Optimal selection and sizing of distributed energy resources for distributed power systems

Optimal selection and sizing of distributed energy resources is an important research problem in the development of distributed power systems. This paper presents a methodology for optimal selection and sizing of distributed energy resources in integrated microgrids using the evolutionary strategy. Integrated microgrid is an innovative architecture in distributed power systems, wherein several microgrids are interconnected with each other for control and management of the distributed power systems. Right coordination between distributed energy resources and proper harmony between microgrids and the main distribution grid are some of the critical challenges in this research problem. Selection of distributed energy resources and their capacities are optimized such that the integrated microgrid provides reliable energy at a cheap cost. In this research, the problem is formulated as a nonlinear mixed-integer minimization problem, which minimizes the sum of capital and annual operational cost of distributed energy resources subject to various system and unit constraints. A novel methodology based on flexible evolutionary strategy was developed in this research and used to design an integrated microgrid for AStar IEDS project. The design results have shown that the proposed methodology provides excellent convergence and feasible optimum solution. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4757618]