2017 IEEE 30th Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (CCECE)
An Energy Management System for Hybrid
Microgrids in Remote Communities
*
S. A. Helal, *R. J. Najee, *M. O. Hanna, M. F. Shaaban, A. H. Osman, and M. S. Hassan
Department of Electrical Engineering
American University of Sharjah
Sharjah, UAE
{mshaaban, aosmanahmed, mshassan}@aus.edu
Abstract— A new energy management system is proposed in
this paper to optimally schedule different generation technologies
in hybrid AC/DC microgrid for remote communities. The proposed
scheme relies on a microgrid controller (MGC), which minimizes
the operational costs for different distributed generation (DG) units
in the islanded microgrid by sending droop characteristics
parameters to the DG units to ensure optimum power sharing for
each time slot. Moreover, the MGC controls the customers’
appliances and water desalination units to ensure optimal
utilization of the system assets with minimum operational costs
while satisfying the customer requirements. In addition, the MGC
sends operational parameters for the interlinking converters
between the AC and DC subsystems to ensure stable operation of
the microgrid by controlling power exchange between the AC and
DC sides. The energy management problem is formulated as a
mixed-integer non-linear programming, which is solved by the
MGC. Optimal decisions are sent to local controllers and smart
meters to be implemented. Simulation results on an islanded hybrid
AC/DC microgrid are provided. The results demonstrate the
effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach.
Keywords— distributed generation; energy management;
microgrid; remote community; renewable energy resources.
I. INTRODUCTION
The scarcity and contamination of pure water have been a
growing global struggle over the years. In particular, remote and
rural areas suffer the most, as many of them are not provided
with minimal fresh water resources to cover their basic daily
needs. Moreover, another concern arises from the lack of
availability of electric grid connection to these remote areas.
Building the infrastructure to supply water and electric power
to such areas is typically costly and inefficient. Therefore, it is
essential to design the electric networks in remote areas to
operate as islanded microgrids that can supply AC and DC loads
in addition to water desalination units. Moreover, the
advancement in smart microgrid technologies allows two-way
communication and efficient load management. It also allows the
incorporation of renewable distributed generation units, such as
photovoltaic (PV) panels, wind turbines, and biomass generation
units.
Demand Side Management (DSM) programs can be applied
to accomplish reliable power flow with the aim of minimizing the
cost of operation. Several studies have reported the effectiveness
of DSM programs in the reduction of the operating cost [1]-[5].
DSM programs deal with the demand end of the electric power.
The main idea of DSM is to shift the operation of time-shiftable
loads to other periods of lower energy prices while controlling
*
These authors contributed equally to this work.
This publication was made possible by NPRP grant # NPRP 9-055-2-022 from
the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The
statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.
978-1-5090-5538-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
the energy consumption of controllable loads. The operation
schedules are optimized to minimize the cost of the consumed
energy. Applying DSM programs results in several advantages,
such as reduction of the peak demand, releasing the congestions
on the system infrastructure, which allows for longer lifespans,
reduction of the utility operation cost and customer’s electricity
bills, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions [4], [5].
A lot of work has been done towards the operation of hybrid
AC/DC power flow alongside DSM. Throughout these proposed
approaches, numerous techniques have been used to reach an
optimal operation schedule [6]-[9]. However, the solutions
proposed by the formerly discussed work might not be suitable
for large practical microgrids as they did not consider the system
layout or incorporate its practical and physical constraints.
This paper introduces a new energy management system
(EMS) in AC/DC hybrid islanded microgrid. The work discusses
an innovative method for optimal scheduling of loads and
biomass DGs while incorporating PV panels and water
desalination plants. The overall aim is to optimally utilize the
microgrid assets of remote communities to secure clean water
and electricity while minimizing the overall operation cost. The
scheduling problem is modeled as a mixed integer non-linear
programming (MINLP) problem, considering the system layout
and its constraints, in order to reach an optimal schedule at a
minimal cost.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section II
discusses the overall structure of the system and the methodology
used. The problem formulation is described in Section III. Case
studies and a discussion of the results are provided in Section IV
and Section V, respectively.
I. THE PROPOSED ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The proposed EMS manages dispatchable DG units and PV
panels from the generation side, and the controllable home
appliances and water desalination units from the demand side to
ensure stable and optimal operation of the islanded system.
The proposed EMS is composed of a database to handle data
storage and data exchange, a forecaster to project the future
demand and generation, and an optimizer to optimally schedule
the controllable assets in the islanded microgrid based on real-
time measurement and forecasted values. The EMS operation can
be explained in three main stages. The first stage consists of
collecting information from the customer regarding their
preferences of the controllable appliances operation, microgrid
sensors, PV panels, water desalination units regarding water
 2017 IEEE 30th Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (CCECE)

