In the quest for a low-carbon future, the integration of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power is crucial. However, the intermittent nature of these sources poses significant challenges to the stability and economy of power systems. A recent study published in the journal *Energies* offers a promising solution to these challenges, with implications that could reshape the energy sector.
The research, led by Guangxiu Yu of the State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company Economic and Technical Research Institute in Chengdu, China, focuses on optimizing energy storage configuration in wind-solar-thermal complementary energy systems. The study addresses a critical gap in current approaches: the insufficient handling of uncertainties in both energy supply and demand.
“Existing methods often struggle to balance economic and low-carbon performance due to the randomness of wind power, photovoltaic power, and loads,” Yu explains. “Our study proposes an optimal energy storage configuration method that considers these source-load uncertainties, aiming to enhance both the economy and environmental performance of the system.”
The researchers constructed a deterministic bi-level model to tackle this issue. The upper level of the model aims to minimize the comprehensive cost of the system, determining the optimal energy storage capacity and power. The lower level focuses on minimizing system operation costs to solve the optimal scheduling scheme. To incorporate uncertainties, wind and solar output, as well as loads, were treated as fuzzy variables using fuzzy chance constraints. These uncertainties were then transformed into clear equivalence classes to establish a bi-level optimization model.
The study employed a differential evolution algorithm and CPLEX for solving the upper and lower levels, respectively. Simulation results in a specific region demonstrated significant improvements. The proposed method reduced comprehensive cost by 8.9%, operation cost by 10.3%, the curtailment rate of wind and solar energy by 8.92%, and carbon emissions by 3.51%.
These findings highlight the potential of the proposed method to enhance the economic and environmental performance of energy systems. By better integrating renewable energy sources and optimizing energy storage configuration, the method could contribute to the low-carbon transformation of power systems.
The research not only provides a practical tool for energy system planning and operation but also offers insights into the future of renewable energy integration. As the energy sector continues to evolve, such innovative approaches will be crucial in achieving a sustainable and stable energy supply.
Yu’s work underscores the importance of addressing uncertainties in energy systems. By doing so, the energy sector can move closer to achieving the goal of a low-carbon future, balancing economic viability with environmental responsibility. This study, published in *Energies*, serves as a significant step forward in this endeavor, offering a roadmap for future developments in the field.