Load fluctuation analysis of commercial and residential customers for operation planning of a hybrid photovoltaic and cogeneration system

The Japanese government has set targets for increasing the contribution from renewable energy sources, such as wind power and photovoltaic (PV) generation. The fluctuating power of renewable energy sources, however, might degrade power quality such as voltage and frequency. To increase renewable energy near the demand side, a microgrid that utilizes controllable prime movers such as gas engines to compensate fluctuating demand and output of renewable energy is proposed here. First, measured load data of an office building and an apartment building were analyzed to clarify trends of daily load curve, periodograms, and residual demand. These analyses revealed the appropriate time length for operation planning and the economic load control problems of a hybrid generation system. The results of the optimal operation planning problem indicate that the proposed operation and control method is effective for energy-efficient operation of microgrids