Collaborative Capacity Planning Method of Wind-

Photovoltaic-Storage Equipment in Microgrid

Considering Different Energy Selling Income
Lingyu Liang
Digital Grid Research institute of China Southern Power Grid
Xiangyu Zhao (  1006597080@[Link] )
Digital Grid Research institute of China Southern Power Grid
Wenqi Huang
Digital Grid Research institute of China Southern Power Grid
Liming Sun
South China University of Technology
Ziyao Wang
South China University of Technology
Fengsheng Chen
South China University of Technology

Research Article

Keywords: Microgrid, Wind-photovoltaic-storage capacity planning, Collaborative planning, Cultural grey

wolf optimization algorithm, Life cycle cost, Selling price

Posted Date: June 27th, 2023

DOI: [Link]

License:   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Read Full License

Additional Declarations: No competing interests reported.

 1

Collaborative Capacity Planning Method of Wind-Photovoltaic-

Storage Equipment in Microgrid Considering Different Energy
Selling Income
Lingyu Liang1, Xiangyu Zhao1*, Wenqi Huang1, Liming Sun2,3, Ziyao Wang2, Fengsheng Chen2

1. Digital Grid Research institute of China Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou 510640, China

2. College of Electric Power, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China

3. Guangzhou Shuimu Qinghua Technology Co. Ltd. , Guangzhou 510640, China

Abstract—Microgrid is a promising small-scale power generation and distribution system. The selling price
of wind turbine equipment (WT), photovoltaic generation equipment (PV), and battery energy storage
equipment (BES) have a significant impact on the microgrid profits, which in turn affects the planning
capacity of renewable energy. This paper proposes an optimal capacity planning method of wind-
photovoltaic-storage equipment considering different energy selling income in microgrid. Stochastic
characteristics of renewable energy (WT and PV), selling price of different energy, and timing coupling
characteristic are considered in the proposed model. Besides, the configuration capacity of WT, PV and BES
are modeled as discrete decision variables according to the type of specific equipment. And comprehensive
life cycle cost (LCC) are considered as objective function. It can be found that the proposed collaborative
capacity planning model is a mathematical programming problem with complex non-linear constraints and
integer variables. To solve this problem, a cultural gray wolf optimization algorithm (CGWO) is applied in
this paper. The proposed method's efficiency, convergence, superiority, and effectiveness are verified
through a case study. Moreover, the impact of different new energy sales prices on capacity planning results
is also revealed in the article.

Key Words—Microgrid; Wind-photovoltaic-storage capacity planning; Collaborative planning; Cultural

grey wolf optimization algorithm; Life cycle cost; Selling price.
Nomenclature
Variables
F Comprehensive cost of designed microgrid system
CInv Cost of capacity planning model includes cost of equipment investment in
the microgrid (WT, PV, BES)
CEENS Cost of expected energy not supplied (EENS)
CBuy Cost of electricity purchased from main grid
 2

CMain Cost of the equipment maintenance

ISell Profits of selling electricity from the designed microgrid system
IDrop Profits of the scrapping of equipment from the designed microgrid system
W S B
IDrop /I Drop /I Drop Profits of the scrapping of WT / PV / BES
CEQ
Inv Investment cost of WT, PV and BES
SEQ Capacity of the WT, PV and BES
CEQ
Main Maintenance cost of WT, PV and BES
PEQ
Main Maintenance cost per unit capacity of WT, PV and BES
EENSt Power Shortage at time t
EENS Annual shortage of power supply
ΔPunt Unbalanced power at time t
PWt / PSt Wind power / Solar power generation power at time t
SOCt Energe storage value at time t
Pbuy
t Power obtained through the tie line/main grid at time t
W S B
P Sell,t /P Sell,t /P Sell,t Sales power of WT/ PV / BES at time t
B
P Charge,t Charging power of BES at time t
SW / SS Planned capacity of wind power / solar power generation equipment
ΔPt Power shortage at time t
Pc,max
t Maximum consumable power at time t
PBt Battery energy storage power at time t
MAR
P t Remaining power margin at time t
X1 / X2 / X3 Position of α wolf, β wolf, γ wolf
X(l+1) Position of the next wolf
Parameters
pEQ
Drop Investment cost per unit capacity of WT, PV and BES
r Discounted rate
EQ
p Inv Investment and construction cost per unit capacity of WT, PV and BES
TEQ Lifecycle of WT, PV and BES
kEENS Power outage cost coefficient
W S B
%
p ,%
p ,%
p Electricity sales prices of WT, PV, BES
Dt Load at time t
kbuy Price coefficient of power purchase from the main grid
ITt Radiation intensity of illumination at time t
 3

SOCmax / SOCmin Maximum / minimum energy storage value

Ptie,max
t Maximum power of tie line at time t
wt Wind speed at time t
wc / wr Cut-in wind speed / Cut-out wind speed
a Convergence factor
l Current iterative algebra
T Total number of evolutionary iterations

