Multi-Objective Scheduling of CHP-Based Microgrids with Cooperation of Thermal and Electrical Storage Units in Restructured Environment

Renewable energy sources are counted as dominant elements of the future distribution grids. The integration of renewable resources such as wind, solar along with the volatility of instantaneous demand features uncertainty in the operation of these grids. By increasing in the pervasiveness of demand-side distributed generation along with utility-scale energy storage technologies, the concept of microgrid has grown bold more than ever. The optimal operation of microgrid has vital importance to exploit the resources efficiently and optimally. The energy management system of the microgrid must regard electric loads and thermal loads at the same time while scheduling for the microgrid. The commitment of thermal units and integration of renewable sources highly depends on how the operator deals with these uncertain units and also depends on its adopted supportive policies to increase their penetration. In this study, a microgrid scheme is designed where combined heat and power (CHP) unit, wind unit, solar unit, thermal storage facility, micro-turbine, and fuel cell unit supply the loads. The scheduling is conducted for a 24-hour period. The correlation between electricity and heat in CHP unit is supposed to be polygonal that is the most comprehensive paradigm in the modeling of these units so far. The scheduling problem is classified as a mixed-integer non-linear programming (MINLP) type. The non-linearity of the problem is caused due to the fitness function of the CHP unit. In order to solve and optimize the problem, the Crow search algorithm (CSA) is employed which is simulated by MATLAB software.