Energy management system determining load shedding and establishment

An energy management system 10 for use in operating a plant has a numerical solver 14 which determines an optimal plant operating configuration of various interconnected energy consumption 20, producing 22 and storage 24 units that best satisfies an objective function 46. The objective function considers cost of energy creation and usage of a plurality of energy producing units associated with different operational configurations. An expert engine 12 outputs signals indicative of load shedding or load establishment to implement the optimal plant configuration. The energy management system operates the various components of the plant to minimize the cost of energy over time, or at various different times, while still meeting certain constraints or requirements within the operational system, such as producing a certain amount of heat or cooling, a certain power level, a certain level of production. In some cases, the energy management system may cause the operational equipment of the plant to produce unneeded energy that can be stored until a later time and then used, or that can be sold back to a public utility.