The Effect of Dispatch Strategy on Maintaining the Economic Viability of PV-based Microgrids

Utilizing Photovoltaic (PV) energy generation within smart microgrids, where these resources and nearby loads are efficiently controlled, is one of the best methods to allow higher penetrations of PV energy. The ultimate goal of this study is to economically allow the utilization of higher penetrations of PV energy within microgrids despite any diesel price reduction. Recent global reductions in PV systems prices enabled the economic superiority of PV-based microgrids over conventional diesel- based microgrids [2], In this paper the effect of diesel price drop on the economic optimality of these PV-based microgrids is studied. Then, the benefit of varying the dispatch strategy used by the microgrid controller in maintaining the techno-economic optimum configurations of these microgrids as PV-utilizing microgrids, is proven.