Optimal scheduling of distributed generators for efficient microgrid system operation for different electricity market pricing and grid participation

A microgrid comprising several distributed energy resources (DERs) may include both conventional and non-conventional energy sources. Based on its mode of operation, a microgrid is classified as an islanded or grid-connected type. This paper studies five scenarios of optimal scheduling operations for DERs to achieve an economical low-voltage microgrid system. These scenarios are based on different types of grid participation and electricity market pricing strategies. The study's optimization tool was a freshly built, rapid and popular crow search algorithm (CSA). The findings imply that the most economical scenario of microgrid operation was when the grid was actively involved in the purchasing and selling of power with a time-of-usage-based dynamic pricing strategy. Considering scenario 1 as the ideal case, there was a 60% increase in the generation cost when a fixed-price grid was chosen in case 2 and an 80% increase in generation cost when the grid was contributing passively. Numerical findings support the statements that were made, with the CSA technique consistently producing superior-quality solutions with minimal execution time, independent of the problem's dimensions, therefore exceeding other similarly constructed algorithms used in the research. Graphical abstract