A Real-Time Power Sharing Strategy for a Multi-Energy System While Considering Individual System Dynamics

Abstract

For a sustainable and resilient energy supply, multi-energy systems (MES) are becoming more prominent. Real-time efficient power-sharing in an MES consisting of different generation sources, uncontrollable loads, multiple storage options, and Power-to-X technologies is a challenging task. The challenge arises due to constantly fluctuating generation and load, as well as the different system dynamics of each element in the setup. Optimizing the power-sharing among the various controllable elements in an MES could be broken down into a two-level process. The top-level process, commonly known as super-ordinate control, defines the power-sharing over a longer timeframe based on load and generation forecasts and multiple other factors. The lower-level process, commonly known as sub-ordinate control, based on the inputs from the super-ordinate control and live sensor data refines the control signals of the individual elements. This work focuses on developing a control framework for the sub-ordinate control process while considering the individual element dynamics such as dead time and rise time to a control signal. This is important as not considering differences in the system dynamics results in sub-optimal control, causing dynamic mismatches. This work proposes a simple rule-based power-splitting method backed up with individual PID regulators and Smith Predictor for each element in the MES, which are further coupled to each other for more precise and efficient control. The proposed method induces a cooperative behavior among the MES elements and improves the reaction time to a control signal while also improving the target tracking by 3-8%.