levels, smart meters, dispatchable DG units’ controllers, and + − − −

( ,) ( ,) ( ,) ( ,,) ( ,, )
AC/DC interlinking converters’ status. ∈ ∈
(4)
In the second stage, the forecaster predicts the generation of =− ( ,) ( ,) ( , ) sin ( , ) + ( ,) − ( ,)
PV panels, electricity demand, and water demand for a pre- ∈
specified period, which is typically 24 h. The third stage focuses where , , and are the sets of all buses, shiftable loads, and
on developing the optimal schedules of all system assets. The controllable loads, respectively; , , , and are the indices
role of the optimizer is to solve the optimization scheduling for buses, AC buses, shiftable, and controllable loads,
problem. The developed decisions cover the scheduling period respectively; ( , ) and ( , ) are the injected active
with a resolution of ∆ and allow the system to minimize the and reactive powers in p.u. from the AC/DC converter at bus iac
overall operating cost. The outcomes of the optimizer are then for time , respectively; ( , ) and ( , ) are the
communicated back to the system.
fixed or uncontrollable active and reactive load powers in p.u at
II. PROBLEM FORMULATION bus iac for time , respectively; ( , , ) and ( , , )

The optimization problem describing the optimal scheduling shiftable active and reactive load powers in p.u. at bus for
of different system assets is formulated as MINLP and explained equipment at time , respectively; ( , , ) and ( , , )
in this section. The operational optimization problem targets are the controllable active and reactive load powers in p.u. at bus
minimizing the system’s total operation cost while maintaining for equipment at time , respectively; ( , ) and ( , )
stable operation of the AC/DC hybrid microgrid and meeting the are the magnitude in p.u. and angle of the voltage at bus at
consumer’s desires for the operation of their appliances. This is time , respectively; and are the active and
( , ) ( , )
achieved through the following objective function and its reactive power in p.u. supplied by the dispatchable DG for every
constraints.
bus , at every time interval , respectively.
A. Objective Function To ensure optimal power sharing among the DG units, the
The objective function is to minimize the costs of electricity active and reactive powers of the AC side DG units are droop
generation from dispatchable DG units, as in (1). The cost of controlled as in (5) and (6). Boundaries on the DG droop
operation is modeled as fixed cost and fuel cost, which is parameters are imposed as in (7) and (8). The DG units’
described in terms of the generating unit parameters in (2). The capabilities are constrained as in (9). In addition, technical
electricity generation of these units supplies fixed and boundaries are enforced to ensure acceptable voltage values at all
controllable loads, in addition to, the system losses. times for every bus ∈ as indicated in (10). Moreover, at any
instant of time, the magnitude of the current ( , , ) flowing
between any two buses must be below the thermal capacity of
min ( ) + (, ) (1) that line ( , ) , i.e. ( , , ) ( , ).
∈ ∈ ∈
1
(, ) = () × ( ) × () ×∆ × × (, ) (2) ( , ) = ( ( , ) − ( )) (5)
( , )
where is the decision variable vector; and are the sets of 1
( , ) = ( ( , ) − ( , )) (6)
all system buses and time intervals, respectively; and are the ( , )
indices of buses and time steps, respectively; ( ) denotes the , ( ) ( , ) , ( ) (7)
cost of idle DGs at time ; = , ), , ), , ), (8)
( , ) is the cost of generated ( , ) ( ( ( ( , )

