This paper mainly focuses on the energy management of microgrids (MGs) consisting of combined heat and power (CHP) and photovoltaic (PV) prosumers. A multiparty energy management framework is proposed for joint operation of CHP and PV prosumers with the internal price-based demand response. In particular, an optimization model based on Stackelberg game is designed, where the microgrid operator (MGO) acts as the leader and PV prosumers are the followers. The properties of the game are studied and it is proved that the game possesses a unique Stackelberg equilibrium. The heuristic algorithm based on differential evolution is proposed that can be adopted by the MGO, and nonlinear constrained programing can be adopted by each prosumer to reach the Stackelberg equilibrium. Finally, via a practical example, the effectiveness of the model is verified in terms of determining MGO's prices and optimizing net load characteristic, etc.

According to the energy policy, which encourages local consumption of photovoltaic (PV) energy, the energy sharing among neighboring PV prosumers is proved to be a more effective way compared with independent operations of each prosumer. In this paper, an energy storage (ES)-equipped energy-sharing provider (ESP) is proposed to facilitate the energy sharing of multiple PV prosumers. With the help of the ESP, the autonomous PV prosumers can be formed as an energy-sharing network, and the energy-sharing activities can be categorized as direct sharing and buffered sharing. First, with the assistance of the ES, a day-ahead scheduling model of the ESP is built to increase the operation profit and improve the net power profile of the energy-sharing network, which considers the uncertainty of PV energy, electricity prices, and prosumers' load via stochastic programming. Moreover, to further increase the energy sharing, a real-time demand response model based on a Stackelberg game is presented to coordinate the energy consumption behavior of prosumers by using internal prices. Finally, through a practical case study, the effectiveness of the method is verified in terms of improving the economic benefits and PV energy sharing.

In order to facilitate energy sharing and improve system flexibility, a hybrid energy sharing framework of multiple microgrids (MGs) is proposed for a heat-electricity integrated energy system (HE-IES) with combined heat and power (CHP) and demand response (DR). First, considering multi-time scale characteristics, an electrical and thermal energy sharing model of interconnected MGs with CHP and PV systems is built, in which CHP can operate in a hybrid mode by selecting the operating point flexibly. Moreover, the local subproblem of each MG is formulated and solved considering a comprehensive set of factors including the generating heat and power cost, trading cost with utility grid, trading electrical and thermal energy cost with other MGs, load characteristic, power consumption utility, thermal discomfort cost. In addition, a distributed optimization algorithm is used to solve the hybrid energy sharing problem, where the electrical and thermal energy prices can be obtained. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed energy sharing method is demonstrated by a case study simulation.

Combined heat and power (CHP) is an important distributed generation type for the microgrids (MG) with both thermal and electricity demand. In this paper, a multi-party energy management framework with electricity and heat demand response (DR) is proposed for the CHP-MG. First, in order to decide the electricity and thermal prices, an optimization model of microgrid operator (MGO) is formulated as the operation profit of the CHP system, including cost of gas, income of energy selling to the consumers, and income of surplus electricity feed to utility grid. The CHP system is operated as a hybrid mode by dynamically selecting following the thermal load (FTL) mode and following the electric load (FEL) mode. Moreover, for the building energy consumers, an optimization model of the building users is formulated as the utility of electricity consumption, the expenditure of purchasing electricity/heat, and the comfortable degree of indoor temperature. Finally, the trading process between the MGO and consumers is designed a one-leader, N-follower Stackelberg game, and the existence and uniqueness of the Stackelberg equilibrium is proved. Finally, the case study of a CHP-MG with 6 building users are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Using solar photovoltaics (PV) to help a microgrid (MG) operator for cost reduction may not be a straightforward problem due to the intermittent nature of PV power generation and unpredictable load demands. One potential way to address this challenge is to use batteries that can store the surplus PV energy whenever possible and supply the energy back to the MG when needed. In this context, this paper proposes a battery energy management system (BEMS) for an MG, in which PVs and diesel generators (DGs) are the primary sources of electricity. The novelty of the proposed BEMS lies within the energy management of multiple types of batteries' characteristics and the reduction of DGs' operating hours simultaneously. Furthermore, the proposed BEMS also takes into account different characteristics of the batteries when controlling the charging and discharging decision to extend the battery lifetime. Real-world data of MG load and PV power generations are used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed BEMS. Through numerical simulation case studies, it is demonstrated that the proposed BEMS is capable of achieving the following: reduction in DGs' operating hours, reduction in PV power fluctuations, and concurrent management of multiple batteries of different characteristics and extension of battery lifetime by controlling battery charge and discharge rate.