Mitigation of distribution system net‐load ramping using multi‐microgrid system

Abstract

Summary The net‐load ramping occurs when the output power of renewable energy resources is decreased simultaneously with a rise in the load during early evening hours. Thus, in this paper, the unfavorable effects of ramping are mitigated via the multi‐microgrid system without additional investment. In the proposed model, microgrids under study include micro turbine, photovoltaic, wind turbine, phosphoric acid fuel cell, energy storage system, and demand response program. The mentioned microgrids attempt to exchange power with the upstream grid at appropriate intervals by incorporating hourly dynamic penalty costs to their operational costs so as to moderate the ramping of the distribution grid load profile. The minimization of the total cost of operation is formulated for the multi‐microgrid system. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the effects of ramping using proper management of the units and exchanged power in the proposed scheme. Also, the numerical results indicated the usefulness and applicability of the proposed model through its application on a typical distribution test system.