Energy Trading and Optimum Scheduling for Microgrids Using Multiple Agents Based DL Approach

Abstract

In microgrids, policy decisions about electricity trading and scheduling are of paramount importance. These decisions are influenced by various factors, including the microgrid’s infrastructure, energy production and demand, and the competitiveness of the energy market. However, due to the intricate nature of these elements, determining the optimal strategy for a microgrid can be a challenging task. To address this challenge without the need for complex system modeling, we introduce a novel approach using Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) augmented with an attention mechanism. In this approach, each microgrid is treated as a distinct agent, and through interactions with other agents, they learn how to effectively coordinate the utilization of energy resources and engage in energy trading. To facilitate effective agent training, we employ an attention mechanism that enables agents to selectively focus on pertinent background information. Once trained, each agent can make control decisions based solely on its local knowledge. This not only safeguards the privacy of individual microgrids but also reduces communication overhead, making decentralized control feasible. We implement this approach in MATLAB R2020a to create a simulation environment and assess its performance. Our experimental results indicate that our proposed strategy significantly reduces the operational costs of microgrids in comparison to conventional methods.

Keywords:

• Renewable energy sources
• MultiAgent DRL
• energy trading
• and optimum scheduling

Acknowledgement

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding this work through large group Research Project under grant number RGP2/420/44.

Ethical approval and consent to participate

No participation of humans takes place in this implementation process

Human and animal rights

No violation of Human and Animal Rights is involved.

Authors’ contributions

All authors are contributed equally to this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study

Additional information

Notes on contributors

S. Anita

S. Anita holds Doctorates in Electrical Engineering from Anna University and Engineering Education from University of Madras. Her areas of interest are machine design, embedded systems, control of electric drives and engineering education. She has more than twenty five years of academic experience and is currently working as Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronics in R.M.K. Engineering College.

Paul Rodrigues

Paul Rodrigues is currently as full Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering at King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia. He earned his doctorate in Computer Science and Engineering from Pondicherry Central University, India. He has over 32 years of teaching and industry experience in Delivery Management, Quality-Assurance, Software sizing, Product Development, Project planning & Scheduling, Budget management and Business development with 4 patents to his credit. He has travelled widely around the world. He has over 100 research publications in peer reviewed journals. His research interest includes Software Engineering, Cyber and hardware Security, AI and Quantum computing. He has guided over 23 Ph.D. scholars. Hobbies are reading, swimming and meditation. [email protected]

N. Nagabhooshanam

N. Nagabhooshanam received his doctoral degree from Anna University under area interfacial heat transfer in die casting process and further received his Master Degree from Anna University, Chennai also received his Bachelor Degree under Faculty of Mechanical Engineering from Anna University, Chennai. He is currently working has an Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aditya Engineering College, Aditya Nagar, ABD Road, Surampalem, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, India. And also working as adjunct faculty in Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Engineering and Technology, GLA University Mathura and Department of Research Analytics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai. He also worked as a Graduate Engineer Trainee in “Dynamatic Technologies Ltd” since June 2011 to June 2013, as an Assistant Professor in S.A. Engineering College Since June 2015 to 2017, Assistant Professor in St Peter’s College of Engineering and Technology from June 2017 to May 2022, Associate Professor in Aditya Engineering College from July 2022 to Till Date. He is specialized in Mechanical Engineering, Fluid Mechanics and Manufacturing Process & Material Sciences. He has research interest in Heat Transfer Enhancement, Microstructure Study of Al-Mg Based Alloys, Minimization of Casting Defects in Al, Fe Based Materials, Die Improvement, Flow Analysis Techniques and Optimization Techniques. He has published 10+ Books, 19+ Patents, and 27+ Journals. He has presented 4 National/International Conferences. He has attended 5 Workshops and 2 FDPs.

Gaurav Vishnu Londhe

Gaurav Vishnu Londhe had completed the Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology in 2007 and Master of Engineering in Computer Engineering from University of Mumbai, India in 2013 and Doctorate in 2020, with research domain of Wireless Sensor Networks. Working on Cloud using IoT based devices and analysis of data received through it. Cloud architecture design is the research area for upcoming development. He has around 20 years of technical teaching, administration and industry experience. He has around 10 plus research publications in versatile area of IT and Computer Science and Engineering. Currently associated with Alliance University Bangalore as Associate Professor and Head of CSE.

Satish S. Salunkhe

Satish S. Salunkhe holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering. Currently, he is working as a Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering, at Terna Engineering College, Navi, Mumbai. He has overall 16 years of experience in teaching, research, and administration. His research areas include AI in fuzzy logic, educational data mining, and medical instrumentation.

P. Dharmendra Kumar

P. Dharmendra Kumar was awarded a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from Annamalai University, He received her master of Engineering from Acharya Nagarjuna University, in 2010 through GATE- and he has more than 1 2 years of teaching experience and 4 years of research experience. he has many academic portfolios Associated with his current position. His research area is on advanced Image Processing and deep Learning he has contributed to many international and national level conferences and reputed journals .she has published patents and many research papers in various reputed journals which it available under UGC care, Scopus, SCI, Google Scholar so on. Other than teaching he is guiding the UG and PG students in their research in their academic-related activities. Currently, he has been working as an Assistant Professor in School of computer Science and Engineering at K L University, Vaddeswaram.

Natrayan L

Natrayan L is an Associate Dean of Accreditation at SIMATS deemed University – Chennai, India. He completed his PhD at Vellore Institute of Technology, India. He received B.E (Mechanical Engineering), M.E (Engineering Design) degrees from Anna University - Chennai and MBA (Operational Management) from RVD University - Rajasthan, India. His interests lie in the broad area of Computer Integrated Manufacturing. His research works focus on mathematical analysis of material models and Non-homogenous materials. He was honored with the prestigious SIMATS Best Faculty (Rank 1) award in 2022 and has received 13 more research awards in SIMATS. His PhD work has been granted two Indian utility patents, and he has authored several technical books in Engineering Design. He has 220+ SCI/Scopus research publications in the Scopus database (cumulative IF: 636+) and more than 4000+ citations (H-index: 40+, i-10 index: 120+) to his credit indexed. He has been recognized by Elsevier and Stanford University -USA, as one of the ‘Top 2% Scientists in the World’.

P. S. D. Bhima Raju

P. S. D. Bhima Raju obtained his B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Regency Institute of Technology, Yanam, in the year 2006 and M.Tech in Electrical Drives and Control from Pondicherry engineering college, Puducherry in 2009. He is pursuing his Ph.D. from J.N.T.U.K., Kakinada, India. Currently he is working as an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Aditya Engineering college, Surampalem, India.