Minimum Operating Cost Research Articles

Minimization of Construction and Operation Costs of the Fuel Cell Bus Transportation System

This paper took the actual bus transportation system as the object, simulated the operating state of the system, replaced all the current diesel engine buses with fuel cell buses using electrolysis-produced hydrogen, and completed the existing timetable and routes. In the study, the numbers of hydrogen production stations and hydrogen storage stations, the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of the buses, the supplementary hydrogen capacity of the buses, and the hydrogen production capacity of the hydrogen storage stations were used as the optimal adjustment parameters for minimizing the ten-year construction and operating costs of the fuel cell bus transportation system by the artificial bee colony algorithm. Two hydrogen supply methods, decentralized and centralized hydrogen production, were analyzed. This paper used the actual bus timetable to simulate the operation of the buses, including 14 transfer stations and 112 routes. The results showed that the use of centralized hydrogen production and partitioned hydrogen production transfer stations could indeed reduce the construction and operating costs of the fuel cell bus transportation system. Compared with the decentralized hydrogen production case, the construction and operating costs could be reduced by 6.9%, 12.3%, and 14.5% with one, two, and three zones for centralized hydrogen production, respectively.

INTEGRATED OPTIMIZATION MODELS FOR CARRIER SELECTION AND ROUTE PLANNING IN MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

This paper presents a comprehensive approach to the optimization of carrier routes and warehouses within multimodal transport systems, with a focus on a localized approach that takes into account specific regional features and constraints. The study develops an economic and mathematical model that considers both operational efficiency and cost minimization by integrating different modes of transport such as road, rail, and sea. Through a comprehensive analysis of existing literature and application of advanced optimization algorithms, the study proposes a new framework that improves the decision-making process in route planning and carrier selection. The proposed model is validated with real-world examples, demonstrating its practical applicability and potential to significantly improve the efficiency of multimodal transportation systems under different scenarios.

A Game Theory Based Scheduling Approach for Charging Coordination of Multiple Electric Vehicles Aggregators in Smart Cities

In this paper, a game theory-based coordination approach is presented to find the minimum operation cost of multiple electric vehicle (EV) aggregators that are connected to the upstream network. In order to provide a comprehensive study various EVs aggregators including residential, commercial, official, university, and industry parking lots have been considered and the proposed game theory is utilized to coordinate the charging power from/to different microgrids and/or upstream network. In addition of operation cost, a reliability index, service charge and power loss are included in the objective function. The proposed approach is applied on an electricity network with 7 connected microgrids and different scenarios have been investigated. The simulation results show the overall operation cost in the coalition operation mode is globally minimized in comparison with the non-coalition operation mode. In addition, the reliability index, service charge and power loss force the aggregators to buy their necessary power from the nearby microgrids. The average network loss in the coalition and non-coalition modes are 2.88% and 4.28%, respectively. Moreover, the average reliability cost in coalition and non-coalition modes are $2.65 and $4.25, respectively.

Revisiting the role of thermal energy storage in low‐temperature electrified district heating systems

AbstractDecarbonising the energy supply system is crucial to mitigate climate challenges. An emerging type of the multi‐energy system, that is, the low‐temperature electrified district heating system is gaining increasing popularity as a potential solution for future low‐carbon heat supply. This paper investigated its operational optimisation with thermal energy storage (TES) installed at building sides. The optimisation model was to obtain the minimum operation costs of all heat pumps in this system. The TES was meant to achieve energy arbitrage through load shift, but it was observed from the optimised results that the TES did not play an active role in the optimisation. Five possible causes were identified and further investigated to reveal their impacts on the optimisation process. Results showed that the thermal capacitance, thermal resistance, and indoor temperature range of the building were major influencing factors, while the electricity price tariff and heat loss parameters of TES were minor ones. The results indicate that there is no need to equip the TES for operational optimisation purposes when the building thermal capacitance is larger than a threshold value, the thermal resistance is smaller than a threshold value, or the indoor temperature range is broader than a threshold value. These threshold values are case‐specific and can be determined with the simulation model and method developed in this paper.

