Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Multi-objective optimized management of electrical energy storage

systems in an islanded network with renewable energy sources under
different design scenarios
M.G. Ippolito a, M.L. Di Silvestre a, E. Riva Sanseverino a, G. Zizzo a, *, G. Graditi b
a
b

DEIM e Department of Energy, Information Engineering and Mathematical Models, Universit di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, Italy
ENEA e Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Portici, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 21 May 2013
Received in revised form
22 November 2013
Accepted 23 November 2013
Available online xxx

The subject addressed in this paper is the denition of some strategies for the design and the optimaized
management of EES (Electrical Energy Storage) systems, for an existing islanded distribution network
supplying the Island of Pantelleria (Italy) in the Mediterranean Sea.
In the paper the authors have drawn interesting conclusions through the application of an efcient MO
(multi-objective) optimization algorithm, the NSGA-II, minimizing the energy losses in the grid, the total
electricity generation cost and the greenhouse gas emissions.
The results obtained for different installation scenarios of the EES are presented and discussed, putting
into evidence the technical, environmental and economical benets of using EES as well as the technical
issues connected to their installation into an existing distribution network.
The paper describes in details the second part of a feasibility study about the transition from a fuelbased traditional centralized electrical system to an active and smart renewables-based electrical
distribution system.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Electric energy storage
GHG (greenhouse gas)
Energy losses
Islanded system

1. Introduction
In Ref. [1] a technical-economic feasibility study has been presented that, in line with the most recent trends in power systems
research [2e7], addresses the transformation of the electrical energy generation system supplying the MV/LV (Medium Voltage/
Low Voltage) distribution system in the Mediterranean island of
Pantelleria from a fossil fuel-based model to a distributed and
smart renewables-based one.
In particular, a set of scenarios, characterized by the presence of
RES (renewable energy sources) available in the island, have been
dened and a technical and economic analysis for these scenarios
has been carried out. The results of the simulations carried out have
highlighted the benets connected to the above described transformation, both in terms of costs and losses reduction and of quality
of the energy supply.
Based on the results drawn in Ref. [1], in this paper, a more
detailed technical assessment has been carried out, focusing the

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 39 (0)9123860205.

E-mail addresses: gaetano.zizzo@unipa.it, ing.gaetanozizzo@gmail.com (G. Zizzo).
0360-5442/$ e see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2013.11.065

attention on the installation of EES (electrical energy storage)

systems. The paper studies how the optimal operation of distributed energy sources in the island of Pantelleria, including EES
systems, is affected by the design strategy of the EES. The latter has
indeed been carried out according to different criteria. The optimal
management of the EES is based on the solution of a multiobjective optimization problem where the objective functions are:
- the total generation cost of the traditional power plants;
- the energy losses in the grid;
- the total GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions of the power system.
Such choice of the objectives reects the interests of the distribution system operator who either want to preserve the lifetime of
the installed components of the distribution system and as well aims
at reducing operating costs while meeting sustainability criteria.
The optimization problem is solved using the NSGA-II (Non
dominated-Sorting-Genetic-Algorithm II) dened in Ref. [8] and
often successfully adopted in the solution of multi-objective optimization problems in distribution networks [9,10].
In the following, after a brief discussion on the potential of EES
in distribution network, useful for better understanding the ratio

M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

behind the considered design and operation strategies, the features

of the distribution network of the island of Pantelleria are
described. In the second part, three different location and sizing
strategies for the EES are proposed and then the multi-objective
optimization problem for the EES management is dened and the
NSGA-II algorithm is briey described.
Finally, the results of the application of the optimal management strategy in the different design scenarios are presented and
discussed and a brief description of the architecture for the control
of the EES system is presented.
2. Electrical energy storage systems
EES has different potential applications in modern active distribution networks.
Active networks are characterized by a deep penetration of RES.
In particular, thanks to national support policies like Feed in Tariffs,
Capital subsides, Net-metering or Green Tags [11e17], and to the
advances in technology for obtaining increasing efciency of these
sources [18e20], PV (photovoltaic) and winds plants are today the
most wide spread RES-based generation systems connected to
distribution networks.
Both PV and winds plants are, nevertheless, characterized by
uncertainty in the production that makes them less competitive in
the electrical energy market and limit their further commercial
expansion. Indeed, the non-dispatchable nature of these sources
has led to concerns regarding the reliability and stability of the
electrical systems hosting their installation. For this reason the
Directive 2009/28/EC [21], regarding the support of the use of energy from renewable sources, recognizes that there is a need to
support the integration of energy from RES into transmission and
distribution grids and the use of EES for integrating intermittent
energy production from renewable sources. In this scenario,
chemical EES have a strategic role. EES, allowing the timedecoupling between generation and utilization of electric energy,
is able to promote a better penetration of RES in distribution
networks.
Different technologies (ywheel, hydroelectric storage, etc.) are
today available for this purpose [22e25].
In Ref. [26], the authors focus on the applicability, advantages
and disadvantages of various EES technologies for large-scale
integration of variable RES-based generators. The work shows
that each challenge imposed by variable RES requires a different set
of EES characteristics to address the issue, and that, in general,
there is not an unique EES technology that consistently outperforms the others in all possible applications.
A series of important applications of EES joins classical applications like emergency supply for privileged loads in hospitals, data
centers, etc. [27].
Also within isolated systems, EES has a fundamental role in
maintaining the continuity of supply in case of lack of production.
In Ref. [28] a reliability study of an isolated grid integrated with EES
and RES-based generators is presented. In the work the author, by
adopting a Monte Carlo approach, demonstrate the economy and
the reliability improvements obtainable by combining EES and DG
(distributed generators).
Another important application of EES is as rapid reserve.
Together with PV or wind systems [29] or as independent units,
EES systems can take part to the frequency regulation in presence
of rapid power variation. Indeed, according to the most recent
Italian technical standards on the connection of active and passive
users to MV and LV grids [30,31], DGwith nominal power from
1 kW to 10 MVA are obliged to participate to voltage and frequency regulation, injecting reactive power according to specic
capability curves or reducing the generated active power if

