Market-driven decentralized energy management of the microgrids through multi-agent systems

The reliability, inflexible energy trading and a lack of coordination are critical limitations of existing centralized energy management systems. This paper provides an effective energy management plan of the microgrids through decentralized operations of the systems and deregulated market organization to tackle the endemic energy issues. The multi-agent system framework supports decentralized coordination of generating, load, and storage agents coupled with optimization of local energy supply and demand. The energy trading mechanism is based on a prioritized mechanism: using the locally available renewable energy; if there is not enough, it is bought from neighboring microgrids; and only resorting to grid power as a last resort. This hierarchical approach reduces reliance on fossil fuel based electricity from the grid, improves cost effectiveness and also facilitates environmental sustainability. The results show that the proposed approach decreases power imports from the main grid and CO 2 emissions in all the scenarios. The study's core findings demonstrate that, during peak hours, case 4 attains a 70.3% reduction in energy imports from the main grid relative to the base case. Moreover, the framework offers empirical information to developing deregulated power markets through association of the technical performance and policy-based suggestions.