Optimal Energy Management in Microgrids Considering Supply Demand Rate and Battery Discharge Depth

Abstract

Integrating solar energy with battery energy storage systems (BESS) is critical in sustainable development plans and carbon neutrality goals. Can the energy exchange between supply and demand offer hope via effective management of BESS operations? How will the depth of discharge in microgrids affect individual BESS prosumers? Motivated by such questions, this study determines the minimum energy costs and optimal energy management considering the BESS discharge depth for industrial prosumers with different PV power production to electricity demand ratios. In addition, the impact of Epv/Eload and depth of discharge on individual PV-BESS microgrid prosumers is evaluated annually from a technical, economic, and environmental perspective. Moreover, considering the negative impact of the self-consumption rate (SCR) on the low voltage distribution network (overvoltage, power loss, etc.), unfavorable depth of discharge thresholds and Epv /Eload are determined. The optimization framework is built in Python Gurobi, and Mixed Integer Linear Programming solves the complex problem. The results show that a higher Epv /Eload can reduce the cost of energy (COE) by up to 84.1% and increase the renewable fraction (RF) and electricity sales revenues by up to 61% and up to 570.25 $/yr. It also emphasizes that for Prosumer 5, with the highest Epv /Eload (176.5%), each depth of discharge is not feasible due to SCR. In contrast, a higher depth of discharge can increase CO2 reduction by up to 4.45 tons/yr and thus provide additional revenues of up to 197.41 $/yr. Evaluating BESS operations in microgrid energy management will help many stakeholders determine reliable investments and help in the planned transition to clean energy.