A two-stage framework for the optimal design of a hybrid renewable energy system for port application

Abstract

The contribution of this paper is to propose a two-stage optimal framework to solve the optimal design problem of a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) for seaports. Firstly, models of wind energy sub-systems, energy storage sub-systems, and on-shore power supply sub-systems are established. Then, the proposed framework determines the optimal installed capacity of different sub-systems in the first stage to minimize the investment cost, including fixed investment cost and linear investment cost. The second stage performs the stochastic characteristics of wind energy generation and energy demands in seaports to minimize the operation cost, which takes power balances, capacity limitations and emission regulations as constraints. Due to a lack of data concerning energy demands in seaports, this paper applies a simulation-based method to output the energy demands considering various stochastic environments in seaports. Finally, taking a container seaport in Southern China as an example, this paper obtains the optimal results by the proposed algorithm and analyzes the sensitivity of emission limitations and wind speeds on the optimal operation of the HRES. The results obtained and proposed method can be used to provide references for power department policy making and green container port construction.