A novel grid-connected microgrid energy management system with optimal sizing using hybrid grey wolf and cuckoo search optimization algorithm

Abstract

Renewable energy systems, particularly in countries with limited fossil fuel resources, are promising and environmentally sustainable sources of electricity generation. Wind, solar Photovoltaic (PV), and biomass gasifier-based systems have gotten much attention recently for providing electricity to energy-deficient areas. However, due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy, a completely renewable system is unreliable and may cause operation problems. Energy storage systems and volatile generation sources are the best way to combat the problem. This paper proposes a hybrid grid-connected wind-solar PV generation Microgrid (MG) with biomass and energy storage devices to meet the entire value of load demand for the adopted buildings in an intended region and ensure economic dispatch as well as make a trade in the electricity field by supplying/receiving energy to/from the utility grid. The control operation plan uses battery storage units to compensate energy gap if the priority resources (wind turbine and solar PV) are incapable of meeting demand. Additionally, the biomass gasifier is used as a fallback option if the batteries fail to perform their duty. At any time, any excess of energy can be utilized to charge the batteries and sell the rest to the utility. Additionally, if the adopted resources are insufficient to meet the demand, the required energy is acquired from the utility. A Hybrid Grey Wolf with Cuckoo Search Optimization (GWCSO) algorithm is adopted for achieving optimal sizing of the proposed grid-connected MG. To assess the proposed technique’s robustness, the results are compared to those obtained using the Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) algorithm. The GWCSO method yielded a lower total number of component units, annual cost, total Net Present Cost (NPC), and Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE) than the GWO algorithm, whereas the GWCSO algorithm has the lowest deviation, indicating that it is more accurate and robust than the GWO algorithm.