Energy cost and carbon emission minimization for hybrid grid-independent microgrid using rule-based energy management scheme

This article presents a rule-based energy management (EM) scheme for a hybrid grid-independent microgrid. The microgrid incorporate a wind turbine (WT), photovoltaic (PV) panels, battery (BT) bank and diesel generator (Dgen). The rule-based algorithms had been widely applied in electric vehicle research because they are preferable for real-time EM and are computationally efficient. Based on this motivation, the application of the rule-based algorithm is applied to the design microgrid in this paper. The features EM scheme includes uninterrupted electricity supply to demand, minimize fuel consumption and minimize BT bank degradation. To simulate the microgrid, models for the state-of-charge (SOC) estimation of the BT bank, WT, PV and Dgen is developed. The uninterrupted supply is realized by managing the energy flow of the microgrid energy sources and setting the minimum SOC of the BT bank at 30%. The resiliency of the scheme is validated under fluctuating demand and weather conditions, considering cold, hot and rainy seasons. Simulation results have demonstrated the capability of the rule-based EM scheme in achieving high feasibility and effectiveness despite the intermittent sources and fluctuating demand. Additionally, the proposed EM scheme has significantly minimized CO2 emission from 56.3 tons/year to 4.3 tons/year and the cost of energy from $1.8/kWh to $0.43/kWh. This led to a reduction of the CO2 emission by 92.4% and the COE is minimize by 76.11%.