Managing the microgrid net load variability

This paper investigates and compares two options to control the microgrid net load variability resulted from high penetration renewable generation. The proposed options include 1) Local management, which limits the microgrid net load variability in the distribution level by enforcing a cap constraint, and 2) Central management, which recommends on building a new fast response generation unit to limit aggregated microgrid net load variability in the distribution level. In this paper, the power flow changes between two consecutive hours, i.e., power ramping is considered as the major representative of variability. A microgrid optimal scheduling model is developed using mixed-integer programming. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in identifying the more viable option.