Optimal sizing and placement of STATCOM, TCSC and UPFC using a novel hybrid genetic algorithm-improved particle swarm optimization

The increase in global power demand has caused most of today's power networks to become overloaded especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The increased load demand can be met through expansion of existing generation and transmission system. However, construction of new power infrastructure is limited by financing and technical constraints. Thus, power networks have been left to operate at overload conditions with high power losses and many power quality (PQ) problems. Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices can improve the power transfer capability of the existing transmission networks without the need of constructing new power infrastructure. In this paper, a multi-objective function comprising of minimization of power loss (PL), voltage deviation (VD) and operational cost (OC) was formulated and solved using a novel algorithm. A novel Genetic Algorithm-Improved Particle Swarm Optimization (GA-IPSO) technique is proposed in this paper for optimization of size and location of FACTS devices. Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM), Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC) and Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) are the three FACTS devices considered. The proposed technique was validated using IEEE-33 Bus Test System, which is a popular benchmark Radial Distribution System (RDS). The three FACTS devices were optimized separately and also in a combined manner. Under the separate optimization, the size and location of individual FACTS devices were optimized. For combined optimization, the sizes and locations of more than one device were optimized in the same test system. For separate optimization, UPFC produced the best results by reducing the active power losses by 38.44 % and OC from $1.59×105 to $ 1.15×105. Under the combined optimization, combination of TCSC, STATCOM and UPFC gave better results by achieving active power loss reduction of 56.09 % and reducing OC from $1.59×105 to $ 1.03×105. Comparison of GA-IPSO technique with other algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Improved Grey Wolf Optimization (IGWO) and Differential Evolution Algorithm (DEA) showed that the proposed hybrid technique was superior and more efficient in solving the FACTS optimization problem.

Distributionally Robust Optimal Scheduling of Hybrid Ship Microgrids Considering Uncertain Wind and Wave Conditions

A hybrid ship uses integrated generators, an energy storage system (ESS), and photovoltaics (PV) to match its propulsion and service loads, and together with optimal power and voyage scheduling, this can lead to a substantial improvement in ship operation cost, ensuring compliance with the environmental constraints and enhancing ship sustainability. During the operation, significant uncertainties such as waves, wind, and PV result in considerable speed loss, which may lead to voyage delays and operation cost increases. To address this issue, a distributionally robust optimization (DRO) model is proposed to schedule power generation and voyage. The problem is decoupled into a bi-level optimization model, the slave level can be solved directly by commercial solvers, the master level is further formulated as a two-stage DRO model, and linear decision rules and column and constraint generation algorithms are adopted to solve the model. The algorithm aims at minimizing the operation cost, limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and satisfying the technical and operational constraints considering the uncertainty. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the expected total cost under the worst-case distribution is minimized, and compared with the conventional robust optimization methods, some distribution information can be incorporated into the ambiguity sets to generate fewer conservative results. This method can fully ensure the on-time arrival of hybrid ships in various uncertain scenarios while achieving expected operation cost minimization and limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Assessment of Solar Energy Generation Toward Net-Zero Energy Buildings

With the continuous rise in the energy consumption of buildings, the study and integration of net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs) are essential for mitigating the harmful effects associated with this trend. However, developing an energy management system for such buildings is challenging due to uncertainties surrounding NZEBs. This paper introduces an optimization framework comprising two major stages: (i) renewable energy prediction and (ii) multi-objective optimization. A prediction model is developed to accurately forecast photovoltaic (PV) system output, while a multi-objective optimization model is designed to identify the most efficient ways to produce cooling, heating, and electricity at minimal operational costs. These two stages not only help mitigate uncertainties in NZEBs but also reduce dependence on imported power from the utility grid. Finally, to facilitate the deployment of the proposed framework, a graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed, providing a user-friendly environment for building operators to determine optimal scheduling and oversee the entire system.

An Optimization Strategy for Unit Commitment in High Wind Power Penetration Power Systems Considering Demand Response and Frequency Stability Constraints

To address the issue of accommodating large-scale wind power integration into the grid, a unit commitment model for power systems based on an improved binary particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed, considering frequency constraints and demand response (DR). First, incentive-based DR and price-based DR are introduced to enhance the flexibility of the demand side. To ensure the system can provide frequency support, the unit commitment model incorporates constraints such as the rate of change of frequency, frequency nadir, steady-state frequency deviation, and fast frequency response. Next, for the unit commitment planning problem, the binary particle swarm optimization algorithm is employed to solve the mixed nonlinear programming model of unit commitment, thus obtaining the minimum operating cost. The results show that after considering DR, the load becomes smoother compared to the scenario without DR participation, the overall level of load power is lower, and the frequency meets the safety constraint requirements. The results indicate that a comparative analysis of unit commitment in power systems under different scenarios verifies that DR can promote rational allocation of electricity load by users, thereby improving the operational flexibility and economic efficiency of the power system. In addition, the frequency variation considering frequency safety constraints has also been significantly improved. The improved binary particle swarm optimization algorithm has promising application prospects in solving the accommodation problem brought by large-scale wind power integration.

