Regulatory-framework-embedded energy management system for microgrids: The case study of the Spanish self-consumption scheme

Highlights: • A regulatory framework has been embedded in the energy management system (EMS) • The EMS has been applied to a low voltage microgrid (MG) to optimise its management. • The Spanish self-consumption scheme has been used as a case study. • The results obtained by the new EMS corroborate the importance of the new approach. • The model was validated at the MG Research Laboratory of Aalborg University. -- Abstract: This paper proposes for the first time to analyse the impact of embedding the regulatory framework constraints inside a model for the energy management optimization of a microgrid. As a case study, a low voltage microgrid using solar energy under the Spanish self-consumption scheme has been selected. The proposed model is based on a previous one elaborated by the authors, which did not include the regulatory framework. The results provided by the former and the new model have been compared, corroborating the importance of taking into account the economic aspects of the regulatory constraints when managing the facility. Furthermore, the results also highlight the urgency to extrapolate this approach to other countries, in order to enhance the economic feasibility of these facilities and aid to their deployment. In addition, the performance of the model has been experimentally validated at the Microgrid Research Laboratory of Aalborg University.