energy from DGs at time ; ( ) is the heat rate of the DG , ( ) ≥ ( , ) + ( , ) (9)

technology at bus in Btu/kWh; ( ) is the heat content of (10)
( , )
the fuel for the DG technology at bus in kg/Btu; ( ) is the where ( , ) and ( , ) are the DG unit output angular
cost of fuel $/kg; (, ) is the active power in p.u. supplied by frequency and voltage at no load; ( ) and ( , ) are the AC
the distributed generators for every bus , at every time interval side system frequency and ac bus voltage; ( , ) and ( , )
; is the base power in kVA. are the active and reactive powers static droop gains; ( , ) is
B. Constraints the vector of droop parameters; , ( ) and , ( ) are
the lower and upper droop bounds; and the maximum
1) AC Side of the Hybrid Islanded System
and minimum voltage limits in p.u., respectively.
In an AC/DC islanded hybrid system, the AC side of the system
2) DC Side of the Hybrid Islanded System
is constrained by the power balance equations. It is assumed that
On the DC side, the interlinking converter power is assumed to
the converters are injecting power from the DC sections of the
be consumed. Therefore, the DC power flow equation for any
microgrid to the AC sections. The power balance constraints in time step is as follows:
(3) and (4) are satisfied for all AC buses ∈ and time
intervals ∈ . − ( ,) + ( ,) − ( ,) − ( ,,)
∈
( ,) + ( ,) − ( ,) − ( ,,) − ( ,, ) (11)
∈ ∈ − ( ,, ) = ( ,) ( ( ,) − ( , ) )( ( , ))
(3)
∈ ∈
= ( ,) ( ,) ( , ) ( , ) + ( ,) − ( ,)
∈
 2017 IEEE 30th Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (CCECE)

where ( , ) is the injected active power in p.u. to the AC ( , ) = ( , )× (, ) (19)

side of the converter at bus idc for time ; ( , ) is the 6) Water Desalination Units
generated active power in p.u. for PV at bus idc for time ; is The power consumed by the water desalination unit ( , )
the index of DC buses; ( , ) is the line conductance between can be expressed in (20). The desalinated water levels in the
buses and . tanks are updated as in (21). These levels must be maintained at
3) Interlinking Converter Constraints secured value , i.e. ( , ) ≥ ( ).
The interlinking converter is subject to the apparent power
capability, as in (12). For simplicity, it is assumed that the
converters are lossless, as in (13). Power transferred between AC ( , ) = ( , ) × ∀ ∈ (20)
and DC sides should be zero for all buses not connected to
converters, as in (14). ( , ) = ( , ) − ( , ) +
(21) ( , )

≥ + (12) where ( , ) and ( , ) are the generated and consumed

() ( , ) ( , ) ∀ ∈ℐ
clean water in gallons at bus for time ; 0 is the consumed
(, ) = ( , )∀ ∈ ℐ (13) power by the desalination unit in kW per gallon.
(, ) = ( , ) = 0 ∀ ∉ ℐ (14)
where ℐ is the set of buses connected to converters; ()
III. CASE STUDIES
is the converter’s rated complex power in p.u. at bus i. The system under study is the modified 38-bus system in
4) Load Constraints [11], which is disconnected from the grid as shown in Fig. 1. The
The inputs necessary for controllable appliances are the system consists of one AC section and two DC sections, which
preliminary consumption _ ( , , , ) and the maximum require two AC/DC interlinking converters. The PV units are
allowable percentage change in power ( , , ) . The control
located at 10 of the system nodes on the DC sections, where is
variable assumed that each household installs 5 kW of PV panels. Six
( , ) , which is limited between 1 and -1, is used to
DG units are located in the system, as shown in Fig.1, and
varying the consumption. The subset l represents the load type in
numbered according to the cost of operation. For example, DG1
the household as AC or DC. Controllable appliances’ energy
has the lowest cost of operation and DG6 has the highest. All the
consumption is maintained fixed. The aforementioned is
EMS elements are modeled in Matlab® environment except for
formulated as follows:
the optimizer, which is modeled in GAMS environment.
( , , , ) = (1 + ( , , ,)× ( , , ) ) _ (, , ,) (15)
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
∑ ( , , ,) =∑ _ ( , , , ) (16)
Simulations were conducted on two cases. In case A, the system
For the second type of appliances, shiftable appliances, the operation is carried out without any control; on the other hand,
controller requires the following inputs: operation time, operating case B considers the scenario in which the proposed EMS control
power, preferred consumption profile _ ( , , ) , and allowed strategies are implemented.
time shift range. The decision variable 1 ( , , ) represents the
shift in minutes of the appliance’s operating time. The shifting A. Case A
constraints can be formulated as follows: In this case study, the DG units are operated under fixed droop
( , , , ) = _ (, , ,) (17) characteristics. The consumptions of different types of loads are
= + 1 ( , , ) /∆ (18) shown in Fig. 2. Fig.3 shows the power generated by each DG
5) DG Constraints unit throughout the day. The interlinking converters transfer
The generated powers from the DG units are formulated as a active power between the DC and the AC sections based on the
fraction of the generation capacity ( , ) , as in (19). The PV panels output. The total operating cost is $ 678.98.
control variable (, ) is limited between 0 and 1.