A multi-objective bi-level framework to model distribution system operator's behavior in the wholesale and local transactive markets

This paper presents a multi-objective bi-level framework to model the distribution system operator's (DSO's) behavior in both wholesale and local electricity markets. The upper level is a multi-objective optimization problem from the DSO point of view including operation cost minimization, flexibility maximization, and peak load minimization. To this end, the DSO could not only participate in the wholesale electricity market at both day-ahead and real-time stages, but also is able to purchase power from renewable generations as well as the private owners. In this regards, the DSO could manage fluctuations of renewable power generations through considering flexibility as an objective function along with cost and peak-shaving. The lower level assigns to the private owner's profit maximization through interactions with the DSO. The DSO also exploits the demand response potential by implementing load shifting programs. The obtained results reveal that the proposed model could reduce the peak load by 6.05 MW and enhance the system flexibility level by 88 %.

Growth and challenges in biomedical scientific publishing: the phenomenon of mega-journals

Abstract The landscape of academic scientific publishing has seen relentless growth, with the number of articles published and indexed on Web of Science exceeding three million in 2023 alone. This increase in both the number of publications and authors has significantly impacted scientific research, enhancing our collective knowledge. In response to the surge in authorship and the shift towards open-access publishing-where authors bear the cost of publication-information has become more accessible to researchers, educators, and policymakers, fueling a lucrative global industry with annual revenues estimated at 30 billion euros. However, the system faces challenges, such as slow peer review times, potential biases towards significant findings, and issues with reviewer recruitment and compensation. Mega-journals like PLOS One and Scientific Reports have emerged in the early 2000s and 2010s, respectively, focusing on methodological rigor over novelty, publishing high volumes of articles. In 2022, mega-journals published a quarter of all biomedical literature, reflecting a shift towards specific publication scopes and capturing larger market shares. These journals charge authors publication fees in return for open access, benefiting from minimal operational costs as they do not produce in-house materials or print editions. Recent concerns include vulnerabilities to poor scientific conduct and potential biases in publication practices. Some sectorial mega-journals offer faster, often perceived as less rigorous, peer review processes. Notably, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health was removed by Clarivate from the Web of Science Core Collection database, with potential wide ranging impact, especially for authors who have published in these journals (e.g., loss of the impact factor, less visibility) explored in the following presentation.

Water–Energy Nexus-Based Optimization of the Water Supply Infrastructure in a Dryland Urban Setting

Managing water supply systems is essential for developing countries to face climate variability in dryland settings. This is exacerbated by high energy costs for pumping, water losses due to aging infrastructures, and increasing demand driven by population growth. Therefore, optimizing the available resources using a water–energy nexus approach can increase the reliability of the water distribution network by saving energy for distributing the same water. This study proposes a methodology that optimizes the Water Distribution Network (WDN) and its management that can be replicated elsewhere, as it is developed in a data-scarce area. Indeed, this approach shows the gathering of WDN information and a model to save energy by optimizing pump schedules, which guarantee water distribution at minimal operational costs. The approach integrates a genetic algorithm to create pumping patterns and the EPANET hydraulic simulator to test their reliability. The methodology is applied for a water utility in the dryland urban setting of Lodwar, Turkana County, Kenya. The results indicate a potential reduction in energy costs by 50% to 57% without compromising the supply reliability. The findings highlight the potential of WEN-based solutions in enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of data-scarce water utilities in dryland ecosystems.

Reliable cost-efficient integration of pumped hydro storage in islanded hybrid microgrid for optimum decarbonization

The employment of renewable energy-based resources is growing rapidly, necessitating the use of energy storage technologies to effectively manage their intermittent power generation. This study proposes an optimal planning for various distributed generators in a microgrid system. The objective is to size and operate a reliable hybrid islanded microgrid with minimum total system operational cost. To determine the optimal energy management and size of each unit, the problem is formulated applying Particle Swarm Optimization methodology utilizing sets of historical data such as wind speed, solar irradiation, and load demand on an hourly basis. With the proposed methodology, the capacities of photovoltaic, wind turbine, pumped hydro storage, and fuel cell are optimized as 1300 kW, 1125 kW, 400 kW, and 1590 kW, respectively. The obtained results concluded that optimum size reduces 14.85 % and 22.6 % in the fuel cell consumption in summer and fall respectively. Furthermore, the amount of CO2 emission is reduced by 10.6 ton in those mentioned seasons. The results obtained indicate that the proposed system having cost of energy (COE) of 0.2961 ($/kWh), and an excess energy of 196.208 MWh. An effectiveness analysis highlights the significant impact of incorporating pumped hydro storage, increasing the reliability index by 50.9 %.

