Operational Optimization of Networked Microgrids

Dear Colleagues,

The widespread and rapid proliferation of distributed energy resources such as wind and solar has a far-reaching impact on traditional power system paradigms and broad implications for the entire power grid. A microgrid can disconnect from the central grid and operate independently, thereby allowing the continued supply of power to customers when a storm or other disastrous event causes an outage of the main grid. Under normal operations, microgrids create energy for local customers, thereby avoiding the need to deliver electricity from power plants over long distances via traditional transmission lines, which typically results in huge losses. It is expected that the number of microgrids will grow to form a network of microgrids to avoid cascading failures inherent to the traditional grid and to improve the resilience and robustness of the entire system. Microgrids can thus provide a great way to enhance local reliability. The pressing concerns when considering microgrids are the following: due to the presence of the intermittent renewables, 1) the time resolution of the associated operation optimization problems can no longer be 1 hour as in traditional grids, but rather, much shorter time periods are advised to accommodate for the fluctuations in demand; 2) the number of stochastic levels to capture low-probability high-impact events is expected to grow significantly; and 3) nonlinear AC power flow is needed to obtain feasible schedules of the microgrids.

This Special Issue is focused on 1) identifying current and potential issues and advantages of networked microgrids; and 2) developing efficient solutions methodologies to efficiently manage and coordinate networked microgrids.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
Networked Microgrids:

• Energy storage systems and PV panels
• Demand response
• Microgrid fault management
• Intelligent energy management systems
• AC Power Flow
• Stochastic modeling
• Wind/solar integration
• Cybersecure operations of microgrids

Operation Optimization Methods as Related to Networked Microgrids:

• Linear and nonlinear programming
• Integer and mixed-integer programming
• Stochastic programming
• Lagrangian relaxation-based methods
• Other decomposition and coordination-based methods
• Machine learning
• Multi-objective optimization
• Parallel/distributed computing

Dr. Nanpeng Yu
Dr. Mikhail A. Bragin
Prof. Dr. Peng Li
Guest Editors

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