An energy management system for off-grid power systems

Next generation power management at all scales will rely on the efficient scheduling and operation of both generating units and loads to maximize efficiency and utility. The ability to schedule and modulate the demand levels of a subset of loads within a power system can lead to more efficient use of the generating units. These methods become increasingly important for systems that operate independently of the main utility, such as microgrid and off-grid systems. This work extends the principles of unit commitment and economic dispatch problems to off-grid power systems where the loads are also schedulable. We propose a general optimization framework for solving the energy management problem in these systems. An important contribution is the description of how a wide range of sources and loads, including those with discrete states, non-convex, and nonlinear cost or utility functions, can be reformulated as a convex optimization problem using, for example, a shortest path description. Once cast in this way, solution are obtainable using a subgradient algorithm that also lends itself to a distributed implementation. The methods are demonstrated by a simulation of an off-grid solar powered community.