Double-layer energy management system based on energy sharing cloud for virtual residential microgrid

Highlights: • A new concept of energy sharing cloud and the sharing mechanism are proposed. • A new virtual residential microgrid model is set up based on energy sharing cloud. • A new double-layer energy management system with inherent coupling is proposed. • The customized energy services for energy generation and storage are designed. • The electrical comfort is introduced to the proposed energy management system. The idea of energy sharing can contribute to achieving the goal of resource optimization by redistributing and sharing idle energy assets. How to design an appropriate energy management strategy in the energy sharing environment has been the focus of intensive research in energy sharing field. In this paper, a new effective double-layer energy management system (EMS) based on the energy sharing cloud (ESC) is developed for a virtual residential microgrid (VRMG). The proposed ESC can be regarded as an open energy sharing environment, where the cloud platform helps cloud users build their VRMGs by providing energy services including renewable energy sources (RESs) generation and energy storage. The mathematical model of the VRMG is formulated, and the energy service prices for RESs generation and energy storage are monthly set separately. Moreover, considering the changes in household load and RESs generation, an energy management strategy of double-layer EMS is designed. The upper-layer EMS helps VRMG obtain the monthly optimal capacity configuration of RESs and energy storage, and the lower-layer EMS realizes the daily electricity scheduling optimization for the VRMG whose objectives are to minimize the total operational cost and maximize the electrical comfort level. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed energy sharing mechanism can meet the changing energy needs of the cloud user, and numerical experiments also confirm the performance and effectiveness of the proposed double-layer EMS.