649

frequency goes above or below specied limits. In Ref. [32] an

interesting study on the positive effects on grid stability of EES
systems is presented.
Finally EES, suitably integrated with DG and controlled, allows
the producer to optimize the use of all the energetic sources connected to its system using functions like load-leveling or peakshaving [33]. Special EES systems like Li-Ion batteries, integrated
inside suitable devices can be used as active lters improving the
Power Quality, protecting loads against voltage sags, harmonic
distortions, etc. or vice versa [34,35].
A critical review on the various application of EES in the networks of the future can be found in Ref. [36].
From the scenario emerging from the literature on this issue, a
general conclusion that can be drawn is that EES can be used with
three different purposes:
 in strategic nodes of the distribution system for improving the
power quality;
 together with DGs for reducing the uctuations in the production from variable RES;
 together with loads for compensating rapid variations in their
request or for assuring the continuity of the supply.
This general conclusion is the basis for better understanding the
design and management strategies dened in the following.
3. Description of the test MV network
The MV distribution network of the Island of Pantelleria has a
radial structure supplied by a unique thermal power plant. The
nominal voltage is 10.5 kV. Currently, the Island of Pantelleria is
totally dependent on external sources of energy. The supply system
is fed by diesel, but also by oil and GPL (Liqueed Petroleum Gas).
The thermal generation power plant is composed of eight generator
groups, for a total installed power of about20 MW.
From the power station, 4 MV lines spread out. The electrical
distribution system has different points where it is possible to
radially counter-supply the lines, or where it is possible to create a
meshed conguration. Some of these sectionalizing points are
located inside remotely controllable substations.
With reference to the feasibility study for the integration of DG
systems based on RES, in Ref. [1] ve possible scenarios have been
dened. Among these scenarios, the one considered to be the most
realistic was selected, since it considers:
- the full exploitation of both the geothermal and waste sources;
- the exclusion of the wind source, because, as already stated, it
has its maximum during the winter when the electrical energy
demand is lower and it is already covered by geothermal and
waste sources;
- a limited amount of PV systems, since due to their necessary
installation on private properties, their exploitation depends on
the individuals will to invest on such systems.
The present study has been done considering this scenario. In
particular are considered the DGs reported in Table 1, characterized
by the features outlined in Ref. [1].
The scheme of the MV network, with the generators indicated in
Table 1, is reported in Fig. 1.
The network has 206 nodes, 150 of which are only load nodes, 2
are switching nodes, 18 are generation/consumption nodes and the
other are derivation nodes.
In 14 nodes are installed PV plants. These nodes are mostly
installed inside the urban center and, for this reason, very close to
the thermal power plant. The Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant is

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Table 1
Distributed Generators in the test MV Network.
Typology

Rated power
[MW]

Yearly energy
production [MWh]

Node

Geothermal plant
PV plants

2.5
0.33 (total)

20,000
510

Waste-to-energy
plant

0.37

79
4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 32,
34, 35, 135, 144, 207
206

1600

geographically close to the urban center, but electrically it is at the

opposite being almost at the end of the fth MV line (node 206).
The Geothermal plant is installed at node 79, at the end of the third
MV line.
In maximum load condition (during summer period), simulations carried out on the real distribution system without DGs show
a high number of violations in the voltage values (in nodes that are
quite far from the thermal generation plant, voltage drops exceed
10% of the rated voltage).

