Parallel load schedule optimization with renewable distributed generators in smart grids

We propose a framework for demand response in smart grids that integrates renewable distributed generators (DGs). In this model, some users have DGs and can generate part of their electricity. They can also sell extra generation to the utility company. The goal is to optimize the load schedule of users to minimize the utility company's cost and user payments, while considering user satisfaction. We employ a parallel autonomous optimization scheme, where each user requires only the knowledge of the aggregated load of other users, instead of the load profiles of individual users. All the users can execute distributed optimization simultaneously. The distributed optimization is coordinated through a soft constraint on changes of load schedules between iterations. Numerical examples show that our method can significantly reduce the peak-hour load and costs to the utility and users. Since the autonomous user optimization is executed in parallel, our method also significantly decreases the computation time and communication costs.