A novel stochastic framework for energy management in renewable micro-grids considering uncertainty of measurement and forecasting

This paper investigates the optimal operation management of Micro-Grids (MGs) considering different types of distributed generations such as Fuel Cell (FC), Photovoltaics (PV), Micro Turbine (MT), Wind Turbine (WT) as well as the storage devices. A stochastic optimization method based on scenarios production is proposed to consider the non-deterministic characteristics of WT/PVs electrical power production, the utility price and the unpredictable load consumption. The utilization of renewable energy sources and storage devices can affect the total operation strategies of the MGs with increasing the complexity and nonlinearity aspects of the problem. Consequently, an efficient optimization technique based on Harmony Search (HS) algorithm is suggested. In order to see the feasibility and satisfying performance of the proposed stochastic method, a typical grid-connected MG is studied as test system. The simulation results show the proper ability of the proposed stochastic framework to capture the uncertainty of the problem. Also, the high search ability of the proposed HS in both local and global explorations is evident.