In the same load condition, the power injections from

geothermal and WtE plants reduce the number and the entity of
these violations.
4. Denition of the design strategies
In the aim of dening the strategies for the design and management of EES systems in the existing islanded electrical network,
some preliminary analysis have been made in order to identify
suitable installation nodes in the network, according to some
heuristic considerations about competing objectives: achieving the
highest improvement that such plants would have brought on the
one hand, and obtaining realistic conditions on the other hand,
without exceeding the costs of investment hardly sustainable by
the DSO (Distribution System Operator) of the Island of Pantelleria.
For this reason, it was decided to consider scenarios in which the
batteries are installed only at the existing nodes of the MV network.
This limits the choice of the number of equipments to be installed
and of their location, since such installations require suitable
technical spaces.

Fig. 1. Simplied scheme of the MV network of the Island of Pantelleria, with the present DGs (Photovoltaic, Geothermal and Waste-to-Energy plants).

M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

651

An EES system consists, indeed, of a PCS (Power Conditioning

System) whose aim is to process energy from the batteries and to
make it suitable for the loads [36].
The main functions of the PCS are:
- converting DC power to AC power;
- maximizing power output from batteries;
- stopping current ows from the batteries into the grid during
outages to safeguard the utilitys personnel.
Inside the urban center, only a few nodes are surrounded by
technical spaces for the installation of boxes for the EES, of MV/LV
transformers for connecting the batteries normally operating in LV
to the MV network, of electronic equipment, and protection
required by the EES. To have an idea, in Ref. [37] a description and
some indications about the size of a large installation for EES are
provided. Outside the main urban center of the island, there is more
availability of technical spaces.
For these reasons, after a brief economic analysis, it has been
decided that the EES systems would be installed only in four nodes
of the MV network.
The size of each EES system has indeed been chosen heuristically, but the total capacity installed has been kept in all scenarios
equal to 5.2 MWh.
Three different design strategies have been examined:
1. compensate for the variability of power production from PV
plants (PhotoVoltaic STrategy: ST-PV)
2. improvement of voltage prole (Voltage Prole STrategy: ST-VP)
3. compensate for strong load course variations of large loads
(Load STrategy: ST-LO).
The rst design strategy, indicated as ST-PV, considers the
installation and operation of batteries in combination with the PV
plants for compensating the high variability in the energy production due to the uncertainty characteristic of the solar source. In
this case, the entire available energy installed is close to the rated
PV plants production and the batteries are supposed to be installed
at nodes 4, 32, 135 and 144.
The second strategy, indicated as ST-VP, considers the installation of the batteries at the nodes that are the farthest from the
existing generation thermal power plant so as to improve the
voltage prole in the network, in particular in the hours of
maximum load. In this case, batteries are supposed to be installed
at nodes 3, 24, 131 and 199, namely the nodes having the greatest
importance in voltage prole regulation and showing the lowest
voltage values during maximum loading.
The third strategy, indicated as ST-LO, considers the installation of the batteries in the nodes where the loads have the highest
consumption and the highest variability, with the purpose of
obtaining a full exploitation of the energy generated by RES plants
to supply the loads and of improving the total efciency of the
whole electric system. In this case, the batteries are supposed to be
installed at nodes 2, 9, 95 and 144.
All these assumptions were made with reference to the generation system with the DG units reported in Table 1 and the main
generation thermal plant.
The effect of the distributed EES system on the management
performance indices of the network (energy losses, GHG emissions,
voltage prole) has been evaluated by comparing these indices,
calculated in presence of EES and in a reference scenario with no
batteries but only hosting the distributed generation systems
described in Table 1.
Fig. 2 shows the overall approach adopted in the paper. In the
subsequent Sections 5 and 6 the optimal management problem

Fig. 2. Overall approach adopted in the paper.

formulation and the optimization algorithm solving the management problem are described.
5. Formulation of the multi-objective optimization problem
With reference to a simulation time horizon of 24 h and in the
considered above described installation scenarios, the problem of
the management of the EES systems is that of the identication of
the set-points of the distributed generators and of the distributed
EES, in order to minimize the energy losses in the network, the total
generation costs and the GHG emissions, that are the objective
functions of the optimization problem.
The problem exposed is an EED (Environmental and Economical
Dispatch) non- linear multi-objective optimization problem with
constraints and has, in general, various solutions. Each solution is
characterized by different values of the objective functions.
The EED consists in the optimal dispatch of the energy generated by the power plants and generated/absorbed by the EES,
solving an Optimal Power Flow problem, given:
- the daily load prole in all the nodes of the network;
- the daily electrical energy production of all the RES-based
generators;
- the generation costs and the GHG emissions of all the traditional
dispatchable generators;
- the EES initial SOC (state-of-charge);
- the technical constraints for the thermal generator.
Considering that the simulation is done with a time-step of 1 h,
the analytical formulation of the optimization problem is the
following.
A N-bus isolated distribution system is considered with:
- Nx load or generation nodes with xed forecasted real and
reactive power demands or injections;
- NDG controllable distributed generation units.
The vector X identifying the set-points of the controllable DG
units can be expressed as:

