Hierarchical Operation of Community Microgrids with Clustered Load Participation for Economic Benefits

Community-scale microgrids are essential in providing economic benefits by managing behind-the-meter (BTM) and field distributed energy resources (DERs). Electric loads are primarily considered lumped loads without many granular-level controls. Flexible buildings offer the central microgrid management system an opportunity to shed multiple loads at granular levels by adopting Internet-of-Things (IoT) based controls. In this study, a new approach is introduced for efficiently controlling the controllable devices in community-scale microgrids, prioritizing load management. The method proposed utilizes a bi-level optimal sequence of operations and is adaptable to different operational scenarios. To formulate the approach, a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is employed. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through case studies conducted on the Banshee microgrid benchmark model.