Metaverse framework for power systems: Proposal and case study

The expansion of solar power plants introduces changes in the consumer profile, as well as complexities related to their distributed settings and production patterns. To address these new challenges, the digitalization of the energy sector has become critical. In this context, solutions such as digital twins and industrial metaverses can help provide digital replicas for planning and testing diverse scenarios. In particular, the energy metaverse can provide stakeholders with an integrated digital platform that allows for experimentation and analysis of complex power systems. Nonetheless, developing such applications within the energy sector requires further research. Hence, this paper proposes a framework for developing specialized metaverse applications for power systems. The framework embraces modularity as a core principle, allowing the expansion of the application according to diverse services and needs. The following presents a case study that illustrates the feasibility of the proposed framework using Unity as a development platform and Open Platform Communications - Unified Architecture (OPC-UA) for data communication. A power plant located at the Fluminense Federal University, Brazil, is considered. The case study demonstrates the practicality of the proposed framework by providing a 3D visualization of the system, real-time data from the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and fault detection systems, and weather forecasts.