X x1 ; x2 ; .; xh ; .; x24 
where the hth element, related to the hth hour of the day, is:

(1)

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M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

xh

P1g;h ; P2g;h ; .; PNg;h

; Q1g;h ; Q2g;h ; .; QNg;h
DG
DG

g;h


(2)

g;h

withPi and Qi , the active he active and reactive power generated

in the hth hour by the ith generator or EES system.
The purpose of the optimization problem is to minimize the
objective functions described below.
A. Total generation cost
The rst objective functionO1 is the total daily generation cost.
It is the sum of all the generation cost CPi (V/kW) of the NDG
controllable distributed generator in the 24 h. The active power
Pig;h , of the ith generator or EES and the active power requested
by loads, is considered not variable in the elementary time interval (1 h). Under these hypotheses, the objective function is
formulated as it follows:

O1 X

NDG
24 X
X
h1 i1

g;h

CPi $Pi $t

(3)

B. Energy losses
The second objective function O2 is the sum of the daily energy losses in all the branches of the MV network. Being Nb the
number of branches of the network and assumed that the current in each branch is constant in the elementary time interval
and equal to Iih , the objective function is formulated as it follows:

O2 X

Nb
24 X
X
h1 i1

3$Ri $Iih $t

(4)
6. The NSGA-II optimization algorithm

C. GHG emissions
The third objective function O3 is the sum of the GHG emish
sions of the traditional generators. Being Em;i
the quantity of
tons of gas produced during the hth hour by the ith generation
unit, the objective function is formulated as it follows:

O3 X

Nb
24 X
X
h1 i1

h
Em;i

(5)

g;h

g;h

Qj;min  Qj

 Pj;MAX
g

 Qj;MAX

The optimization problem has been solved using the Non

dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II, NSGA-II [2]. The algorithm
is based on the concept of non-dominance, that is one of the basic
concepts in multi-objective optimization. Although it was proposed
a few years ago, the algorithm still proves to be quite efcient
especially in the eld of power distribution operation and planning
as some recent papers [41e51] prove. At the cost of a larger
computational burden, it allows the possibility to include robustness considerations which is quite benecial in presence of the
large uncertainties associated with the presence of RES [52].
6.1. The concept of non dominance in MO optimization

D. Constraints
The typical constraints are:
a)

Pj;min  Pj

The approach proposed for the management of the batteries is

very simple and easy to apply to isolated MV networks. These are
characterized by the need of addressing specic technical issues
that are more constraining as compared to the case of gridconnected systems. As described above, being the approach
applied to a real case, it was possible to separately consider the
design and the management issues, on the basis of practical considerations. In the literature many formulations of the design and
management problems can be found, but only a few of them rely on
a realistic test case. For example the method proposed in Ref. [38]
gives a very complete formulation of the design problem
although it does not account for the volumes of the components
that, in an existing network, are often to be limited due to the size
of the available space.
Finally, in presence of more complex scenarios other approaches
can be followed, as those proposed in Refs. [39,40] where the EES
management is connected to the uncertainty of the electricity
market. In particular in Ref. [39] the authors consider the optimal
management of a micro-grid in the Northwestern European electricity market (Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands). In
the different examined scenarios also the presence of lead-acid
batteries is considered.
In Ref. [40] the authors propose an original scheduling approach
for optimal dispatch of electrical EES systems. The optimal dispatch
is based on fuzzy rules and does not use forecasts since it repairs
the past history according to the real time data on the electrical
energy cost, renewable energy production and load. When the
system detects a worsening of performances, the fuzzy logic rulebased control system self-adapts its membership functions using
an economic indicator.

(6)

where:
g
g
- Pjg;h ; Pj;min
and Pj;MAX
respectively represent the active
production at the hth hour and the minimum and
maximum limits of active power at the jth DG unit;
g;h
g
g
- Qj ; Qj;min and Qj;MAX respectively represent the reactive
production at the hth and the minimum and maximum
limits of the reactive power at the jth DG unit.
b) power transfer limits in the network branches;
c) maximum and minimum limits for the voltage prole in the
nodes;
d) limits on the power exchanged by each EES system;
e) active and reactive power balancing between generators and
loads.

