Optimization of University Campus Microgrid for Cost Reduction: A Case Study

Abstract

This paper presents an optimization model to minimize the fuel cost and CO2 emision on university campuses using an hybrid power system (HPS). The HPS is made up of solar photovoltaic (PV), diesel generator (DG), wind turbine (WT) and battery energy storage system (BESS). Two university campuses are used as case study to investigate the efficiency of the proposed HPS. The objective function is formulated such that each campus load is met by the renewable energy source (RES) when available and the DG only swicthes on when the output of the RES is not eneough to meet the load. The resulting non linear optimization problem is solved using a function in MATLAB called “quadprog”. The results of the simulation are analyzed and compared with the base case in which the DG is used exclusively to meet the entire load. The results show the effectiveness of the optimized HPS in saving fuel when compared to the base case and reflect the effects of seasonal variations in fuel costs.