Logistics park charging station optimization using improved genetic algorithms

The one-time investment and later operation efficiency of the supporting charging station are critical for the length of the investment return cycle. In this article, to meet the charging demand of logistics parks as the precondition, through the minimum total cost (construction, operation, maintenance, and depreciation) as the objective function, the improved genetic algorithm (GA) is used to look for the optimal solution. The operations of the charging station planning of a logistics park in off-season and peak-season are simulated and analyzed. The results show that the model and calculation method proposed in this article can provide effective support for the planning decision of logistics park charging. This study can guide the improvement and management in charging station configuration.

Hybrid technique for leveraging unit commitment in smart grids: minimizing operating costs and carbon dioxide emissions

Hybrid technique for leveraging unit commitment in smart grids: minimizing operating costs and carbon dioxide emissions

Carbon Footprint Optimization with Data Resolution Conversion via Kalman Filter for Smart Energy Hub

The severe climate changes due to global warming pushed the world to strive to reduce carbon emissions. And transitioning to renewable energy sources is essential for achieving sustainability and combating climate change. This study aims to minimize the carbon emissions for a proposed smart energy hub. This paper prioritizes the minimization of carbon emissions, considering the minimization of operational running costs, and the maximization of profit. In this paper, two optimization scenarios were studied to compare the results. In the first scenario, the minimization of carbon emissions was achieved. In the second scenario, the minimization of running costs and the maximization of profit from the hub assets were studied. The proposed model was designed in MATLAB. Then, the results were verified by CPLEX and validated by RTDS. The multi-objective model was presented to obtain the optimal operation. The mitigation of data uncertainty was achieved by applying the Kalman filter. In this work, a novel method was proposed for the estimation of the quarter-hour resolution data from the hourly ones via the Kalman filter rather than by applying the classic polynomial interpolation methods.

A hybrid Improved Salp Swarm Algorithm and Harris Hawk Optimizer for energy planning in microgrids with minimum operating cost

ABSTRACT Achieving optimal energy planning in Microgrids (MGs) is pivotal for addressing complex challenges associated with cost-effective and reliable energy supplies. This paper proposes a novel hybrid metaheuristic algorithm for optimal energy planning in microgrids using an Improved Salp Swarm Algorithm with Harris Hawk Foraging (ISSAHF). This technique is based on an improved multi-leader Salp Swarm Algorithm with an elite leader following strategy combined with Harris Hawks foraging. A simulation study is conducted on a low-voltage microgrid in off-grid and grid-connected modes. The optimization algorithm resulted in a daily average cost of 28.3370€ in off-grid mode compared to 19.2676€ in grid-connected one. Furthermore, the statistical study shows that the proposed algorithm outperforms well-established metaheuristic techniques regarding search capability and robustness. It yields mean optimal cost of 623.5248€ in off-grid and 404.7475€ for the grid-connected one, compared to other optimization techniques that vary from 667.2141€ to 959.5747€ in off-grid mode, and from 424.5841€ to 813.932€ in grid-connected mode. For robustness, the proposed technique performs well with a standard deviation of 20.765€ compared to the best (17.024€) and the worst (47.2423€) cases in off-grid mode, while in grid-connected mode, it is 28.8771€ compared to the best (21.6316€) and the worst (45.3774€) values.

Detection of Chemical Contaminants in Water for Irrigation Systems: A Systematic Review

Water pollution is a detrimental issue that occurs when there are bad changes in water quality parameters. It directly disrupts water usage and poses a danger to society, environment, economy, and agriculture. Water quality should be monitored to alert authorities on water pollution, so that action can be taken quickly. Improper water management pollutes rivers and lakes in Malaysia such as Klang River, Semenyih River, Kim Kim River, Slim River, and others. Various techniques are introduced to detect contaminants in water such as electronic sensors, biosensor approaches, laboratory analysis, and optical techniques. The functionality tool varies depending on the specific contaminants or parameters that are targeted, and the resources allocated. Several common contaminant types are found in polluted water including heavy metals, organic and inorganic chemicals, industrial pollutants, suspended solids, and others. The objective of the review is to study various non-optical and optical contaminant detection methods in water to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the methods. In this review, water pollution problems mainly due to the agricultural sector in several countries are discussed. Besides, conventional, and modern methods are compared in terms of parameters, complexity, and reliability. We believe that conventional methods are costly and complex, whereas modern methods are also expensive but simpler with real-time detection. Recent contaminant detection methods in water are also reviewed to study any loopholes in the latest methods. We found that the spectroscopy method based on light propagation theory is suitable and one of the promising methods for chemical contaminants detection for water quality analysis. This method offers fast analysis time, high sensitivity detection, non-invasive analysis, provides reliable data, and others. Undoubtedly, some contaminants in water can be challenging to be identified rapidly and confidently even though there are numerous tools and techniques available for water quality analysis. Thus, the review is important to compare previous methods and to improve current chemical contaminants detection analysis in terms of reliability with a minimum operating system and cost effectiveness.

