Multi-objective optimization framework of a photovoltaic-diesel generator hybrid energy system considering operating reserve

This paper presents a new multi-objective optimization framework to design a photovoltaic/diesel generator (PV/DG) power generation system for an isolated community in the presence of operating reserve. Operating reserve is the safety margin to ensure the system reliability despite variability in load and PV power supply. For this aim, three objectives, namely, total net present cost (TNPC), CO2 emission and loss of power supply probability (LPSP) have been considered to have a cost-effective, clean and reliable power generation system. In order to solve the optimization problem, multi-objective version of a recently developed meta-heuristic method, crow search algorithm (CSA), has been proposed. To validate the results obtained by multi-objective CSA (MO-CSA), the sizing problem is also solved by multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO). Simulated results show that by considering operating reserve, the size (correspondingly the cost) of the system increases significantly. Moreover, in comparison with MOPSO, the Pareto front obtained by MO-CSA is well-distributed and widely spread.