Reliability assessment of island multi-energy microgrids

Multi-energy microgrids could result in more flexibility and increase reliability by interconnecting networks. Electricity and gas networks exhibit very different dynamic behaviours in response to a fault or failure. Gas networks have built-in energy storages that can continue to provide a reliable supply if gas inputs to the system are compromised. This study presents a novel reliability assessment method applied to multi-energy microgrids; the method combines an incidence matrix analysis that identifies the connectivity between sources and load points with a sequential Monte Carlo simulation and generation adequacy evaluation. A case study is conducted by using an electricity-gas microgrid. The electricity network is a multi-sourced grid, whereas the gas network is supplied by a biogas plant. The linepack (gas stored along the pipelines) is modelled to account for the slower gas dynamics. The proposed method is evaluated on a real-world electricity distribution network in Austria. The results indicate the reliability benefits of forming a multi-energy microgrid.