exchanges, data intermediaries play a central role, ensuring adherence to governance frameworks. Access control is managed through robust identification and authentication services, safeguarding data from unauthorised use. To protect sensitive information, anonymization and pseudonymization techniques are applied, maintaining privacy while enabling meaningful data utilisation (see Figure 1). Federated analytics further enhance this process by deriving valuable insights without the need to share raw data directly, preserving both security and confidentiality.
Figure 1: Data Intermediary architecture for energy communities.
The project examines data intermediaries as enablers for accessible governance frameworks and federated large-scale data analytics in the energy sector. By addressing security, privacy, and interoperability challenges, data intermediaries empower stakeholders to utilise data effectively while ensuring compliance and trust [2].
Future initiatives could expand the role of data intermediaries to areas like peer-to-peer energy trading, intelligent flexibility management in power grids, and other innovations within energy communities. These advancements would further enhance the sector’s ability to adapt to the increasing complexity of energy systems and accelerate the energy transition.
Through its comprehensive approach, this project highlights the transformative potential of data intermediaries in creating a sustainable and data-driven energy future.
Link:
[L1] https://usefleds.forschung-burgenland.at/
References:
[1] J. C. Schweihoff, I. Jussen, and F. Möller, “Trust me, I’m an intermediary! Exploring data intermediation services,” 2023.
[2] A. Shaharudin, B. van Loenen, and M. Janssen, “Exploring the contributions of open data intermediaries for a sustainable open data ecosystem,” Data & Policy, vol. 6, p. e56, 2024, DOI: 10.1017/dap.2024.63.
Please contact:
Christoph Klikovits, MSc.
Forschung Burgenland GmbH, Austria
