Coordinated management of centralized and distributed generation in an integrated energy system using a multi-agent approach

The creation of intelligent integrated energy systems with active consumers and distributed control functions, using renewable energy sources together with conventional generation, is a promising alternative to the existing conventional energy systems of a hierarchical structure. At the same time, such systems face the challenge of the balance between centralized and distributed energy generation. One should take into account the ratio of energy supplied to the system from distributed sources to that from centralized sources because, otherwise, energy sources can operate inefficiently, which in turn will increase the cost of energy production and can cause problems in the operation of energy equipment and the energy system as a whole. This necessitates the harmonization of operating conditions of centralized and distributed energy resources. The multi-agent approach is oftentimes used to model an integrated energy system; it allows such a technologically complex system to be represented as a set of agents with their own individual behavior. Agents interact with each other to find and optimize solutions and achieve the goals they set within the system. The proposed multi-agent model of the real-life energy supply system of a residential area (with centralized and distributed energy resources) was implemented in a specialized software environment. Computational studies of the integrated energy system conducted using the multi-agent model developed by the authors allowed us to formulate the principles of interaction between centralized and distributed energy generation.