MILP-based Rolling Horizon Control for Microgrids with Battery Storage

An energy management system is proposed for a grid-connected microgrid with on-site battery storage and renewable energy sources. The system controls power flow between the microgrid and grid in order to effectively utilize renewable energy and maximize economic benefits for the customer and the utility operator. The power flow is optimized by formulating and solving a mixed-integer-linear-program optimization over a rolling horizon window. Multiple objectives concerning economic benefits, cost of battery operation and grid power profile shaping are built into the optimization. So called battery incremental red-zone power rates are among unique battery management features of this formulation. Careful consideration is also given to reducing the computations so the controller can run on an embedded computer in real time. Simulation results highlight the effectiveness of various novel aspects of the proposed controller.