Optimal Unit Commitment and Generation Scheduling of Integrated Power System with Plug-In Electric Vehicles and Renewable Energy Sources

Abstract

The integration of wind energy sources and plug-in electric vehicles is essential for the efficient planning, reliability, and operation of modern electric power systems. Minimizing the overall operational cost of integrated power systems while dealing with wind energy sources and plug-in electric vehicles in integrated power systems using a chaotic zebra optimization algorithm (CZOA) is described. The proposed system deals with a probabilistic forecasting system for wind power generation and a realistic plug-in electric vehicle charging profile based on travel patterns and infrastructure characteristics. The objective is to identify the optimal scheduling and committed status of the generating unit for thermal and wind power generation while considering the system power demand, charging, and discharging of electric vehicles, as well as power available from wind energy sources. The proposed CZOA adeptly tackles the intricacies of the unit commitment problem by seamlessly integrating scheduling and the unit’s committed status, thereby enabling highly effective optimization. The proposed algorithm is tested for 10-, 20-, and 40-generating unit systems. The empirical findings pertaining to the 10-unit system indicate that the amalgamation of a thermal generating unit system with plug-in electric vehicles yields a 0.84% reduction in total generation cost. Furthermore, integrating the same system with a wind energy source results in a substantial 12.71% cost saving. Notably, the integration of the thermal generating system with both plug-in electric vehicles and a wind energy source leads to an even more pronounced overall cost reduction of 13.05%. The outcome of this study reveals competitive test results for 20- and 40-generating unit systems and contributes to the advancement of sustainable and reliable power systems, fostering the transition towards a greener energy future.