Research on distributed optimal scheduling method based on consensus

Abstract With access to large-scale distributed power sources, the physical structure of the power grid system tends to be distributed. The application of traditional centralized optimal scheduling methods will lead to a surge in communication overhead and computational complexity, which will affect the performance and efficiency of the solution. In this paper, the minimum operating cost of the system is taken as the goal, and the distributed direct current optimal power flow (DC-OPF) optimization calculation of the photovoltaic-storage power generation system is considered to approximately solve the economic dispatch problem. The DC optimal power flow model with energy storage charging penalty is constructed. Then, the distributed optimization method based on the consensus alternating direction multiplier method (ADMM) is adopted. By decoupling the objective function and constraints of the whole system problem, the fully distributed DC-OPF calculation is realized by introducing the global consensus variable to deal with the boundary buses. Finally, the improved IEEE 30-bus example is used to test the method, and the simulation results verify the convergence and accuracy of the method.

Implementation of a multistage predictive energy management strategy considering electric vehicles using a novel hybrid optimization technique

In this paper, a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based energy management strategy across three levels is designed for isolated microgrids. During the initial phase, AI is not employed. A precise and rapid-response microcontroller, namely the FPGA, is utilized. The performance of the FPGA is experimentally investigated under various operation conditions. In the second phase, AI plays a crucial role in enhancing both the reliability and economic effectiveness of the system. The multi-objective snake optimization (SO) algorithm is employed to attain high technical and economic performance within predefined constraints. Three objective functions are involved in this phase, focusing on the minimization of operational costs, loss of power supply probability (LPSP), and electrical energy losses in the dummy load. In the third level, a novel control strategy-based coordinated model predictive control is presented as part of the proposed AI-embedded energy management strategy. A hybrid optimization algorithm combining the multilayer feed-forward neural networks (MFFNN) and SO algorithms is proposed to predict the output power of backup sources. The microgrid under consideration is supported by a hybrid backup system comprising battery energy storage systems (BESS), electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and fuel cells (FCs). The effectiveness of this hybrid algorithm is evaluated through comparison with many other algorithms, aiming to assess its performance in accurately predicting the output power of backup sources. The results show the feasibility of using AI to achieve efficient operation and energy management in microgrids. The proposed MFFNN-SO algorithm achieves the best performance, as the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) for FCs, BESS, and EV is about 0.1296 %, 0.0094 %, and 0.1304 %, respectively. The SO algorithm achieves a notable 6.3361% reduction in operating costs, resulting in a final operational cost of 166.4811 $.

Short-term optimal scheduling of wind-photovoltaic-hydropower-thermal-pumped hydro storage coupled system based on a novel multi-objective priority stratification method

In the new power system with high proportion of uncertain renewable energy sources (RES), there is a defect of RES consumption at the expense of other power sources' operational efficiency. This paper proposes a short-term optimal scheduling model of wind-photovoltaic-hydropower-thermal-pumped hydro storage (WPHTPHS) coupled system, which realizes the multiple optimization objectives involving minimizing operation cost of thermal power units, maximizing clean energy power generation, minimizing net load fluctuation and thermal power regulation. First, to overcome the dimension disaster problem in the solution space of high-dimensional random variables, a method for pre-solving integer state variables is proposed. Then, a novel multi-objective solution strategy of priority stratification-coupled feedback combined with improved plant growth simulation algorithm is designed. Finally, the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed model and solution method are demonstrated by case studies, and the numerical results show that the number of startups and shutdowns, standard deviation of output and operating cost of thermal power units are reduced by 90.9 %, 65.34 %, and 14.01 % respectively, compared with traditional wind-photovoltaic-thermal strategy. This study contributes to resolving the relationship between conflicting objectives and highlighting the potential advantages of WPHTPHS coupled system to maximize overall performance from economic and stability perspectives.