1. Introduction
1.1. Background
Global climate change has brought severe challenges to human survival. In the face of these challenges,
China put forward “Carbon Emissions Peak” and “Carbon Neutrality” policy[1]. The proposed policies
insisted on green and low carbon development, tackling the climate change actively. In this context, a novel
power system with renewable energy is proposed as the main body of future power system. Nowadays,
Chinese clean energies mainly contain wind and photovoltaic power generation, which are the most practical
way and have great development potential.
In rural areas, industrial parks, or islands, there are often many distributed photovoltaic panels (PV),
wind turbines (WT), and battery energy storage equipment (BES), which constitute a “microgrid” [2]. In areas
with abundant wind energy and light resources, how to optimize the capacity of different energy equipment
in the microgrid, improving the economic profits, enhancing the reliability of the designed microgrid, and
increasing the accommodation rate of clean energy, is a crucial while complicated problem[3] [10].

1.2. Related Work

Scholars around the world have conducted research on the location and capacity of distributed generation
(DG) in microgrid from different perspectives. Recent researches can be summarized from model
formulation and algorithms.
(1) Model Formulation. The objective of microgrid capacity planning model needs to consider economy,
reliability and environment protection. Economic objectives mainly include costs (annual investment cost,
maintenance cost, main grid electricity purchase cost, equipment operation cost) and profits (main grid
electricity selling profits, environmental subsidies)[4]. Reliability objectives include time-based indicators
(SAIDI, CAIDI), frequency-based indicators (SAIFI, CAIFI), energy loss-based indicators (EENS) and so
on. Environment objectives related to emissions of green house gases, which depends on the output of
traditional thermal power and renewable energy accommodation[9]. The constraints of microgrid capacity
 4

planning model needs to consider power flow equation, operation mode and so on. It can be found that the
capacity configuration of microgrid is a non-linear, multi-objective problem with complicated constraints[10].
A cost-based formulation has been performed to determine the optimal size of BES in the operation cost
minimization problem of MG under various constraints, such as power capacity of distributed generators
(DGs), power and energy capacity of BES, charge/discharge efficiency of BES, operating reserve and load
demand satisfaction[11]. [12] focus on optimization of power source capacity in microgrid and a coordinated
planning strategy is proposed with integrated consideration of characteristics of DG, ES and load. [13]
investigate the prospects of interlinking short-term flexibility value into long-term capacity planning towards
achieving a microgrid with a high renewable energy fraction. A pumped storage power station capacity
planning method based on the full life cycle cost is proposed describe a new sizing optimization methodology
of a stand-alone hybrid Photovoltaic/Wind/Battery system, minimizing the Levelized Cost of Energy
(LCOE), the Loss of Power Supply Probability (LPSP), and the Equivalent Carbon Dioxide (CO2-eq) life
cycle emission[14]. However, few studies have analyzed the impact of price (cost and profit) on the capacity
allocation of microgrid and carried out in-depth sensitivity analysis based on the proposed model, providing
effective guidance for microgrid planners.

Table I Summary of Distributed Generators Planning Models

Investment Reliability Main grid Maintenance RES sales Scrapping

Ref.
cost cost interaction cost cost profit profit
[5] √ √ × × × ×
[6] √ √ × × × ×
[7], [8] × √ √ × × ×
[11] √ × √ √ √ ×
[12] √ √ × √ √ ×
[13][17] √ √ × × × ×
[14] √ × √ √ √ √
[15] √ √ × × √ ×
[16] √ √ × √ √ ×
[19] √ × √ × √ ×
This paper √ √ √ √ √ √
(2) Algorithm. The existing solving algorithms of capacity configuration in microgrid mainly include
traditional analytical mathematical algorithms and heuristic optimization algorithms[16]. Some researchers
try to reformulate the original problem into a typical mixed integer linear programming (MILP) with some
approximate techniques[17]. Although this kind of methods can obtain the optimal solution of the transformed
problem, the obtained solution may have large deviation from practical solution due to the approximation.
Furthermore, these algorithms cannot accommodate to various scenarios, hindering application in the
 5

practical engineering. On the other hand, heuristic optimization algorithms can solve this complicated
planning problems effectively. However, the selection and improvement of heuristic algorithms based on the
variable form and constraint space of the specific problem is an urgent and promising research area[18][19].

1.3. Main Purpose

Given that a significant portion of the revenue from microgrid operators comes from the selling income
of renewable energy. Besides, the selling prices of different types of renewable energy are different, while
existing researches have not yet modeled, solved, and analyzed the differences in selling prices of different
types of new energy. Microgrid planners or electricity market price setters also require corresponding
theoretical basis and guidance when carrying out microgrid planning or setting electricity prices. Thus, it is
necessary to model the differences in selling prices of different types of renewable energy and integrate them
into the microgrid planning model.

