Cloud energy storage in multi energy systems: Optimal scheduling and profit-sharing approaches

Energy storage resources have been recognized as one of the most effective ways to cope with the large-scale integration of renewables. However, their high cost still hinders its wide application. To address this issue, the concept of Cloud Energy Storage (CES) was proposed inspired by the sharing economy. In this paper, CES in multi-energy systems (ME-CES) is proposed to make use of energy storage not only from electricity storage but also from District Heating System (DHS) and Natural Gas System (NGS). The optimal scheduling approach is proposed to coordinate the storage ability across different energy sectors. The profit-sharing approach for the participants in the ME-CES is proposed to justify the profitability of ME-CES among the energy storage provider, the ME-CES user, and the ME-CES operator. The numerical simulation is carried out based on the data from Western Inner Mongolia, China. The results show that it is economically feasible to use ME-CES in mitigating the wind power curtailment in China, and ME-CES can be profitable to all of the participants.