Abstract:
Renewable-based microgrid systems can play a major role in the energy sector by
addressing increasing power demand and climate change challenge issues. The
proposed study considers a hybrid microgrid using Renewable Energy Sources (RES),
diesel generator, and energy storage system. Three cases of microgrid operation are
considered: islanded mode, transition to grid mode and grid-oriented mode. The hybrid
microgrid operates in each mode considering the weather pattern, energy costs, nature
of the connected sources and load demand. A robust and automated Multi Agent
System (MAS) for controlling the microgrid operation is used. In the islanded mode,
four climatic scenarios are considered: best, extreme sunny, extreme cloudy, and worst
climate. The transition to grid mode occurs when the climate is sunny and cloudy and
the battery is not enough to support the load demand. In grid-oriented mode, two cases
include grid-tied and grid-feed mode. In grid feed mode, the microgrid has surplus
energy and sells it to the microgrid. In grid-tied mode, the RES and the battery energy
system are insufficient to support the load demand. The microgrid becomes fully
dependent on the utility grid by buying power from it and supporting the load demand
through the utility grid. Furthermore, for the optimization of the microgrid power and
energy cost a metaheuristic Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique is
implemented. The study results indicate the cost-effectiveness of RES utilized by the
microgrid as compared to the utilization of fossil fuel sources and utility grid.