Fig. 1. 38-bus islanded AC/DC microgrid.

 2017 IEEE 30th Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (CCECE)

B. Case B 2.5
Controllable loads

Power consumption
2
Applying the proposed EMS to schedule the appliances 1.5 Shiftable loads
operation changes their behavior to that shown in Fig. 4. It can Desalination units

(MW)
1
be seen that the peaks of shiftable loads have been removed to 0.5 Fixed load
a great extent, with the majority of shiftable appliances 0 Converter (AC to DC)
scheduled to operate between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM during -0.5
-1
which the PV panels are operating to reduce the consumption Time of day
from the DG units. The desalination units are also set in
operation during the same time interval.
As shown in Fig.5, the DG with the lowest operating cost Fig. 2. Power consumption for case A.
(DG1) is switched on throughout the day while the next 2.5
PV DG6

Generated power
cheapest DG (DG2) is operated only when the one with the 2.0
DG5 DG4
lowest cost has reached its rated capacity which in this case is 1.5

(MW)
DG3 DG2
0.8 MW. The more expensive units are not operated at any 1.0
DG1
time throughout the day; thus, the system relies only on the 0.5
biomass units for the day under study. However, for different 0.0
Time of day
profiles in another day, the other DG units may be operated if
the biomass units reach their maximum output without
satisfying the load requirements. Also, Fig. 5 shows that during Fig. 3. Power generation for case A.
1.5
daytime the PV panels are injecting power to the system while

Power consumption
Controllable loads
1
DG units are only switched on when needed as opposed to case Shiftable loads
0.5
A where they share the demand according to the droop

(MW)
Desalination units
characteristics. While meeting all customers’ preferences, 0 Fixed load
water supply requirements, and microgrid technical constraints -0.5 Converter (AC to DC)
during both cases, the proposed EMS reduced the operating -1 Time of day
cost from the $ 678.98 in case A to $ 323.199 in case B. This
reduction is almost 52.4 %, which reflects the significant Fig. 4. Power consumption for case B.
benefit of the proposed EMS. 1.5
Generated power

PV DG6
V. CONCLUSIONS 1.0 DG5 DG4
(MW)

0.5 DG3 DG2

This paper presents a new EMS for remote communities’
hybrid microgrids taking into consideration the technical
constraints of the grid as well as customers’ preferences. The
aim of the proposed EMS is to manage all system assets to
ensure stable operation of the microgrid and secured clean
water supply for the customers. The proposed scheduling
problem is formulated as an MINLP problem, where the
objective is to minimize the overall daily operating costs.
Simulation results prove the effectiveness of the proposed
EMS in reducing the overall operational costs and maintaining
a secured operation of the islanded microgrid while meeting all
system and customers’ constraints. The proposed EMS is
general and can be utilized for remote communities with AC
only, DC only, or AC/DC microgrids. Utilizing the proposed
EMS may eliminate or reduce the need for transporting fuel to
the communities; thus, reducing the overall system operating
costs.
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