Community Energy Literature Review

Introduction The use of digital twins in the planning, construction and operation of buildings was outlined in the previous post. The following discussion touches on the use of genetic algorithms and related software to optimise building design and performance. A selection of papers describing the use of genetic algorithms in this way will be cited together with references to background information. Genetic Algorithms The origins of software based on natural selection have been traced back to early computer scientists such as Alan Turing, John Von Neumann and Norbert Weiner (Mitchell, 1995). Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have found application in many areas where more conventional methods are difficult to apply, such as problems involving many variables. The ‘solutions’ proposed by a GA need to be evaluated, and this may require additional software specific to the problem in hand, in this case the computer modelling of buildings. Building Information Modelling The history of build...

Introduction The idea of a digital twin may stem from the explosion of an oxygen tank in the Apollo 13 space mission of 1970. “NASA employed multiple simulators to evaluate the failure and extended a physical model of the vehicle to include digital components. This “digital twin” was the first of its kind, allowing for a continuous ingestion of data to model the events leading to up to the accident for forensic analysis and exploration of next steps” (NASA, 2021). The importance of accurate digital models is clear in programs such as Artemis, which is intended to facilitate missions to Mars, when the constant communication needed to allow human intervention in case of problems will not be available. Digital twins also have many earth-bound applications such as product research and design, replacing costly prototypes; supply chain operations, giving manufacturers a comprehensive view of logistics, operations and potential bottlenecks; collecting data about products and their use, al...

In May 2025 Riviera Maritime published an article about the anticipated launch of a UK energy auction in the coming August (Foxwell, 2025). While this brief account mentions many of the key features of the auction, it assumes a certain familiarity with the process and its background on the part of its readers, who are likely to be members of the maritime, offshore and energy business communities. Since the subject is of wider interest, some of the issues affecting the auction will be discussed below to provide a more complete picture of the auction and its context. Policy and the energy auctions A recent policy development affecting the auction is the UK’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. This set out targets for clean energy which include producing at least 95% of Great Britain’s generation from clean sources. This would reduce “the carbon intensity of our generation from 171gCO2e/kWh in 2023 to well below 50gCO2e/kWh in 2030.” Achieving the target would require “rapid deployment of ...