Microgrid Optimal Investment Design for Cotton Farms in Australia

Abstract

Microgrids (MGs) and distributed renewable energy sources (RESs) have been widely used in Australian agriculture. Because of the irrigation characteristics of cotton plants and the intermittent power generation of RES, the cotton farm MG design problem has become challenging. To optimally design the renewable energy systems of cotton farm MGs, one should consider the energy cost of cotton irrigation, total investment cost and simple payback period simultaneously. This paper proposes an optimization model for the cotton farm MG design, which can identify the best RESs and energy storage configuration to meet the irrigation demand. In addition, the designed MG uses solar photovoltaic units and wind turbine generators as RES, which are further aided by battery storage to maintain energy supply at the least cost. The objectives of MG design include minimization of operation cost, investment cost and a simple payback period, which is formulated as a normalized multi-objective function.