The growing complexity of micro-grid management and the demand for resilient, sustainable energy systems require solutions that go beyond traditional management strategies. This paper introduces a Multi-Objective Energy Management System (MOEMS) designed for micro-grids and energy communities, emphasizing resilience and sustainability. Unlike conventional Energy Management Systems (EMS), which mainly focus on cost and efficiency, MOEMS takes a user-centered approach. It incorporates a democratic decision-making process that involves all stakeholders, enabling personalized energy management tailored to user preferences and environmental considerations. MOEMS is used to address grid challenges like power congestion and voltage issues while balancing diverse stakeholder goals. The optimization problem is formulated as a mixed-integer non-linear program and adopted to be solved using a free and open-source solver. The proposed framework leverages the results of a multi-objective optimization model, allowing users to define their preferences. By specifying an acceptable solution space, the central controller in the micro-grid can optimize operations while ensuring that the selected solutions align with user expectations. The system is validated through simulations and a real-world micro-grid case study, demonstrating its adaptability to different setups. To evaluate its effectiveness, MOEMS is compared with traditional EMS approaches, including profile steering and methods that prioritize economic and environmental factors. A real-time implementation in the Kezo micro-grid further demonstrates its capability to dynamically manage energy flows, meet user energy demands, and adapt to real-time fluctuations in supply and demand. Significantly, MOEMS achieved up to 22% higher annual electricity cost savings and a 37% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to traditional EMS methods.

This paper introduces an AC stochastic optimal power flow (SOPF) for the flexibility management of electric vehicle (EV) charging pools in distribution networks under uncertainty. The AC SOPF considers discrete utility functions from charging pools as a compensation mechanism for eventual energy not served to their charging tasks. An application of the AC SOPF is described where a distribution system operator (DSO) requires flexibility to each charging pool in a day-ahead time frame, minimizing the cost for flexibility while guaranteeing technical limits. Flexibility areas are defined for each charging pool and calculated as a function of a risk parameter involving the uncertainty of the solution. Results show that all players can benefit from this approach, i. e., the DSO obtains a risk-aware solution, while charging pools/tasks perceive a reduction in the total energy payment due to flexibility services.

The Dynamic Hunting Leadership (DHL) algorithm is an innovative heuristic technique that draws inspiration from nature to find almost optimal solutions for various optimization problems. It consists of four variants, each highlighting distinct leadership strategies to guide the hunting process. The development of the algorithm was based on the realization that effective leadership during the hunting process can significantly improve its efficacy. The concept behind these methods is to dynamically modify the number of leaders, which can enhance the algorithm's performance. The stability of DHL variants in exploring the unknown area of the search space and exploitation phases is compared, and the advantages of exploration or exploration ability for the different variants of DHL are discussed. Moreover, the results are compared with more than twenty well-known algorithms. The efficacy of the proposed algorithms in discovering near-optimal solutions is tested across several real-world applications, and the outcomes demonstrate that the DHL algorithm outperforms other competing algorithms. The distinctiveness of the DHL algorithm is its ability to identify the global minimum on various benchmark problems and its superior performance in enhancing the objective value for the welded beam design problem and tension–compression spring problem, surpassing the values achieved by other algorithms. The algorithms’ performance is also tested on an optimal allocation problem of distributed generation (DG) and energy storage system (ESS) for balanced electrical distribution systems. The results show that all four variants of DHL obtained the global minimum for the problem. For the optimal control strategy problem for voltage regulators in three-phase unbalanced power systems, the DHL algorithm improved the objective value by 35.7% compared to the best results found by other algorithms. Based on the analysis and comparison of the best objective values and convergence behavior for all benchmarks and problems, the DHL method proves to be an effective and reliable optimization method.

Centralized optimization methods have been widely used to manage the operation of distribution systems. However, these methods have some restrictions, such as the high computational cost, the reliance on a centralized computer system, and the lack of data privacy. To overcome these limitations, decentralized optimization methods have been proposed in recent years. Decentralized methods divide the control variables of the centralized optimization problem over several controllers, and each controller solves its own subproblem independently. This paper presents a multi-objective optimization framework for managing the operation of distribution systems. The primary objective of the proposed method is to optimize the tap positions of voltage regulators and charging and discharging powers for energy storage devices locally through a decentralized coordination process. The used objective functions take into account the voltage profile within the network, the lifetime of the devices, and the energy losses in the systems. Two decentralized methods, based on the Advanced Arithmetic Optimizer algorithm and the Profile Steering approach, are proposed to address the limitations of centralized optimization methods. The decentralized methods aim to improve the reliability and efficiency of the optimization process, while also minimizing communication and computational costs. The proposed methods are evaluated and compared to a centralized approach using the IEEE 33 and 69 bus systems. The results demonstrate that the proposed decentralized methods can effectively resolve voltage problems, minimize energy losses, and find high-quality solutions with improved computational efficiency compared to the centralized approach.

This paper explores the effects of active energy communities, as defined by EU Directive 2019/944, on the energy system using simulations modelled based on a real-world ecological community. The energy flexibility of this community is optimized towards the objectives peak reduction, cost minimization, and CO2 emission minimization. The resulting effects for different stakeholders, such as network operators and the community itself, are investigated using different performance indicators. The results show that energy imports can be reduced by 44% when peak reduction is applied. Conflicting objectives may lead to peak synchronization however, with the risk of deteriorating business cases if the network operator needs to intervene. This results in a risk where energy communities abstain from participation in energy market and its benefits.

This paper studies a multi-objective optimization problem on the allocation problem of photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) in a community, whereby the aim is to find Pareto optimal solutions according to two different set of objective functions. These objective functions are minimizing the dependency of the whole community or each household on the national grid and minimizing the investment, operation, and maintenance costs of PV and BESS units. A Parallel Multi-Objective Multi-Verse optimization (PMOMVO) algorithm is developed to obtain the Pareto optimal solutions for the problems. The optimization framework is used to determine all Pareto front solutions in a real community and the results are compared to the base case scenario of the community. The Pareto solutions show that by small investment in the BESS units, community can be less dependent on the national grid even with less PV panels installed in the community.

This paper proposes a multi-objective optimization technique for scheduling the charging of electric vehicles (EVs) in electrical distribution systems (DSs). A multi-objective advanced grey wolf optimization algorithm (MOAGWO) is developed to find the Pareto optimal solutions that minimize the DS's operational costs, energy losses costs, voltage violations, and the energy not supplied to EV users using several scenarios. A 449-node system with 63% penetration of EVs is used to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. The quality of the non-dominated optimal solutions found by MOAGWO are validated via a comparison analysis with other well-known methods such as the multi-objective grey wolf optimizer (MOGWO) and the multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm, based on domination rate, spacing index, hypervolume index, and computational cost measurements. The Pareto solutions indicate that the smart charging coordination found by MOAGWO makes the techno-economic operation of the DS possible while satisfying energy-based goals of the EV users.