Dynamic coalition formation in energy micro-grids

Abstract

In recent years the notion of electrical energy micro-grids, in which communities share their locally-generated power, has gained increasing interest. Typically the energy generated comes from renewable resources, which means that its availability is variable-sometimes there may be energy surpluses and at other times energy deficits. This energy variability can be ameliorted by trading energy with a connected main electricity utility grid. But since main electricity grids are subject to faults or other outages, it can be advantageous for energy micro-grids to form coalitions and share their energy among themselves. In this work we present our model for the dynamic formation of such micro-grid coalitions. Our agent-based model, which is scalable and affords autonomy among the micro-grids participating in the coalition (agents can join and depart from coalitions at any time), features methods to reduce overall discomfort, so that even when all participating micro-grids in a coalition experience deficits; they can share energy so that overall discomfort is minimized. We demonstrate the efficacy of our model by showing empirical studies conducted with real energy production and consumption data.