A Hybrid Metaheuristic Approach for the Solution of Renewables-Incorporated Economic Dispatch Problems

This paper presents a hybrid metaheuristic optimization algorithm developed to solve the Economic Dispatch Problem (EDP) encountered in different combinations of power plants. The algorithm is developed by assimilating the prominent features of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Bat Algorithm (BA) and improves cost reduction and convergence with lesser computational time. The developed algorithm is employed for the solution of EDP consisting of only Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) implemented at various locations in Pakistan. The all RES based EDP consists of scenarios composed of sub-scenarios having no constraints, with time-varying loads and multi-area economic dispatch (MAED). The algorithm is also tested for three different combinations of power plants, comprising of RES integrated with thermal power plants (TPPs), the small-scaled thermal power system with constraints, and a large-scaled power system with Valve Point Loading (VPL) effect. The comparative analysis of the results for the developed metaheuristic algorithm with various existing techniques shows a reasonable reduction in the cost, improved computational time, and fast convergence.