The emerging paradigm of interconnected microgrids advocates energy trading or sharing among multiple microgrids. It helps make full use of the temporal availability of energy and diversity in operational costs when meeting various energy loads. However, energy trading might not completely absorb excess renewable energy. A multi-energy management framework including fuel cell vehicles, energy storage, combined heat and power system, and renewable energy is proposed, and the characteristics and scheduling arrangements of fuel cell vehicles are considered to further improve the local absorption of the renewable energy and enhance the economic benefits of microgrids. While intensive research has been conducted on energy scheduling and trading problem, a fundamental question still remains unanswered on microgrid economics. Namely, due to multi-energy coupling, stochastic renewable energy generation and demands, when and how a microgrid should schedule and trade energy with others, which maximizes its long-term benefit. This paper designs a joint energy scheduling and trading algorithm based on Lyapunov optimization and a double-auction mechanism. Its purpose is to determine the valuations of energy in the auction, optimally schedule energy distribution, and strategically purchase and sell energy with the current electricity prices. Simulations based on real data show that each individual microgrid, under the management of the proposed algorithm, can achieve a time-averaged profit that is arbitrarily close to an optimum value, while avoiding compromising its own comfort.
To accommodate the advent of microgrids (MG) managing distributed energy resources (DER) in distribution systems, an interactive two-stage joint retail electricity market mechanism is proposed to provide an effective platform for these prosumers to proactively join in retail transactions. Day-ahead stochastic energy trading between the distribution system operator (DSO) and MGs is conducted in the first stage of a centralized retail market, where a chance-constrained uncertainty distribution locational marginal price (CC-UDLMP) containing the cost of uncertainty precautions is used to settle t…
The need to restore and keep the grid running or fast restoration during emergencies such as extreme weather conditions is quite apparent given the reliance of other infrastructure on electricity. One promising approach to electricity restoration is the use of locally available energy resources to restore the system to form isolated microgrids. In this paper, we present a black start restoration method that forms islanded microgrids after a blackout. The master DGs in the formed microgrids are coordinated to work together through droop control. Several constraints, including incentive-based de…
The control and managing of power demand and supply become very crucial because of penetration of renewables in the electricity networks and energy demand increase in residential and commercial sectors. In this paper, a new approach is presented to bridge the gap between Demand-Side Management (DSM) and microgrid portfolio, sizing and placement optimization. Although DSM helps energy consumers to take advantage of recent developments in utilization of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) especially microgrids, a huge need of connecting DSM results to microgrid optimization is being felt. Conseq…
Digitalization has led to radical changes in the distribution of goods across various sectors. The tendency is to move from traditional buyer-seller markets to subscription-based on-demand "smart" matching platforms enabled by pervasive ICTs. The driving force behind this lies in the fact that assets, which were scarce in the past, are readily abundant, approaching a regime of zero marginal costs. This is also becoming a reality in electrified energy systems due to the substantial growth of distributed renewable energy sources such as solar and wind; the increasing number of small-scale storag…
In recent years, the electrification of Canadian Remote Communities (RCs) has received significant attention, as their current electric energy systems are not only expensive, but are also highly polluting due to the prevalence of diesel generators. In addition, RCs' inherent geographic characteristics impose a series of challenges that must be considered when planning their electricity supply. Thus, in this paper, an optimization model for the long-term planning of RC Microgrids (MGs) including Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) and Energy Storage Systems (ESSs) is proposed, with the objective of…
Peer-to-peer energy trading is emerging as a new paradigm that in the near future may disrupt conventional electricity markets and heavily affect energy exchanges in networks of microgrids. In this paper, a preference mechanism is considered to compute optimal energy exchanges in a network of microgrids with or without the supervision of the distribution system operator, and the alternating direction method of multipliers is adopted for its distributed solution. The effect of the preference mechanism on the resulting power flow in the network is further studied and discussed for realistic case…
A cooperative energy scheduling method is proposed that allows joint energy optimization for a group of microgrids to achieve cost savings that the microgrids could not achieve individually. The discussed microgrids may be commercial entities in a distribution network under utility electricity rate plans comprising both Time of Use (ToU) and peak demand charge. Defining a stable operation as a situation where all microgrids would be willing to participate, it is shown that under such rate plans and in particular due to the peak demand charge, a cost distribution that is seemingly fair does not…
Off-grid systems have emerged as a sustainable and cost-effective solution for rural electrification. In sub-Sarahan Africa (SSA), a great number of solar-hybrid microgrids have been installed or planned, operating stand-alone or grid-tied to a weak grid. Presence of intermittent energy sources necessitates the provision of energy storage for system balancing. Reliability and economic performance of those rural microgrids strongly depend on specific control strategies. This work develops a predictive control framework dedicated to rural microgrids incorporating a temperature-dependent battery …
Microgrid (MG) system, which is composed of renewable resources with the utility grid, energy storage unit, electric vehicles, and loads, acts as a single controllable entity. To get efficient and low-cost energy, need to manage power flow within MG depending on renewable resources and load demand. This paper proposes an energy management system (EMS) for grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage system (ESS) based on AC MG. The proposed EMS regulates power flow through the AC bus considering next-day solar irradiance prediction, tariff profile, and day-ahead load demand to minimize …
In this report, several control strategies for microgrids with renewable energy resources and battery energy storage systems are proposed. Renewable energy has the potential to reduce global carbon emissions, while higher penetration of renewable energy is hindered by the inherent variability and intermittency of renewable resources. This motivates the development of microgrids supplied by renewable energy resources. With proper control of storage units and communications with the energy market, the non-dispatchable energy can be regulated to reduce the difficulty of power scheduling in the gr…
