A new low-carbon project scheduling problem with renewable and traditional energy: A comprehensive analysis and its solution

Employing multi-energy complementarity in project energy supply proves to be an efficient strategy for accomplishing low-carbon project scheduling. However, current project scheduling problems primarily concentrate on traditional single-energy models. They optimize schedules to reduce energy emissions but often neglect the potential of renewable energy. This paper integrates project scheduling and renewable energy as interrelated aspects. Based on a renewable energy supply model grounded in the generation characteristics of renewable energy sources, a model for MC-MRCPSPM (multi-mode resource-constrained project scheduling problem with multiple complementary energies in the manufacturing context) is constructed and a memetic algorithm is employed for its resolution. The research findings conclusively demonstrate that using renewable energy as a power source during project execution leads to an average reduction of approximately 58.8% in carbon emissions, with a justifiable 14.73% increase in energy costs. Employing a multi-energy complementarity approach in project scheduling effectively reduces carbon emissions while maintaining reasonable energy costs and offers project managers greater decision-making flexibility.