Coordination of distributed energy resources

A major problem with any solution for distributed generation (DG) is the coordination of distributed energy resources (DER) to meet demand. Taking a new approach to the problem, we consider off-grid implementations that would have the greatest impact in remote and developing regions. Our proposed system creates a micro-grid by linking together a group of individual communities for backup and peak-shaving. As such, the DER must be coordinated (and scheduled) to meet the total demand of the micro-grid. Two distributed coordination strategies are currently being examined - bilateral contracts and market-based techniques. Employing fuzzy costs allows the system to be optimized for a range of values. Finally, we describe research in progress to develop a holonic system model of a distributed testbed and implement it using the JADE development platform to evaluate coordination strategies under different micro-grid configurations.