Optimal sizing of Distributed Energy Resources for integrated microgrids using Evolutionary Strategy

Optimal selection and sizing of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) is an important research problem for the advancement of distributed power systems. This paper presents detail studies on optimal sizing of DER for integrated microgrids using Evolutionary Strategy (ES). Integrated microgrid is an innovative architecture in distributed power systems, in which several microgrids are interconnected with each other for superior control and management of the distributed power systems. Right coordination among DER in microgrids, and proper harmony among the microgrids and the main distribution grid are critical challenges. Types of DER and capacities of them are needed to optimize such that proposed integrated microgrid provides reliable supply of energy at cheap cost. In this research, the problem is formulated as a nonlinear mixed-integer minimization problem which minimizes capital and annual operational cost of DER subject to a variety of system and unit constraints. Evolutionary strategy was developed for solving the minimization problem. The proposed methodology was used to design integrated microgrids for A*Star IEDS (Intelligent Energy Distribution System) project. The design results have shown that the proposed methodology provides excellent convergence and feasible optimum solution.