1. Introduction
The use of renewable energy (RE) sources has increased recently to reduce the need for fossil fuels and minimize the carbon footprint of electrical power systems [
1]. By its very nature, renewable energy is a sustainable resource that may, over time, reduce the cost of energy generation and increase energy security. The cost of RE generation has decreased as a result of recent advances in RE technology, and the integration of RE sources into current power systems has increased significantly [
1].
Two accessible renewable energy sources that can be used to produce clean electricity are solar and wind. Recent technology developments have made it possible to harvest power from solar and wind energy installations more cheaply and efficiently [
1]. The validity of these sources is a significant question, though. Because wind speed varies, it is impossible to harness all of it. Similar to how solar irradiation varies during the day, no electricity is produced at night due to the unpredictable nature of solar irradiation [
2]. The main difficulties for system operators are variability and ramp events in output power, reserve management, scheduling, and commitment of generating units. As a consequence, wind and PV sources are non-dispatchable. The challenges brought on by the intermittent nature of these sources must be removed in order to integrate RE sources into the main power system. To provide acceptable electric dependability and power quality, substantial storage systems and traditional backup production must be included due to the non-dispatchable and intermittent nature of RE sources [
3]. The electricity produced by wind and solar power plants may be combined, and a dispatchable power producing station can be constructed, with the right size of the energy storage systems (ESS). By storing the surplus produced power in the ESS and discharging the ESS when the production of RE sources decreases, a hybrid power plant with ESS made up of numerous RE sources may offer a reliable power supply. A cost-effective microgrid design and the development of intelligent management systems that can integrate the operation of various energy sources are required due to the growing system complexity [
4]. With a suitable energy management system and well-designed control structure, a hybrid wind-PV-ESS power plant may remove the fluctuations of the wind-PV power and so constitute a dispatchable RE source, improving system dependability, lowering supply intermittency, and enhancing system security.
An electrical system is referred to as a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES), which combines one renewable energy source with a number of other energy sources. These sources may be conventional, sustainable, or a combination of both, and the system may be utilized independently or as part of a grid [
5]. At the point of common coupling (PCC), the generating station must produce a consistent amount of electricity for the power utilities. There are severe consequences that the electricity producing firm must bear for any departure from earlier commitments. There is a need to install an emergency power source in case of failure to provide electricity owing to lower output from PV and wind generators in order to prevent any expensive penalties. During such crises, electricity can be provided by a diesel or gas-powered generator. As a result, a dependable hybrid power plant has to have RE generation (wind and/or PV), an ESS, and a diesel or gas backup emergency power supply.
Numerous studies for distant off-grid regions have shown that several hybrid energy system types are cost-effective generator combinations including PV/Wind, PV/Diesel, Wind/Diesel, and PV/Wind/Diesel with or without a storage device battery [
6]. This was demonstrated in [
7] which examined the techno-economic viability of a hybridized PV/Wind/Diesel/Batt system for a large non-residential power application. The authors of [
7] stated that a carbon price policy and lower lending rate may support the sizable renewable energy-based project. An ideal hybridized system according to technological, economic, and environmental variables was presented in [
8]. The study in [
9] looked at the viability of a PV/Wind/Batt/Diesel system for illuminating a rural place. Comparing the hybrid system to the standard power generating system, the study found that the hybrid system is both economically and ecologically viable.
The energy management system in a microgrid is in charge of ensuring that it runs as efficiently as possible in the presence of probabilistic distributed generation units, interruptible loads, programmable distributed generation units, energy storage units, and ultimate consumers as the system's core [
10]. A smart microgrid is employed in [
11], and it is demonstrated that doing so not only boosts energy efficiency but also makes it possible to create a complementary and efficient network that may enhance dependability and power quality. Moreover [
12] introduces a microgrid with an energy management center system, whose job it is to maximize the microgrid's performance in both island and grid-connected modes. Furthermore, research interest in evaluating the dispatch techniques and optimization algorithms of islanded microgrid has developed. The study in [
2] assesses the optimal component sizes, power system responses, and various microgrid cost analyses to analyze the design and optimization of an island-based hybrid microgrid for various load dispatch techniques.
