Minimization of operation cost of a microgrid using firefly algorithm

Due to the increase in load demand and raise in the energy crises micro-grids (MG) have been more concentrated. The MGs have the better utilization of Renewable energy sources (RES). In this study distributed generation (DG) like wind turbine (WT), microturbine (MT), photo-voltaic (PV) and fuel cells (FC) are attached to the MG. The main objective is to minimize the operation cost of the MG. The operation cost is minimized through optimal operation of different DG units. The combination of DG units has been chosen based on bid rate and load demand at that particular time. The power is injected or absorbed from the utility grid depends upon the energy available in the MG. Here, Firefly algorithm (FA) is used as an efficient tool to solve the required objectives. The proposed method is tested on the typical MG and the simulation results obtained from FA is compared with other optimization techniques.