An online dispatch approach for distributed integrated multi‐energy system considering non‐ideal communication conditions

Abstract The distributed integrated multi‐energy system (DIMS) has many advantages in terms of the utilisation of renewable energy sources and clean energy. Operation strategies for the DIMS based on a real‐time profile have been extensively studied. In a DIMS online optimisation problem, besides fluctuations in the renewable energy output and load, inconsistent time scales of the transport dynamics of different energy flows and non‐ideal communication (involving communication uncertainty and latency) result in suboptimal operation in dispatch scheduling. An online multi‐time‐scale optimal operation strategy is proposed for the DIMS to respond to the above challenges, using a hybrid algorithm comprising a model predictive control method and distributed collaborative consensus algorithm (CCA). The approach is based on a hierarchy, comprising rolling optimisation and adjustment. A rolling optimisation is established to schedule operations according to the latest forecast and status information. The rolling dispatch is then adjusted according to the ultrashort‐term adjustment using the CCA. Meanwhile, the effect of the information transmission environment on real‐time scheduling is considered, and the robust CCA is improved for the implementation of strategies under non‐ideal communication conditions. Case studies and results are presented and discussed to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach with the better matching between demand and supply.