Optimal planning approach for a cost effective and reliable microgrid

As the new world order is running towards microgrid and renewable generation, effective planning of the same is the need of the hour. The major challenge in planning the integration of renewable generation is its derating nature. This paper proposes an optimal design approach for cost effective and reliable microgrid. The optimum combination of generation capacities of multiple energy carriers in a microgrid are determined by analyzing the cost and reliability. The optimization method makes use of a hybrid Genetic Particle Swarm Optimization (GPSO) which outperforms Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) in terms of initial population and time for convergence respectively. The generation adequacy study is done on hourly basis and is evaluated using Expected Energy Not Served (EENS) index. The simulation results demonstrate the easiness in planning hybrid energy systems like photovoltaic (PV) system and wind turbine along with conventional systems like diesel generator and storage batteries.