PLC implementation of economic model predictive control for scheduling and dispatch in energy systems

The increasing share of decentral renewable energy in Germany requires the flexibilization of prosumers in the electricity grid. Prosumers that can shift power demand from high price intervals to low price intervals can make use of time-variable electricity prices. In this research an optimization-based method called economic model predictive control (MPC) is implemented on field-typical hardware to show practical considerations of this application. The implementation is evaluated in a hardware-in-the-loop test bench using simulation data obtained from measurements in an existing production facility. In this manner, we demonstrate that the field application of economic MPC is feasible and can generate economic benefits for the energy system operator.