A critical and comparative review of energy management strategies for microgrids

Abstract

Energy management (EM) can be defined as the process of monitoring, planning, optimizing, and saving energy to obtain an energy-efficient system. A microgrid (MG) is considered a sustainable energy system but due to the uncertain nature of renewable energy resources (RERs) and electrical load, it requires an optimal and efficient energy management system (EMS). It is vital for optimal usage of distributed energy resources (DERs) in a secure and reliable way. This function of EMS is performed by an advanced decision-making approach which is present in it. In recent years, many researchers have focussed on the development of advanced EM strategies for MG to establish a self-sustained MG. Therefore, a comparative study is required to have a 360° view of the domain EM in MGs. In this regard, this article presents a critical and comparative analysis of the EM strategies developed for the MG’s optimal decision-making along with their demand response strategies. The broader classification of EMS based on supervisory control, operating time platform, and an approach for making a decision is discussed along with their limitations and solutions. To manage the dynamic and intermittent nature of RERs and load, different uncertainty handling and modeling approaches are summarized. A systematic review strategy consists of some tasks is adopted by the authors, for example (i) Extraction of research articles related to EM in MG; (ii) Filtering out the important articles to prepare a relevant research article database (iii) Critically analyzing the EM strategy developed in each article. In a broader perspective, this paper presents an up-to-date systematic analysis of EM strategies for MGs developed by various researchers. Finally, some recommendations and future research directions are also suggested. We hope that this article will help the readers to map the conceptual structure of this research field.