Load Frequency Control of a Novel Renewable Energy Integrated Micro-Grid Containing Pumped Hydropower Energy Storage

In this paper, a novel energy storage method based on pumped hydropower energy storage (PHES) for a renewable energy integrated micro-grid (REMG) is proposed, and the load frequency control (LFC) for the system is studied. In a typical REMG, micro pumped storage units are built that rely on a tall building to convert energy by pumping water up to store energy and releasing the stored water to generate energy. Because of the fluctuation of renewable energy (RE) and the perturbation of the load demand, frequency deviation, and tie-line power interchange are inevitable. In this paper, the LFC controller optimization problem for the REMG is investigated, and the optimal controllers for multi-areas in the REMG are designed. To solve the optimization problem of LFC, a novel meta-heuristic algorithm called artificial sheep algorithm (ASA) is applied in the task of LFC optimization. In the experiments, RE scenarios of different seasons, the impact of PHES, and the control robustness are studied. The results not only prove the feasibility of the proposed REMG but also show the effectiveness of the optimized controllers in maintaining frequency stability under various conditions.