For a problem having multiple objective functions to be minimized (fj, j 1,.,m with m > 1) any two multidimensional solutions x1 and x2 of the optimization problem can have one or two
possibilities: one dominates the other or none dominates the other.
A solution x1 is said to dominate the other solution x2, if both the
following conditions are true:
 the solution x1 is no worse than x2 in all objectives. This means
that fj(x1)  fj(x2), for all j 1..m;
 the solution x1 is strictly better than x2 in at least one objective.
This means that fj*(x1)<fj*(x2) for at least one j* {1.m}.
If no one of the above conditions is true, the solution x1 does not
dominate the solution x2.
It is also important to observe that the concept of optimality in
multiobjective optimization is related to a set of solutions, instead
than to a single one. This means that, generally, the problem has
multiple equivalent solutions and, therefore, it is possible to dene
Pareto local and global optimality for sets of solutions.

M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

PA is a locally optimal Pareto set, if for every member x of PA,

there exist no solution y, in a small neighborhood, which dominates
every member in the set PA.
PA is a global Pareto-optimal set, if there exist no solution in the
search space, which dominates every member in the set PA.
From the above discussion, it is possible to point out that there
are two goals that a multi-criterion optimization algorithm must
achieve:

653

f2
0
i-1

CUBOID

i
i+1

 to guide the search towards the global Pareto-optimal region;

 to maintain population diversity in the Pareto-optimal front.

1
f1

Fig. 3. Crowding distance measure.

6.2. The NSGA-II algorithm

NSGA-II divides the population in fronts of non-dominated solutions so that the search can be addressed towards interesting
areas of the search space, where the global Pareto-optimal region is
presumably located. NSGA-II varies from the original NSGA in three
main things:
1) it is more computationally efcient, since the ranking of solutions is performed with a O((m s)$N2p) algorithm, instead of
O((m s)$Np3), where m is the number of objectives, s is the
number of constraints and Np is the population size;
2) it signicantly prevents the loss of good solutions once they
have been found This property is named elitism;
3) it does not need any parameter specication.
A Binary Tournament Selection operator is used to select the
offspring population, whereas crossover and mutation operators
remain as usual.
Before selection is performed, the population is ranked on the
basis of an individuals non-domination level and, to allow the
diversication, a crowding factor is calculated for each solution.
To get an estimate of the density of solutions surrounding a
particular point in the population, the average distance of the two
points on either side of this point along each of the objectives is
considered. In this paper, this measure has been normalized. This
quantity idistance serves as an estimate of the size of the largest
cuboid enclosing the point i without including any other point in
the population (crowding distance). In Fig. 3, the crowding distance
of the ith solution in its front (marked with solid circles) is the
average side-length of the cuboid (shown with a dashed box) in the
objectives space.
The following algorithm, written in Pascal language, is used to
calculate the crowding:

Here I[i].m refers to the mth objective function value of the ith
individual in the set I. It must be observed that the crowding distance is normalized along each direction of the objectives space.

The crowded comparison operator (n) guides the selection

process at the various stages of the algorithm towards a uniformly
spread out Pareto-optimal front. Every individual i in the population is given two attributes.
1) Non-domination rank in the objectives space directions (i.rank)
2) Local crowding distance in the objectives space directions
(i.distance)
A partial order  n can be dened as:

i  nj

Ifi:rank < j:rankori:rank < j:rank

andi:distance > j:distance

That is, between two solutions with differing non-domination
ranks the point with the lower rank is preferred (the front which
is closer to the axes origin). Otherwise, if both points belong to the
same front then the point which is located in a region with lesser
number of points (the size of the cuboid inclosing it is larger) is
preferred. The mutation operator applies small power injection in
the grid from the distributed generation units, within the imposed
constraints. The crossover operator is applied taking into account
the history of the charge/discharge process of each EES system.
In Fig. 4, one cycle of the NSGA-II procedure is represented. Pt
and Pt1 are the sets of solutions at iteration t and t1, while Pt0 is a
partially ordered (n) set of solutions.
7. Results
The study has been done considering the network in its radial
conguration with all the boundary tie-switches in open position.

Fig. 4. A cycle of the NSGA-II algorithm.

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M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

95.75

95.6
95.55

GHG mission[ton]

95.7
95.65

95.5
95.45
95.4
6.82

4.905
6.8

4.91
6.78

Fig. 5. Monthly electric energy consumption of the Island of Pantelleria (data 2011).

