SysML Modeling of Digital Twins for Renewable Energy Communities

2026-06-18

AI Summary

This study addresses the challenge of heterogeneity in devices, contracts, and operational data that hinders the development of digital twins for Renewable Energy Communities (RECs). To overcome this, the authors propose a model-driven systems engineering (MBSE) approach integrating SysML with the SAREF4ENER ontology. Building upon a validated REC domain model, they employ the open-source tool Modelio to develop SysML models for a representative residential subset, producing two module definition diagrams: one for device classification and another for community organization. This work pioneers the incorporation of the semantics-rich SAREF ontology for smart energy into the SysML modeling workflow, identifying four semantic gaps and bridging them through the integration of the SAREF4ENER reference package. The resulting framework offers a unified modeling foundation for REC digital twins, combining structural modeling capabilities with expressive semantic representation.

Abstract

Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are emerging as a key organizational model for local and global sharing of renewable generation, storage, and flexible loads. Engineering Digital Twins of RECs is made difficult by the heterogeneity of devices, contracts, and runtime data involved. In this paper, we take a first step toward a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) workflow for REC's Digital Twins. Starting from an industrially-validated REC domain model, we re-express a representative house subset in SysML using the open-source Modelio tool, yielding two Block Definition Diagrams - a device taxonomy and a community organizational view. We then discuss four semantic gaps that plain SysML leaves open and sketch how the SAREF4ENER ontology could be imported as a reference package to close them. Combining SysML with SAREF-based semantics for smart-energy Digital Twins remains largely unexplored, and we position this paper as a first step along that line.

Problem

• Digital Twins
• Renewable Energy Communities
• SysML
• Heterogeneity
• Model-Based Systems Engineering

Innovation

• Digital Twin
• SysML
• Model-Based Systems Engineering
• SAREF4ENER
• Renewable Energy Communities