Abstract
This article presents a comprehensive state of the art analysis of the challenging domain of synthetic data generation. Focusing on the problem of synthetic data generation, the paper explores various difficulties that are identified, especially in real-world problems such as those is the scope of power and, energy systems, including the amount of data, data privacy concerns, temporal considerations, dynamic generation, delays, and failures. The investigation delves into the multifaceted nature of the challenges presented by these factors in the synthesis process. The review thoroughly examines different models used in synthetic data generation, covering Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Variational Autoencoder (VAE), Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE), Data Synthesizer (DS) and E. Non-Parametric SynthPop (SP-NP). Each model is dissected with respect to its advantages, disadvantages, and applicability in different data generation scenarios. Special attention is paid to the nuanced aspects of dynamic data generation and the mitigation of challenges such as delays and failures. The insights drawn from this review contribute to a deeper understanding of the landscape around synthetic data generation, providing a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders who aim to harness the potential of synthetic data in addressing real-world data challenges. The paper concludes by outlining possible avenues for future research and development in this ever-evolving field.

Abstract
In recent years, there has been a significant growth in the use of technologies that rely on natural resources (wind, solar, etc.) as primary sources of energy. The generation originating from renewable sources brings an increased need for adaptation in power electrical systems. Predicting the amount of energy produced by these technologies is a complex task due to the uncertainty associated with natural resources. This uncertainty hinders decision-making, both at the system level and for consumers themselves who are increasingly using this type of technology for self-consumption. This study focuses on classifying solar intensity using imbalanced data, which means that some of the data categories are more prevalent than others. Oversampling techniques are be employed to increase the amount of data, thereby allowing for balanced training data and improving the performance of prediction models. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.

Abstract
Agriculture being an essential activity sector for the survival and prosperity of humanity, it is fundamental to use sustainable technologies in this field. With this in mind, some statistical data are analyzed regarding the food price rise and sustainable development indicators, with a special focus on the Portugal region. It is determined that one of the main factors that influences agriculture's success is the soil's characteristics, namely in terms of moisture and nutrients. In this regard, irrigation processes have become indispensable, and their technological management brings countless economic advantages. Like other branches of agriculture, the wine sector needs an adequate concentration of nutrients and moisture in the soil to provide the most efficient results, considering the appropriate and intelligent use of available water and energy resources. Given these facts, the use of renewable energies is a very important aspect of this study, which also synthesizes the main irrigation methods and examines the importance of evaluating the evapotranspiration of crops. Furthermore, the control of irrigation processes and the implementation of optimization and resource management models are of utmost importance to allow maximum efficiency and sustainability in this field.

Abstract
This paper proposes a novel approach for the provision of non-frequency ancillary service (AS) by consumers connected to low-voltage distribution networks. The proposed approach considers an asymmetric pool-based local market for AS negotiation, allowing consumers to set a flexibility quantity and desired price to trade. A case study with 98 consumers illustrates the proposed market-based non-frequency AS provision approach. Also, three different strategies of consumers' participation are implemented and tested in a real low-voltage distribution network with radial topology. It is shown that consumers can make a profit from the sale of their flexibility while contributing to keeping the network power losses, voltage, and current within pre-defined limits. Ultimately, the results demonstrate the value of AS coming directly from end-users.

Abstract
This paper presents the application of a Methodology to Obtain Genetic fuzzy rule-based-systems Under the iterative rule Learning approach (MOGUL) to forecast energy consumption. Historical data referring to the energy consumption gathered from three groups, namely lights, HVAC and electrical socket, are used to train the proposed approach and achieve forecasting results for the future. The performance of the proposed method is compared to that of previous approaches, namely Hybrid Neural Fuzzy Interface System (HyFIS) and Wang and Mendel's Fuzzy Rule Learning Method (WM). Results show that the proposed methodology achieved smaller fore-casting errors for the following hours, with a smaller standard deviation. Thus, the proposed approach is able to achieve more reliable results than the other state of the art methodologies.

Abstract
This paper proposes an hybrid approach for short term solar intensity forecasting, which combines different forecasting methodologies with a clustering algorithm, which plays the role of data filter, in order to support the selection of the best data for training. A set of methodologies based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM), used for short term solar irradiance forecast, is implemented and compared in order to facilitate the selection of the most appropriate methods and respective parameters according to the available information and needs. Data from the Brazilian city of Florianopolis, in the state of Santa Catarina, has been used to illustrate the methods applicability and conclusions. The dataset comprises the years of 1990 to 1999 and includes four solar irradiance components as well as other meteorological variables, such as temperature, wind speed and humidity. Conclusions about the irradiance components, parameters and the proposed clustering mechanism are presented. The results are studied and analysed considering both efficiency and effectiveness of the results. The experimental findings show that the hybrid model, combining a SVM approach with a clustering mechanism, to filter the data used for training, achieved promising results, outperforming the approaches without clustering.