Towards a Concept of Cooperating Power Network for Energy Management and Control of Microgrids

This chapter provides an outline of the operation and control of smart microgrids as well demand-side management and demand response programs, in addition to energy market trading. Furthermore, the chapter introduces the concept of coordination and interconnection of a set of smart microgrids in a network, showing its benefits, advantages, and outcomes, and presents an overview of the mathematical modeling of the network and its features as well as a description of robust control methods adapted to optimally control the energy exchanges at the network level considering uncertainties of loads and energy production

Optimal Planning with Technology Selection for Wind Power Plants in Power Distribution Networks

This paper proposes a comprehensive decision framework to optimally plan wind power plants (WPPs) with technology selection in the distribution network. The proposed framework aims to maximize the net present value (NPV) associated with the WPP investment over a given planning horizon for various bus locations. The proposed design accounts for various practical cost factors, historical data of wind speeds, and WPP installation restrictions due to territorial information, environmental considerations, and work constraints, in the decision making process of optimal planning and technology selection for WPP. The planning problem, which maximizes the NPV over the potential WPP installation locations, potential technologies, and the size of WPPs, is formulated as a constrained optimization problem. The proposed design is evaluated using case studies to test its concrete practices with a radial network of 33-bus distribution system

Modelling and control of hydrogen and energy flows in a network of green hydrogen refuelling stations powered by mixed renewable energy systems

International audienceThe planning of a hydrogen infrastructure with production facilities, distribution chains, and refuelling stations is a hard task. Difficulties may rise essentially in the choice of the optimal configurations. An innovative design of hydrogen network has been proposed in this paper. It consists of a network of green hydrogen refuelling stations (GHRSs) and several production nodes. The proposed model has been formulated as a mathematical programming, where the main decisions are the selection of GHRSs that are powered by the production nodes based on distance and population density criteria, as well the energy and hydrogen flows exchanged among the system components from the production nodes to the demand points. The approaches and methodologies developed can be taken as a support to decision makers, stakeholders and local authorities in the implementation of new hydrogen infrastructures. Optimal configurations have been reported taking into account the presence of an additional hydrogen industrial market demand and a connection with the electrical network. The main challenge that has been treated within the paper is the technical feasibility of the hydrogen supply chain, that is mainly driven by uncertain, but clean solar and wind energy resources. Using a Northern Italian case study, the clean hydrogen produced can be technically considered feasible to supply a network of hydrogen refuelling stations. Results show that the demands are satisfied for each time period and for the market penetration scenarios adopte

A regional decision support system for onsite renewable hydrogen production from solar and wind energy sources

Hydrogen technologies driven by renewable energy sources (RES) represent an attractive energy solution to ensure environmental sustainability. In this paper, a decision support system for the hydrogen exploitation is presented, focusing on some specific planning aspects. In particular, the planning aspects regard the selection of locations with high hydrogen production mainly based on the use of solar and wind energy sources. Four modules were considered namely, the evaluation of the wind and solar potentials, the analysis of the hydrogen potential, the development of a regional decision support module and a last module that regards the modelling of a hybrid onsite hydrogen production system. The overall approach was applied to a specific case study in Liguria region, in the north of Italy

Hazard and risk evaluation in hydrogen pipelines

The purpose of this paper is the definition and the implementation of a simplified mathematical model to estimate the hazard and the risk related to the use of high-pressurized hydrogen pipeline. Based on the combination of empirical relations and analytical models, this paper sets the basis for suitable models for consequence analysis in terms of estimating fire length and of predicting its thermal radiation. The results are compared either with experimental data available in the literature, thus by setting the same operations and failure conditions, or with other conventional gaseous fuel currently used

A Dynamic Decision Model for the Real-Time Control of Hybrid Renewable Energy Production Systems

The use of renewable energy sources can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and the dependence on fossil fuels. The main problem of the installations based on renewable energy is that electricity generation cannot be fully forecasted and may not follow the trend of the actual energy demand. Hybrid systems (including different subsystems such as renewable energy plants, energy storage systems based on hydrogen or dam water reservoirs) can help in improving the economic and environmental sustainability of renewable energy plants. In addition, hybrid systems may be used to satisfy other user demands (such as water supply or hydrogen for automotive use). However, their use should be optimized in order to fulfill the user demand in terms of energy or other needs. In this paper, a model representing an integrated hybrid system based on a mix of renewable energy generation/conversion technologies (e.g., electrolyzer, hydroelectric plant, pumping stations, wind turbines, fuel cell) is presented. The model includes an optimization problem for the control of the different ways to store energy. The goal is to satisfy the hourly variable electric, hydrogen, and water demands. A specific application area in Morocco is considered and the results obtained are discussed in detail

An optimization model for a mechanical vapor compression desalination plant driven by a wind/PV hybrid system

A renewable hybrid system to produce domestic water is presented. It consists of a photovoltaic module, a wind turbine, a mechanical vapor compression desalination plant and a storage unit. An optimization model based on a mathematical programming is developed to control the energy flows exchanged among the system components in order to satisfy the domestic water demand. The model has been solved for three specific case studies in Morocco, where two of them are located in Rabat which aim to satisfy the hourly and monthly water demand of 20 households, whereas, the last one is in Essaouira, which aims to ensure the monthly water demand of 40 households. The main motivations behind selecting these specific case studies are the evaluation of the efficiency and feasibility of such system in two coastal sites having different characteristics of renewable energy sources. The obtained results show that the domestic water demands are satisfied in each time interval at a reasonable economic cost comparable to the current average cost of water in Morocco which is about 0.7 \u20ac m3

Sustainable fuels for the transport and maritime sector:A blueprint of the LNG distribution network

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is one of the alternative sustainable fuels available to the transportation sector. A new distribution network needs to be in place to enable better accessibility and more efficient usage of this fuel type for all modes of transport. Currently, a chicken-and-egg problem can be noted where users wait for the infrastructure to be in place and suppliers do not initiate new investments due to uncertainty in future usage. In this paper we aim to fill this void by visualizing the supply chain of LNG and bio-LNG and derive essential issues to be addressed in developing LNG networks. These issues form the blueprint of the LNG distribution network, supported by the empirical input of stakeholders through interviews and expert sessions. We classify the challenges found in terms of supply chain network design literature and indicate future research issues.</p