An emission‐aware real‐time power scheduling system for the Internet of Energy

Abstract

Summary In the recent literature, the architecture of the Internet of Energy (IoE) has been proposed to replace the current smart grid in the future. However, the large volume of energy produced, the copious amounts of accompanying consumption data, and the uncertainties germane to intermittent energy sources will result in the real‐time energy management of the IoE in the future being much more difficult to deal with than that of traditional centralized‐controlled power generation systems. In this work, a real‐time power scheduling system based on the architecture of the IoE is proposed to tackle the complicated real‐time energy management problems. We divide the whole power network into different geographical regional grids under a hierarchical framework, and the scheduling process is activated at the regional grid if a power shortage is estimated to happen during a fixed time period ahead. After electricity consumption data and renewable generation data are collected at the prosumer level, the governing regional grid schedules the usage of electricity for the prosumers by considering the efficiency of the use of distributed renewables and the peak shaving of the electricity load. Excess electricity generated in a regional grid is allowed to be allocated to others facing power supply shortages, whereby a reduction of emissions during peak load periods and the maximal utilization of distributed renewables can be achieved. Notably, the charging management of moving electric vehicles is also included in the proposed power scheduling mechanism. The simulation results reveal that the proposed real‐time power scheduling system for the IoE can efficiently utilize renewable generation, lessen the demand of traditional power, and balance peak and off‐peak period loads in an electricity market in real time.