Cost-Aware Smart Microgrid Network design for a sustainable smart grid

Smart MicroGrids (SMGs) are expected to be a significant ingredient of the future smart grid as they simplify the integration of distributed renewable energy generation units, offer reliable service, provide faster restoration capabilities and support sustainable grid operation. Furthermore, by the help of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), energy management systems of the SMGs can communicate with each other and provide a platform where microgrids can export or import power, provided that certain power quality constraints and standards are met. These virtually connected microgrids form the Smart Microgrid Network (SMGN). In this paper, we propose the Cost-Aware Smart Microgrid Network (CoS-MoNet) design scheme that enables economic power transactions within the SMGN. CoSMoNet is based on an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) formulation that matches the excess energy in the storage banks of a group of SMGs to the demands of other SMGs whose load cannot be accommodated by their local supply. Our results show that CoSMoNet enables cost-efficient power transactions among microgrid communities, increases the utilization of renewable energy, reduces the dependency of the microgrids to the utility grid, and consequently reduces the load on the grid.