Stochastic scheduling of multi-hub energy-water nexus in the presence of renewable resources and responsive loads towards achieving sustainability

Abstract

Free sources such as seawater and solar and wind energy can be converted by interface equipment for different applications. Due to the development of technologies in recent years, such a process has become more feasible. This paper optimizes the scheduling of a renewable energy-water nexus based on multi-hub concept towards achieving sustainability. In this regard, four hubs have been installed, where the first one provides required electricity and potable water by wind turbines, photovoltaics and desalination plant. The second hub supplies gas demand by using the output of first hub and the power to gas unit. The generated gas and electricity are injected into the third hub that is composed of the boiler, electric heat pump and chiller to meet thermal demand. As well, a storage hub is considered to improve system flexibility. To show the impact of responsive loads and simulate realistic conditions, an incentive-based program has been implemented and grid operation is evaluated under uncertainty of wind speed and solar radiation. Moreover, the simulations are compared with the robust optimization to analyze the capability of the proposed approach. The results validate that the framework is practical and viable for coastal areas, load participation has positive effects on the objective function and considering uncertainty enhances robustness against fluctuations of renewable energies.