6.74

4.92
6.72

4.925

costs[k]

Daily energy losses [MWh]

Fig. 8. Optimal Pareto set of solutions for the ST-PV strategy.

generation prole of the whole PV park in Table 1 in a typical day in

the month of August is represented.
For the three design strategies described in Section 4, three
different Pareto Optimal sets of solutions of the optimal management problem have been found using a simulation tool

95.75

GHG emission[ton]

In its current conguration, the network is indeed provided with a

set of tie-switches in order to counter-supply the loads from other
main lines spreading out from the main power generation point.
Therefore opening all the tie-switches keeps the network in radial
conguration.
The operation of the EES systems has been determined under
the conservative hypothesis of the maximum loading day of the
year. This condition refers to the summer period, in particular to the
month of August when, due to the high ow of tourists, electric
consumptions rise and consequently power losses, GHG emissions
and voltage drops rise too (Fig. 5).
In Fig. 6 the average daily total power demand of the Island of
Pantelleria in a typical working day of the month of August is
represented.
The hourly production from PV generators has been found with
reference to the irradiation data in Ref. [53]. In Fig. 7, the daily

4.915
6.76

95.7
95.65
95.6
95.55
95.5
95.45
95.4
6.82

4.905
6.8

4.91
6.78

4.915
6.76
6.74

4.92
6.72

4.925

Daily energy losses [MWh]

costs[k]

Fig. 9. Optimal Pareto set of solutions for the ST-VP strategy.

Fig. 6. Average hourly electrical power demand for a working summer day (data 2011).

GHG emission[ton]

94.8

94.75

94.7

94.65

94.6
6.16

4.87
6.15

4.875
6.14

4.88

6.13
6.12

6.11

4.885

costs[k]

Daily energy losses [MWh]

Fig. 7. Average hourly PV production in a typical day of the month of August.

Fig. 10. Optimal Pareto set of solutions for the ST-LO strategy.

M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

In Fig. 8e10 are respectively reported the Optimal Pareto set of

solutions for the objective functions O1 (cost), O2 (DE) and O3 (GHG
emissions), dened in Section 5. Fig. 11 shows the comparison of
the Optimal Pareto set of solutions for the three strategies.
In Table 2, the mean values of the same objective functions are
reported for the reference scenario (scenario with DG units and no
EES). In this latter case, the values have been found by solving the
optimization problem without storage.
From an analysis of the gures and the table reported above it
easy to conclude that the presence of the EES produces in all the
examined cases:

96

GHGemission[ton]

655

95.8
95.6
95.4
95.2
95
94.8
94.6
6.8

4.85
6.6

4.9

6.4
6.2
6

4.95

costs[k]

Daily energy losses [MWh]

Fig. 11. Optimal Pareto set of solutions comparison for the three strategies.

Table 2
Mean values of the performance indexes of the network (objective functions) in the
base scenario.
Daily total generation
cost [kV]

Daily energy
losses [MWh]

Daily GHG
emissions [ton]

5.40

4.50

115

implemented at DEIM (Department of Energy, Information Engineering and Mathematics) and based on a code written on purpose,
varying size and location of the EES systems. Each Pareto front is
made of 200 individuals in 400 generations, crossover and mutation probabilities are 0.5 and 0.1 respectively. The results have been
averaged over a sample of Nr 30 runs which is considered to be a
meaningful sample.

- a reduction in the order of the 10% of the total generation cost;

- a reduction in the order of the 17% of the GHG emissions with
respect to the case without storage;
- a rise of the energy losses;
The best results correspond to the ST-LO design scenario, whilst
the worst results are found when the ST-PV is applied.
The best operation strategies of the DG units and of the EES are
shown in the following, taking for each of the three sizing scenario,
within the Pareto Optimal sets of solutions, the solution corresponding to the minimum generation cost and the one corresponding to the minimum GHG emissions.
In Figs. 12e23, the hourly electrical energy production of the
dispatchable generators and the daily prole of the state of charge
of the EES, are represented for each solution and for each scenario
corresponding to a given strategy.
7.1. Scenario ST-PV
In Table 3, the sizes of the four groups of batteries in the nodes 4,
32, 135 and 144 for the Scenario 1 are reported.
In the following gures, the hourly electrical power production of
the dispatchable generators and the daily prole of the state of
charge of the groups of batteries for the Scenario ST-PV,

8
6
4
2
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 12. Hourly electrical power production of the dispatchable generators (ST-PV: minimum generation cost solution).

Node_4
Node_32

2.5

Node_135

[MWh]

Node_144

1.5
1
0.5
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
h

Fig. 13. Daily prole of the state of charge (SOC) of the batteries (ST-PV: minimum generation cost solution).

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M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

8
6
4
2
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 14. Hourly electrical power production of the dispatchable generators (ST-PV: minimum GHG emission solution.
Node_4

2.5

Node_32
Node_135

Node_144

1.5
1
0.5
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 15. Daily prole of the state of charge (SOC) of the batteries (ST-PV: minimum GHG emission solution).

corresponding to the minimum generation cost (Figs. 12 and 13) and

to the minimum GHG emissions (Figs. 14 and 15), are represented.

prole of the state of charge of the groups of batteries for the

Scenario 2, corresponding to the minimum generation cost and to
the minimum GHG emissions respectively.

