Integrated Energy System Dispatch Optimization

On-site cogeneration of heat and electricity, thermal and electrical storage, and curtailing/rescheduling demand options are often cost-effective to commercial and industrial sites. This collection of equipment and responsive consumption can be viewed as an integrated energy system (IES). The IES can best meet the site's cost or environmental objectives when controlled in a coordinated manner. However, continuously determining this optimal IES dispatch is beyond the expectations for operators of smaller systems. A new algorithm is proposed in this paper to approximately solve the real-time dispatch optimization problem for a generic IES containing an on-site cogeneration system subject to random outages, limited curtailment opportunities, an intermittent renewable electricity source, and thermal storage. An example demonstrates how this algorithm can be used in simulation to estimate the value of IES components.