A general MILP model for the sizing of islanded/grid-connected microgrids

Recently, energy systems have experienced a change of paradigm, from a large-scale centralized approach to the in-situ exploitation of renewable sources. Special attention has been paid to microgrids, a particular case of distributed generation where consumer nodes include generation and can be either grid-connected or isolated. This work aims to develop a general model to determine the optimal sizing of an energy system under fixed conditions and to analyze the effect of considering different cycle patterns on the solution. The mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation proposes allows determining the best combination of available technologies that satisfies the demand of a given set of scenarios at minimum total cost. The model has been implemented using AIMMS and applied to a case study consisting of a five-member Mediterranean house. The results obtained reveal the need to select the most convenient time cycles for defining the scenarios of the sizing model.