Weather Routing-Based Multi-Energy Ship Microgrid Operation Under Diverse Uncertainties: A Risk-Averse Stochastic Approach

The voyage environment, such as weather conditions, directly influences the propulsion load of a ship and even poses challenges to its safe journey. In this context, this article proposes a novel weather routing based operation approach for a multi-energy ship microgrid (MESM), which not only coordinates the heterogeneous onboard energy flows (e.g., electricity, thermal energy, green hydrogen, and freshwater) while also optimizing voyage route and speed based on dynamic weather conditions. In particular, a detailed weather-based route selection model and a weather-dependent propulsion load model are formulated, accounting for key environmental factors such as wind, waves, and drifting ice. To mitigate the risk against the uncertainties in environmental factors and cold ironing prices, a risk-averse two-stage stochastic programming integrated with a rolling horizon method is employed. In model solving, a tailored progressive hedging (TPH) algorithm is developed to enhance computational efficiency. Case studies based on a real cruise voyage in a Nordic country validate the effectiveness of the proposed model and the efficiency of the developed solution methods.