Optimal Energy Scheduling of Grid-connected Microgrids with Battery Energy Storage

Licentiate thesis, 2020

The coupling of small-scale renewable-based energy sources, such as photovoltaic systems, with residential battery energy storages forms clusters of local energy resources and customers, which can be represented as controllable entities to the main distribution grid. The operation of these clusters is similar to that of grid-connected microgrids. The future distribution grid of multiple grid-connected microgrids will require proper coordination to ensure that the energy management of the microgrid resources satisfies the targets and constraints of both the microgrids’ and the main grid’s operation. The link between the battery dispatch and the induced battery degradation also needs to be better understood to implement energy management with long-term economic benefits.

This thesis contributes to the solution of the above-mentioned issues with an energy management model developed for a grid-connected microgrid that uses battery energy storage as a flexible energy resource. The performance of the model was evaluated in different test cases (simulations and demonstrations) in which the model optimized the schedule of the microgrid resources and the energy exchange with the connected main grid, while satisfying the constraints and operational objectives of the microgrid. Coordination with the distribution system operator was proposed to ensure that the microgrid energy scheduling solution would not violate the constraints of the main grid.

Two radial distribution grids were used in simulation studies: the 12-kV electrical distribution grid of the Chalmers University of Technology campus and a 12.6-kV 33-bus test system. Results of the Chalmers’ test case assuming the operation of two grid-connected microgrids with battery energy storage of 100-200 kWh showed that the microgrids’ economic optimization could reduce the cost for the distribution system operator by up to 2%. Coordination with the distribution system operator could achieve an even higher reduction, although it would lead to sub-optimal solutions for the microgrids. Application of decentralized coordination showed the effectiveness of utilizing microgrids as flexible entities, while preserving the privacy of the microgrid data, in the simulations performed with the 33-bus test system.

The developed microgrid energy management model was also applied for a building microgrid, where the battery energy storage was modeled considering both degradation and real-life operation characteristics derived from measurements conducted at real residential buildings equipped with stationary battery energy storages. Simulation results of a building microgrid with a 7.2 kWh battery energy storage showed that the annual building energy and battery degradation cost could be reduced by up to 3% compared to when the impact of battery degradation was neglected in the energy scheduling. To demonstrate the model’s practical use, it was integrated in an energy management system of the real buildings, where the buildings’ battery energy storages and, by extent, their energy exchange with the main grid, were dispatched based on the model’s decisions in several test cases.

The test cases’ results showed that the model can reduce the energy cost of the microgrid both in short-term and in long-term. Moreover, with the help of this model, the microgrid can be employed as a flexible resource and reduce the operation cost of the main distribution grid.