Economic Dispatch (ED), a form of energy management, aims to meet load demand while maintaining a minimal operational cost [
13]. An effective ED approach may reduce resource usage and costs while also reducing the release of dangerous greenhouse gases [
14]. Due to its efficiency, ED technique in microgrid designing has become a popular topic in recent years [
15]. Either a dispersed control approach or a centralized control strategy can be used to address issues with economic dispatch. The requirement for a bidirectional communication link between the centralized controller and all of the generating units under centralized control raises the cost, the risk of cyber-attack, and the complexity of communication. On the other hand, a distributed control method employs a dispersed controller that only manages a small region, resulting in a simpler control and communication network [
16]. A unique distributed control approach based on the consensus method has been devised in [
17,
18] for the resolution of ED issues. In [
18] The implemented technique forces the generators to learn about the imbalance between supply and demand. Each generator receives this estimated mismatch data, and as a result, the quantity of power generated is changed to account for the discrepancy. To account for the unpredictability in the generation of renewable energy, [
19] proposes a real-time economic dispatch (RTED) approach together with a subinterval coordination technique for the conventional power plants. In [
20] without taking into account communication networks, researchers demonstrated a two-level decentralized optimization strategy that facilitated power dispatch control approaches for an off-grid microgrid. In [
21,
22], in order to manage the high renewable penetration, authors designed a reliable energy distribution system using the distributed economic dispatch technique for a microgrid.
There have been many distinct two-layer models presented in the literature [
23]. The majority of methods disentangle design and dispatch issues by using the fixed architecture systems' performance evaluation as a fitness metric to direct the exploration of the design space [
24]. Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) is a second-layer control technique that is more sophisticated and suitable for complex system topologies [
25]. Utilizing future anticipated behavior of external elements (such as load and solar radiation) to determine the best solution and save operating costs, the MILP formulation employs powerful mathematical algorithms. The Author in [
26] demonstrated for a rural ICE-BESS-PV microgrid, formal set points optimization can result in significant savings when compared to simpler heuristic solutions. The two-layer models have the disadvantage that they make it more difficult to include seasonal and annual constraints. Additionally, an iterative process is necessary for an accurate accounting of wearing costs for components whose lifetime is modified by their yearly shipment [
27]. The Work in [
27] presents an improved MILP-based predictive design and dispatch technique. The new approach is contrasted to an earlier heuristic methodology, using local microgrids' design and annual performance estimation as examples [
27].
One way to formulate a complicated issue that may be solved with MILP is to combine in a single-layer model, the optimization of design and dispatch. For the optimization of geographically dispersed off-grid microgrids using solar panels and wind turbine generators, a more straightforward model is described in [
28]. The model maximizes the quantity, location, and electrical connections between consumption sites, but it ignores the setup and administration of dispatchable generators. In [
29], a MILP is used to optimize the design of a distributed multi-node CHP system with dispatchable and non-dispatchable DERs in both on-grid and off-grid situations.
An off-grid hybrid microgrid includes controllable and non-controllable generating units as well as a storage system, using a two-layer predictive management approach is presented in the study [
30]. The second layer controls real-time operation and applies a response filter to tame variations in genset load while the higher layer deals with unit commitment. An actual rural microgrid in Somalia's data is used to evaluate the algorithm, which runs minute-by-minute simulations. Results are contrasted with a newly updated heuristic algorithm and the management technique that is currently in use. The two new techniques reduce fuel use by 15% compared to the prior management system [
30]
Furthermore, sizing components and developing an efficient operation plan are essential steps in ensuring the competitiveness of off-grid systems in order to reduce the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for its consumers. Various strategies can be used, as shown in
Table 1 [
27].
Analytical models that just need assumptions on the total energy consumption and the technological capabilities of the various components can be used to estimate off-grid LCOE [
31]. These models have the benefit of requiring extremely little computing time, and as a result, they are the technique of choice for estimating off-grid costs in early electrification planning studies. However, they do not specifically address the design and dispatch issue, which might result in an inaccurate LCOE calculation. More sophisticated simulation-based design methods that choose the size of components based on the predicted performance of potential solutions over a reference period can get around this restriction [
27]. A quick and accurate method of replicating the operation of the microgrid is to use heuristic dispatch logics. Because of the state of the art in commercially available hardware, they consist of a set of established rules that regulate the system depending on its condition and the features of the installed equipment. They also have the advantage of being easily deployable in actual systems [
27]. They are integrated into the popular HOMER simulation-based microgrid design optimization program [
32].
