Microgrid Energy Management Using Multi-Agent System Approach

One of the great challenges of current times is to provide clean energy to all people around the world, including those in remote areas. In this regard, a small-scale and self-sufficient electricity grid is one of the most promising solutions, which falls under the Microgrid concept. One of the ways to effectively utilise the microgrid is to optimally manage the energy flow in it. However, microgrid energy management involves many challenges. Microgrids are versatile systems and can have a variety of load types, electricity sources and conditions, each with an impact on the Energy Management System (EMS). This thesis focuses on the problem of developing approaches for EMS with realistic modelling of the components in the microgrid, especially in the area of demand (at appliances level) and storage systems. Incorporating a realistic model of the components poses few new challenges to the microgrid EMS. For instance, the convexity of the optimisation problem can be compromised or the complexity of the system can increase remarkably. In this thesis, those challenges are addressed and novel measures are proposed to mitigate problems.