Optimal economic dispatch considering wind energy conversion systems using Gray coded genetic algorithm

Wind energy conversion system (WECS) is one of the major alternatives of conventional sources. The stochastic nature of available wind power requires suitable tools and methods for the Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problem for cost-effective and reliable operation of power system. An improved wind-thermal management economic dispatch is needed to determine the optimal dispatch scheme for proper utilization of wind power. In this paper, a Gray coded genetic algorithm (GA) is developed for economic dispatch (ED) and optimal power flow (OPF). Additionally, the effect of WECS is considered. The results obtained demonstrates the potential of Gray coded GA in comparison to basic binary GA (BGA). It is observed that GGA takes lesser number of fitness function evaluations and better convergence characteristics as compared to BGA.