The concept of optimization and optimization methods utilized for hybrid renewable power plant with several generation sources is required to dispatch electricity from each of the sources in accordance with the requirements stated by the operator or controller. Consequently, such a controller may also be referred to as a "Dispatch Engine (DE)" [
33]. In order to ensure the necessary power flow through all devices, the DE for a hybrid power plant, which is a real-time control system must precisely and quickly handle various power sources and ESS [
2].
A description of the sizes, energy, and power capacities of each system component whose design was predetermined is the primary output of an optimization process in a RES in its most basic form. A more complicated level of optimization is possible to carry out, such as real-time system reconfiguration by the controller (such as energy routing through electricity, hydrogen, or both), over a variety of potential configurations of the system's parts. To what extent a system will function and meet its technical and non-technical design objectives depends greatly on the component configuration and size choices made [
34].
There are several objectives in a hybrid system that require optimization, including management, control, and sizing. The most popular optimization techniques employed in the past few years are listed in this section. The three categories of optimization techniques include classical techniques, artificial techniques, and hybrid techniques [
35,
36].
Table 2 summarized those used techniques.
While several studies have explored hybrid renewable energy systems, optimization, and power forecasting techniques, none have specifically addressed a PV-DG-ESS-grid hybrid renewable energy systems with precise forecasting using real-time data, particularly in the context of Oman. Therefore, there is a research gap that needs to be addressed. The present paper introduces the Dispatch Engine (DE) as a solution to this gap, aiming to fill the aforementioned research void and examine the feasibility of implementing such a strategy in Oman. By incorporating real-time data and considering the unique operational conditions of Oman, the DE seeks to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of forecasting and optimization for PV-DG-ESS-grid hybrid plants in the region.
The objective of this study is to design a DE for a hybrid power plant of wind, solar, diesel engines, and ESS. When a utility requests ancillary services, the proposed dispatch engine would maximize resource use to account for any unusual changes in load circumstances. The DE will involve a combination of algorithms and models to predict the power output of each renewable energy source and optimize the dispatch of power between the different sources to meet the demand while minimizing costs and maximizing the use of renewable energy. 'Forecasting' and 'Real-time operator' are the two steps that make up the proposed DE. A long-term plan for the plant's operations throughout the next time period is what the first stage is meant to provide. The hybrid power plant can utilize this strategy to commit on an hourly basis to taking part in utility load sharing and the energy markets. The second stage will monitor plant operations and rearrange them in accordance with the current condition of the hybrid plant's parts.
With the use of the real load, PV, and wind data from a region in Sultanate of Oman, the suggested dispatch engine's feasibility has been evaluated. Oman's ambition to increase electricity production is to lessen its reliance on natural gas as a fuel source and support the new government fuel diversification program [
65]. As stated in the Oman 2040 Vision, the development of unconventional sources employing natural resources, including as RE sources, would help lower production costs and improve a variety of economic sectors' competitiveness. The strategy aims to attain 20% of renewable energy consumption relative to overall consumption by 2030 and 35% to 39% by 2040 [
66]. Therefore, implementing such a DE in Oman will be a great step toward the success of this plan.
The rest of the paper is structured as follows:
Section 2 provides mathematical representations of the hybrid power system's component parts. The proposed Dispatch Engine (DE) is presented in
Section 3. The model of the suggested system is developed in
Section 4, and the MILP approach is then introduced in
Section 5. The forecasting method is described in
Section 6.
Section 7 presents the case simulation, while
Section 8 presents the associated simulation findings. Finally,
Section 10 provides the conclusions.