7.2. Scenario ST-VP

In Table 4 are reported the sizes of the four groups of batteries in
the nodes 3, 24, 131 and 199 for the for the Scenario ST-VP.
The following gures, 16 to 19, represent the hourly electrical
energy production of the dispatchable generators and the daily

7.3. Scenario ST-LO

In Table 5 are reported the sizes of the four groups of batteries in
the nodes 2, 9, 95 and 144 for the for the Scenario ST-LO.

8
6
4
2
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
h

Fig. 16. Hourly electrical power production of the dispatchable generators (ST-VP: minimum generation cost solution).

Node_4
Node_32

2.5

Node_135

Node_144

1.5
1
0.5
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 17. Daily prole of the state of charge (SOC) of the batteries (ST-VP: minimum generation cost solution).

M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

657

8
6
4
2
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 18. Hourly electrical power production of the dispatchable generators (ST-VP: minimum GHG emission solution).

Node_4
Node_32

2.5

Node_135

Node_144

1.5
1
0.5
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 19. Daily prole of the state of charge (SOC) of the batteries (ST-VP: minimum GHG emission solution).

The following gures, 20 to 23, represent the hourly electrical

energy production of the dispatchable generators and the daily
prole of the state of charge of the groups of batteries for the
Scenario ST-LO, corresponding to the minimum generation cost and
to the minimum GHG emissions respectively.

8. Discussion
Simulations show that batteries have a notable potential to affect
the operation of distribution systems and that their operation is
characterized by no more than three charge/discharge cycles per day.

8
6
4
2
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 20. Hourly electrical power production of the dispatchable generators (ST-LO: minimum generation cost solution).

Node_4
Node_32

2.5

Node_135

Node_144

1.5
1
0.5
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 21. Daily prole of the state of charge (SOC) of the batteries (ST-LO: minimum generation cost solution).

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M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

8
6
4
2
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 22. Hourly electrical power production of the dispatchable generators (ST-LO: minimum GHG emission solution).

Node_4
Node_32

2.5

Node_135

Node_144

1.5
1
0.5
0
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fig. 23. Daily prole of the state of charge (SOC) of the batteries (ST-LO: minimum GHG emission solution).

Minimum loss and minimum GHG solutions are very similar

with reference both to the size and to the operation of the batteries.
In all cases energy losses in the network are higher in presence
of the EES.
This result can be explained considering that the inclusion of
EES in systems not designed considering their presence and in
nodes that are far from the main generators cause supplementary
energy ows in the network branches due to the charging/discharging processes. The corresponding current gives rise to additional energy losses with respect to the reference scenario without
EES.
The effect of this phenomenon is increased by two factors:
 the quadratic dependence of the energy losses from the current;
 the radial structure of the network with cable or overhead lines
having sections decreasing as the distance from the central
thermal power plant increases.

Table 3
Capacity of the batteries. ST-PV.
Node

Capacity [MWh]

4
32
135
144

0.93
0.75
1.18
2.43

Table 4
Capacity of the batteries. ST-VP.

The existing network of the Island of Pantelleria has not been

designed considering the possible presence of DG units and EES.
Having assumed that the batteries are installed in nodes that are
also very distant from the existing thermal power plant, high energy ows have been imposed on inadequate branches.
Energy losses can be reduced increasing the section of the
branches of the MV network in the neighborhood of the nodes
where batteries and DG units are installed and moving from a radial
operation to a meshed operation of the network.
Indeed, as it has been demonstrated in Ref. [1], as the tieswitches of the MV network are closed, both the voltage drops
and the energy losses decrease.
Anyway, even if the energy losses rise, GHG emission and generation cost decrease, and therefore this increment does not
signicantly affect the other efciency indexes of the system.
In Figs. 24e26 the voltage proles obtained after the installation
of the batteries and for the three strategies are compared with the
voltage prole in the reference scenario without EES. Voltages refer
to the maximum load hour of a heavily loaded summer day and,
respectively, to the minimum cost solution in Fig. 24, to the minimum GHG emissions solution in Fig. 25 and to the minimum energy losses solution in Fig. 26.
In Table 6 are reported the maximum percentage voltage drops
for the three solutions and the three scenarios, compared with the
maximum voltage drops in the reference scenario.

Table 5
Capacity of the batteries. ST-LO.

Node

Capacity [MWh]

Node

Capacity [MWh]

3
24
131
199

1.9
1.16
1.16
0.95

2
9
15
144

3.2
0.8
0.5
0.65

M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

Fig. 24. Voltage proles during the maximum load hour e Minimum cost solution.

Fig. 25. Voltage proles during the maximum load hour e Minimum GHG emissions solution.

Fig. 26. Voltage proles during the maximum load hour e Minimum energy losses solution.

