An efficient iterative double auction for energy trading in microgrids

This paper proposes a double auction mechanism for energy trade between buying and selling agents. The framework is general enough, requiring neither the agents´ preferences nor the energy pricing to be fixed values across the spatially distributed agents. A microgrid controller implements a distributed algorithm to maximize individual participating agents´ utilities as well as the social welfare. This is accomplished by the controller in an iterative manner, such that the need to obtain private information pertaining to individual agents´ preferences is obviated. Simulation results with a set of seven buyers and an equal number of sellers indicate that the proposed iterative double auction can establish social welfare maximization, requiring only a reasonable amount of computational overhead.