Energy Management for an Islanded Microgrid Based on Harmony Search Algorithm

Microgrids are the latest solution used for increasing the self-sustainability and reliability of future electrical distribution grids. This paper presents an overview of an islanded microgrid that features three renewable energy resources, an energy storage system and loads. Ensuring an appropriate energy management for the microgrids is a challenging issue. Different approaches exist, but this paper solves the day-ahead scheduling problem using the Harmony Search Optimization Algorithm. The optimal operation of the solar, geothermal and biomass units are calculated considering the minimum functional cost of the system. The results are presented through a Graphical User Interface (GUI). A comparison between energy management solutions, proposed by the Harmony Search (HS) Optimization Algorithm and the Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) method, is also available. The presented results can be valuable for other researchers in this field.