Optimal Design for a Campus Microgrid Considering ESS Discharging Incentive and Financial Feasibility

For the purpose of increasing renewable energy penetration, Korean government and power utility have launched various incentive programs for renewable energy technologies. This paper proposes an optimal design for a campus microgrid at Seoul National University, South Korea, with the design objective is to maximize the project financial feasibility. The optimal design is obtained based on a techno-economic analysis which incorporates real market conditions. Significantly, this study considers various renewable energy incentives, particularly the incentive for energy storage systems (ESS) to discharge their energy during on-peak hours on weekdays, provided by Korea Electric Power Corporation. The major contribution of this study is to evaluate the impact of financial incentives on the optimal design, and their effectiveness in promoting higher renewable energy penetration. The results show that the optimal design produces a notable amount of energy savings with the help of incentives. Especially, the ESS incentive enhances the project financial feasibility with noticeably higher benefits. Furthermore, the results indicate that the ESS incentive determines the optimal microgrid design, with superior impact on ESS capacity and performance of economic dispatch strategies. Therefore, renewable energy incentives must be incorporated in the techno-economic analysis of a microgrid to archive an effective design.