4. Problem Formulation
Optimal outcomes are achieved through the identification of parameter settings that minimize a specific function, which in turn offers stakeholders a quantifiable insight into the system's value addition. To locate the function's minimum value, mathematical programming methods are frequently employed. These techniques navigate through predefined variables, aiming to find the optimal solution while adhering to a defined set of constraints. This process not only aids in optimizing system performance but also ensures that the solutions are feasible and aligned with the system's operational limits and goals. [
73]. The problem can be described below:
Within constraints
where
,
,
and
are the objective function, n-dimensional design vector, inequality, and equality constraints, respectively.
is the number of variables and
and/or
are the numbers of constraints [
73].
Various mathematical optimization techniques can be applied based on the problem's characteristics, especially in the context of renewable energy systems, which will be elaborated in the subsequent sections. The aforementioned DE has the primary goal of minimizing the costs of the hybrid plant and maximize the use of RES. To achieve this objective, each component relevant to the preceding statement needs to be precisely defined. Hence, the mathematical expression of the economic cost objective function
can be formulated as
where
is the total cost function,
is the cost function for wind power generation,
is the cost function for PV power generation,
is the cost functions for the ESS, and
is the cost functions for the DG, and
is the grid cost functions. All cost functions in the model carry equal weightage, as the primary objective is to minimize the operating costs of the plants. Each cost function contributes to the same overarching goal and is of equal significance.
The cost functions for the DG (
is formulated as the aggregate of the fuel cost required for generating enough energy to meet grid demands and the associated emission costs. Given that CO2 accounts for around 99% of total emissions, the model overlooks the minor gases. With the mass of gases emitted from diesel combustion known, the emission cost can be quantified based on the amount of fuel consumed. Hence the cost function of DG can be expressed as
where
is the DG-generated power, 𝐹 is the amount of diesel used per kWh,
is the maximum power produced by DG,
the cost of fuel per liter,
is the gas mass associated with burning fuel and
is the cost of said gases.
The grid cost functions is defined as the difference between the cost of power purchased and the cost of power sold for each time interval.
The performance of the system is governed by a number of constraints on the proposed cost function. The power balance constraint is the first set of constraints that ensures at any time t, the total power generated from DG (, wind , PV(, power imported or exported from or to the grid (and power used for ESS (equals the total load power ( .
The power balance constraint is established as follows:
where
is the PV power,
is the wind power,
is ESS power,
is the measured DG power,
is the grid power, and
is load power and
is the operation time.
The second constraint is the generation limits constraint for the wind generators. The upper and lower limitations of the wind farm's output power are among the operating constraints [
74].
where
is the maximum power output of the wind farm.
The third constrain is the generation limits constraint for the PV generators.
where
is the maximum power of the PV power station.
In order to balance the ESS's state of charge (SoC) throughout the charging and discharging cycles, a fourth constraints is established. The constraints of ESS include power capacity limits [
74]
where
and
are, respectively, the lower and upper limits of the ESS's power.
To prevent the ESS from being over-charged and over-discharged, its SoC limit is expressed as follows:
where
and
are, respectively, the minimum and maximum bounds of SoC.
Capacity, charge and discharge power, and charge and discharge state constraints are some of the constraints placed on ESS. The following are the precise formulae.
where
,
are the capacities of the ESS at time
and time
,
,
are the maximum and the minimum capacities of the ESS,
,
are the charge and discharge power of the ESS at time t,
,
are the maximum charge power and the maximum discharge power of the ESS,
,
are the states of charge and discharge of the ESS at time t,
=0 1 means not charge of the ESS at time t,
=1 means charge of the ESS at time t,
=0 means not discharge of the ESS at time t,
=1 means discharge of the ESS at time t,
,
are the charge and the discharge efficiencies, respectively, and
is the unit time interval [
75].
The fifth set of constraint is related to DG power and ensures that the generator limits are not exceeded. The upper and lower limitations of the output power are among the DG constraints.
where
is the DG unit’s maximum power.
The last set of constraints is related relates to the maximum amount of power that may be transferred between the main grid and the microgrid. This power is limited between maximum and minimum values to ensure the system's transmission safety. Constraints include the output power's upper and lower limits, minimum power purchased, and the maximum power sold Equation (11).
where
and
is the grid's maximum and minimum power limits.
5. Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP)
The Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) approach will be utilized to address the optimization issue presented in the preceding section. As such, this method follows the traditional MILP framework, focusing minimization. This approach is especially well-suited for optimizing complicated systems with several choice variables because of its ability to handle issues involving both discrete and continuous variables. Subject to a set of linear constraints, the research seeks to identify the most effective solution that minimizes the objective function by utilizing MILP. This method makes sure that the solution path is well-structured and also makes it easier to manage the many technical and operational limitations that are present in the optimization issue. Only and in ESS constraints are integers; all other arguments are real variables. Regarding the ESS's charging/discharging cycles' either/or behavior, the variables and are considered as binary (integer) variables.
Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) is a powerful mathematical optimization approach that finds the best solution within a feasible set using a well-defined objective function and a set of constraints. MILP stands out from other optimization tactics, such as classical linear programming, intelligent algorithms, and hybrid methods, due to its better precision and computing efficiency. This methodology's strength is its ability to efficiently include both discrete and continuous variables into the decision-making process, allowing for a thorough examination of complicated systems. The decision to use MILP as the selected optimization method for this study was due to its proved effectiveness of generating highly accurate solutions in a timely way, making it a useful tool for solving complex optimization difficulties [
76].
To address MILP issues, three key strategies stand out for their effectiveness and efficiency: the feasibility pump technique, cutting edge methods, and tree search algorithms. The descriptions of those techniques are as below:
The feasibility pump technique aims to quickly identify a viable solution that meets all issue constraints. It alternates between solving a relaxed linear problem to enhance objective value and rounding answers to retain feasibility under integer constraints. The feasibility pump is especially beneficial for quickly creating a viable starting point that may then be refined using other methods.
Cutting Plane methods: These approaches, which rely on continually refining the viable solution space, apply extra constraints to remove regions that lack the optimal solution. These cuts are made with the solution of the linear relaxation of the MILP problem, which is gradually tightened to converge to the integer solution. This method is beneficial for reducing the search space and shortening the solution time for complex problems.
Tree Search Algorithms: These algorithms, such as branch-and-bound and branch-and-cut, employ systematic exploration to identify viable solutions. They function by breaking down the solution space into smaller subproblems (branching) and assessing the limits of these subproblems to remove those that do not contain the optimal solution. Tree search algorithms are effective tools for tackling MILP issues because they can handle both the combinatorial character of integer variables and linear correlations between variables effectively.
Each of these techniques has distinct benefits and may be chosen based on the specific characteristics of the MILP issue at hand, such as its size, the nature of the constraints, and the desired balance of solution precision and computational time. Additionally, putting together these strategies or employing them in a planned sequence can considerably improve the efficiency of addressing MILP problems, leading the way for identifying ideal solutions in many applications [
77].
The tree search technique, also known as branch-and-bound, is the approach that has been selected to solve the MILP issue. This approach is a crucial algorithmic method for solving MILP problems. Because of its architecture, it is possible to explore the solution space of MILP issues in a systematic way with the goal of precisely and effectively identifying the best or nearly optimal solution [
77].
Using the MILP tree search approach, a search tree is constructed, with each node corresponding to a different subproblem inside the larger MILP framework. This procedure begins with the creation of a starting node that contains the full problem. It then branches depending on variables that must meet integer constraints to split the problem down into more manageable sub-problems.
Figure 3 depicts an enumeration tree as the fundamental representation of the branch-and-bound method. A linear relaxation of the subproblem is carried out at each node in order to provide a lower bound for the ideal goal value. After branching, the algorithm uses linear programming to solve the relaxed linear version of each subproblem at the child nodes in order to get an upper bound for the ideal goal value. Bounding is an essential phase in the MILP tree search process that improves the search's efficiency and focus by fine-tuning the bounds using the output of linear programming relaxations. The search continues, gradually tightening its limits, until all nodes in the search tree have been explored or a predetermined stopping requirement is satisfied. The approach finds the best or nearly best possible integer solution to the initial MILP challenge through this painstaking search procedure, ultimately identifying the most efficient answer within the stated solution space [
78].