659

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M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

Table 6
Maximum percentage voltage drop in the network.
Solution

Reference
scenario

ST-PV

ST-VP

ST-LO

Minimum generation cost

Minimum GHG emissions
Minimum energy losses

8.46%
8.46%
8.44%

5.11%
5.11%
5.10%

2.77%
2.70%
2.77%

7.67%
7.61%
7.54%

Table 7
Number of nodes of the network where the voltage drops is higher than 7%.
Solution

Reference
scenario

ST-PV

ST-VP

ST-LO

Minimum generation cost

Minimum GHG emissions
Minimum energy losses

23
23
23

0
0
0

0
0
0

16
16
15

In Table 7 is reported, for each case, the number of nodes of the

network where the percentage voltage drop exceeds the 7%.
The most evident effects of the batteries on the voltage prole
are in the ST-VP case. This results are in line with the same denition of ST-VP.
In the ST-PV case only the line in which voltage drops are the
highest takes advantage from the installation of the batteries. In the
other lines voltage drops rise but, on the whole, the voltage prole
is more regular than in absence of storage and no violations on the
maximum voltage drop (7%) are present in any node.
In the ST-LO case no signicant effects on the voltage prole can
be observed, even if, in general the voltage prole improve and the
number of violations on the maximum voltage drop is reduced.
Finally, the minimum generation cost solution and the minimum GHG emission solution are characterized by voltage proles
very similar.

Fig. 27. Simplied scheme of the MV network of the Island of Pantelleria, with the DGs and the EES systems for the ST-VP scenario.

M.G. Ippolito et al. / Energy 64 (2014) 648e662

661

Fig. 28. Control system layout for the optimal management system (only DG units are represented).

9. The control network architecture for optimal management

The simulations have shown that the most promising design
strategy for EES installations in the considered system is the ST-VP.
This result is not surprising since the optimal management has
been carried out minimizing power losses and this quantity is
strictly related to voltage drops limitation. In this paragraph, the
control architecture for the proposed ST-VP layout for EES and the
relevant control architecture is briey described. The island already
has a control architecture but with a limited number of devices and,
as it is, it would not allow the complete implementation of the
proposed optimized strategy.
The communication network can be realized employing a mixed
wireless system based on radio waves (main channel) and GSM
(back-up channel). This technology for the physical layer has been
chosen for two reasons:
- the existing tele-control infrastructure for secondary substations is based on wireless technology;
- the distances between different devices is quite large.
The radio waves system uses UHF (Ultra High Frequency) repeaters with omnidirectional antenna installed on Montagna
Grande, indicated with a red (in web version) circle in Fig. 28,
serving also the Remote Terminal Units at secondary substations
and at the different energy resources (DGs and ESS (ESS)).
The system comprises:
- a MGCC (MicroGrid Central Controller) to be installed at the
Diesel Power Plant;
- about 140 Measurement Units for real and reactive power and
voltages data at all secondary substations;
- three SC (Source ControllersSC) at the diesel generator, at the
geothermal generator and at the Waste-to-Energy node;
- four BMS (Battery Management Systems) at the ESS;
- some SAS (State Acquisition Systems) and some remote control
units for tie-switches control;
- some diagnostic units in communication with the MGCC unit.
The radio based serial interface employs the Master-Slave
Modbus Rtu Standard.
10. Conclusion and future works
Even if the analysis carried out through the solution of an
optimization problem is limited to the minimization of only three

objective functions, for the three different examined scenarios (STPV, ST-VP and ST-LO), the results obtained demonstrate that it is not
possible to individuate only one optimal solution but a set of
numerous equivalent solutions.
In the ST-LO scenario, the minimum reduction of energy losses
but the maximum reduction of generation cost and GHG emission
is obtained. At the same time, this strategy is not able to give
sensible improvements to the voltage prole.
In the ST-PV scenario, the voltage drop signicantly reduces in
the most disadvantaged nodes but, on the contrary, it rises in the
other nodes. However, in the complex, the mean voltage prole is
generally improved. Moreover it appears the less convenient
among the three examined strategies.
Finally, the ST-VP scenario appears as the most suitable for the
operation of the network, with signicant advantageous effects on
the voltage prole and intermediate values for the objective
functions.
The scheme of the MV network, with the distributed generators
and the batteries for the ST-VP scenario is reported in Fig. 27.
Future works on the topic will address the following issues:
 the identication of the branches whose section should be
increased in order to reduce energy losses;
 the identication of the most suitable EES technology to be
installed in the Island of Pantelleria.
Acknowledgments
The study presented has been realized by a collaboration between ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies,
Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, and the DEIM
(Department of Energy, Information Engineering and Mathematics)
of the University of Palermo within the project Advanced Energy
Storage Systems nanced by the Italian Minister for the Economic
Development, through the program RdS (Research on the Electric
System), thanks to the data provided by S.MED.E. PANTELLERIA
S.p.a., the society that manages the production and distribution of
the electric energy in the island of Pantelleria.
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