In recent years, it has become crucial to improve the resilience of electricity distribution networks (DNs) against storm-induced failures. Microgrids enabled by Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) can significantly help speed up re-energization of loads, particularly in the complete absence of bulk power supply. We describe an integrated approach which considers a pre-storm DER allocation problem under the uncertainty of failure scenarios as well as a post-storm dispatch problem in microgrids during the multi-period repair of the failed components. This problem is computationally challenging …
The electric grid modernization effort relies on the extensive deployment of microgrid (MG) systems. MGs integrate renewable resources and energy storage systems, allowing to generate economic and zero-carbon footprint electricity, deliver sustainable energy to communities using local energy resources, and enhance grid resilience. MGs as cyberphysical systems include interconnected devices that measure, control, and actuate energy resources and loads. For optimal operation, cyberphysical MGs regulate the onsite energy generation through support functions enabled by smart inverters. Smart inver…
The electrical distribution system is moving toward a more decentralized, complex, and dynamic system. The system is experiencing a higher penetration of distributed energy resources, flexible resources, and active end-users, leading to an active distribution system. If these components are used actively, they can have a positive effect on the distribution system's reliability. This paper aims to investigate how a microgrid with renewable energy sources and energy storage might influence the reliability of electricity supply in a radially operated distribution system. The reliability is invest…
In the context of transition towards cleaner and sustainable energy production, microgrids have become an effective way for tackling environmental pollution and energy crisis issues. With the increasing penetration of renewables, how to coordinate demand response and renewable generations is a critical and challenging issue in the field of microgrid scheduling. To this end, a bi-level scheduling model is put forward for isolated microgrids with consideration of multi-stakeholders in this paper, where the lower- and upper-level models respectively aim to the minimization of user cost and microg…
Typically, a large portion of microgrid generating capacity is from variable renewable resources that are greatly impacted by the environment and can be intermittent as well as stochastic. This would result in uncertainty of microgrid net-load, and negatively affect the grid reliability. A two-phase real-time energy management strategy for networked microgrid is proposed in this paper to address microgrid internal fluctuation internally, which enables a microgrid to become grid-friendly. The proposed strategy is based on coordination between the real-time dispatch (RTD) phase and the real-time…
The development of renewable energy generation empowers microgrids to generate electricity to supply itself and to trade the surplus on energy markets. To minimize the overall cost, a microgrid must determine how to schedule its energy resources and electrical loads and how to trade with others. The control decisions are influenced by various factors, such as energy storage, renewable energy yield, electrical load, and competition from other microgrids. Making the optimal control decision is challenging, due to the complexity of the interconnected microgrids, the uncertainty of renewable energ…
Recent massive failures in the power grid acted as a wake up call for all utilities and consumers. This leads to aggressive pursue a more intelligent grid which addresses the concerns of reliability, efficiency, security, quality and sustainability for the energy consumers and producers alike. One of the many features of the smart grid is a discrete energy system consisting of distributed energy sources capable of operating independently from the main grid known as the microgrid. The main focus of the microgrid is to ensure a reliable and affordable energy security. However, it also can be vul…
Micro- and smart grids (MSG) play an important role both for integrating renewable energy sources in conventional electricity grids and for providing power supply in remote areas. Modern MSGs are largely driven by power electronic converters due to their high efficiency and flexibility. Nevertheless, controlling MSGs is a challenging task due to highest requirements on energy availability, safety and voltage quality within a wide range of different MSG topologies. This results in a high demand for comprehensive testing of new control concepts during their development phase and comparisons with…
The increasing diffusion of distributed energy generation systems requires the development of new control paradigms for the coordination of micro-generators, storage systems, and loads aimed at maintaining the efficiency and the safe operability of the electricity network. MicroGrids (MGs) are an interesting way to locally manage groups of generation devices, but they cannot singularly provide a significant contribution to sustain the main electricity grid in terms of ancillary services, such as the availability of a minimum amount of power reserve for the frequency regulation. For these reaso…
In recent years, the energy-water nexus literature has recognized that the electricity and water infrastructure that enable the production, distribution, and consumption of these two commodities is fundamentally intertwined. Electric power is used to produce, treat, distribute, and recycle water while water is used to generate and consume electricity. In the meantime, significant attention has been given to renewable energy integration within the context of global climate change. While these two issues may seem unrelated, their resolution is potentially synergistic in that renewable energy tec…
Changchun Institute of Technology（长春工程学院）；National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Smart Distribution Network Measurement, Control and Safe Operation Technology（智能配电网测控与安全运行技术国家地方联合工程研究中心）；Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences)（齐鲁工业大学（山东省科学院））；Institute of Oceanographic Instrumentation（海洋仪器研究所）
As an efficient way to integrate multiple distributed energy resources and the user side, a microgrid is mainly faced with the problems of small-scale volatility, uncertainty, intermittency and demand-side uncertainty of DERs. The traditional microgrid has a single form and cannot meet the flexible energy dispatch between the complex demand side and the microgrid. In response to this problem, the overall environment of wind power, thermostatically controlled loads, energy storage systems, price-responsive loads and the main grid is proposed. Secondly, the centralized control of the microgrid o…
Homogeneous and Mixed Energy Communities Discovery with Spatial-Temporal Net Energy
Illinois Institute of Technology（伊利诺伊理工学院）；University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire（威斯康星大学欧克莱尔分校）；Santa Clara University（圣克拉拉大学）；University of Rhode Island（罗德岛大学）
