Energy Management in Community Microgrid—A Techno-economic Study Framework

Abstract

This study proposes an energy management framework for community microgrids to produce energy at a reduced cost with high reliability. The techno-economic benefits of the proposed solution are also investigated. A regional community with solar and wind energies is considered as a case study. The test microgrid consists of solar photovoltaic, wind turbines, a diesel generator, battery storage, and grid connection capability. Simple performance metrics are used to assess the performance of the proposed energy management framework. Finally, results are compared with and without energy management implementation. Results show that the proposed framework reduces electricity costs by up to 18.50% compared to a baseline method. Reliability analysis reveals that the proposed methods ensure continuous power supply even during grid outages. This study also finds that the proposed energy management technique reduces fuel consumption by approximately 90.25%. This work can be valuable in identifying effective solutions for supplying reliable and cost-effective power to regional and remote areas.