Power Scheduling for a Network of Distributed Generators

Growing concerns over the economic and environmental costs of fossil fuels have spurred renewed interest in the area of renewable energy. The Atlantic Sustainable Power Research Initiative (ASPRI) aims to integrate low- and no-emission technology into Atlantic Canada's energy generation mix. This research focuses on the scheduling of distributed generators to improve their aggregate performance while maintaining a small ecological footprint. Combining renewable units with low-emission units using conventional fuels promises improved profitability and reliability over any single technology. Four Unit Commitment methods have been considered for the Energy Control Center (ECC), one of them novel. The novel solution appears to be the first to successfully solve the static Unit Commitment problem in less than exponential time with respect to the number of units - this is especially important when incorporating numerous distributed generators. The stochastic Unit Commitment problem is also considered in an effort to maximize the advantages of intermittent, renewable generators.