A study on optimal operation of microgrid considering the probabilistic characteristics of renewable energy generation and emissions trading scheme

A microgrid can play a significant role for enlargement of renewable energy sources and emission reduction because it is a network of small, distributed electrical power generators operated as a collective unit. In this paper, an application of optimization method to economical operation of a microgrid is studied. The microgrid to be studied here is composed of distributed generation system(DGS), battery systems and loads. The distributed generation systems include combined heat and power(CHP) and small generators such as diesel generators and the renewable energy generators such as photovoltaic(PV) systems, wind power systems. Both of thermal loads and electrical loads are included here as loads. Also the emissions trading scheme to be applied in near future, the cost of unit start-up and the operational characteristics of battery systems are considered as well as the probabilistic characteristics of the renewable energy generation and load. A mathematical equation for optimal operation of this system is modeled based on the mixed integer programming. It is shown that this optimization methodology can be effectively used for economical operation of a microgrid by the case studies.