Energy Management System for Smart Grids Including Renewable Sources and Industrial Symbiosis

The aim of this work regards the development of an energy management system (EMS) for smart grids with a high integration level of renewable sources. Special attention is devoted to waste recycling due to a large industrial symbiosis involving the production of alternative fuels (syngas and biogas). In details, the paper focuses attention on the Eigerøy island (Norway) that will be the demonstration site of the ongoing EU ROBINSON project. The main purpose of this activity is the development of technology integration solutions for decarbonization path, starting from industrialized districts in islands and considering high flexibility for replication issues. The mentioned technology integration is obtained with an EMS able to operate in real-time mode for minimization of energy costs (fuels and electricity). So, this tool includes a minimization subroutine for calculating the optimal operative condition (on/off status for generators and the related set-points) connected with a Model Predictive Control (MPC) software for the real-time calculation of the generator set-points. An innovative approach is the integration of the electrolyzer management scheduling two different pressure levels for the connected hydrogen storage vessel. Simulation results assess the EMS performance and robustness for the innovative integrated layout including the industrial symbiosis. Special attention is devoted to the performance improvement in terms of cost decrease, CO2 emission decrease, and system efficiency increase.