1.4. Main Contribution

To tackle the above issues, this paper proposes a novel microgrid capacity planning model and improved
cultural gray wolf optimization algorithm. The major contributions of this paper can be summarized as
follows:
•A novel wind-photovoltaic-storage microgrid capacity planning model considering comprehensive cost
and profits is put forwarded. The different selling price of WT, PV, and BES are considered in the paper,
which is an essential part for planning model.
• An improved cultural gray wolf optimization algorithm (CGWO) is proposed to solve this problem
efficiently. Compared with other heuristic optimization methods, the proposed method outperforms in the
convergence and calculation time when solving the proposed model.
• The influence of different selling prices of WT, PV, BES and investment cost of BES on the microgrid
planning schemes is analyzed. The proposed model mainly focuses on the impact of the change of electricity
selling price on the planning results, which is conducive to microgrid planners to analyze the feasibility of
the planning scheme from a new perspective.

1.5. Structure
The remaining of this paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, the overall architecture of collaborative
capacity planning in microgrid is presented. In Section 3, a capacity planning model of WT, PV, BES in
microgrid are established. In Section 4, the solution algorithm CGWO is are introduced. Subsequently, the
proposed methods have been tested and sensitivity study has been conducted in Section 5. Finally,
conclusions and practical suggestions are summarized in Section 6.
 6

2. Architecture of Collaborative Capacity Planning in Microgrid

Future smart DS will include various types of novel loads and DGs, including wind WT, PV, BES and
user load. From the perspective of optimal planning, DS planners should coordinate reliability and DS costs
through optimal design of equipment capacity to accommodate these loads and DGs. Fig.1 shows the
planning task of Capacity planning in microgrid.

Microgrid System
WT BES

Main Grid

PV Load
Fig. 1. Framework of Collaborative Capacity Planning in Microgrid

3. Optimal Capacity Planning Model of Wind-Photovoltaic-Storage Equipment in

Microgrid
The objective function F of capacity planning of wind and solar storage equipment in microgrid is
formulated as follows:

( ) (
F = CInv + CEENS + CBuy + CMain − I Sell + I Drop ) (1)
where F represents the comprehensive cost of designed microgrid system. The objective function of this
paper is to minimize the comprehensive cost of wind-photovoltaic-storage equipment in the microgrid
system, which contains cost and profits. The cost of capacity planning model includes cost of equipment
investment in the microgrid (WT, PV, BES) CInv, cost of expected energy not supplied (EENS) CEENS, cost
of electricity purchased from main grid CBuy, the cost of equipment maintenance CMain. And the profits of
the designed microgrid system composed of the profits obtained from selling electricity ISell and the scrapping
of equipment IDrop.

3.1. Annualized Cost of Investment

In the process of microgrid planning, the investment and construction cost of each equipment (WT, PV,
and BES in this paper) occupies an important part, which is shown as follows:
r
EQ
CInv = S EQ pInv
EQ
(2)
(1 + r )
T EQ
−1
 7

where C EQ
Inv represents the investment cost of different equipment, including WT, PV and BES. The

investment and construction cost of each equipment is closely related to the capacity of the equipment SEQ.
Besides, pEQ
Inv are the investment and construction cost per unit capacity of WT, PV and BES.

3.2. Annual Cost of Outage Compensation

If a power outage occurs due to insufficient power supply, the microgrid operator needs to compensate
the corresponding users. In the planning and design of high-reliability microgrid, it is necessary to consider
the annual outage compensation cost of microgrid, which can be written as follows:
CEENS = kEENS EENS (3)
Pt =Dt − Pt − Pt − ( SOCt − SOCmin )
un W S
(4)
EENSt = Pt un − Pt tie,max ; Pt un  Pt tie,max (5)
EENS =  ( EENSt ) (6)
t
where the annual outage compensation cost of planned equipment CEENS is related to the annual shortage of
power supply EENS and power outage cost coefficient kEENS. Based on power balance equation, the
unbalanced power Pt un is the part that is still insufficient after the wind, solar, and storage power output, as
shown in (4). Then, the power shortage EENSt occurs at the current time t when the maximum power obtained
from main grid is added, which is shown in (5). Equation (6) considers the power outage under all operating
scenarios.

3.3. Annual Cost of Electricity Purchased from Main Grid

If the wind and solar storage resources are insufficient, the microgrid needs to purchase electricity from
the main network to meet the load demand of the whole microgrid. The annual cost calculation formula of
purchasing electricity from the main network is as follows:
CBuy = kbuy Pt buy (7)
0; Pt un  0
Pt buy =  un (8)
 Pt ; Pt  0
un

where the annual cost of power purchase of the main grid CBuy is related to the power obtained through the

tie line/main grid Pbuy

t and price coefficient of power purchase from the main grid kbuy. When the unbalanced

power Pt un at time t is less than 0, it means that the current power of microgrid is enough to be balanced by

wind and solar storage in microgrid. In this moment, there is no need to purchase electricity from main

network, and the purchased power is 0 at this time. When the unbalanced power Pt un at time t is greater than

0, it means that the current wind and solar storage resources of microgrid cannot meet the load demand in
microgrid. In this situation, it is necessary to purchase electricity from the main network at this time, and the

purchased power of this part is Pbuy

t .
 8

3.4. Annual Cost of Equipment Maintenance

The equipment invested and built by microgrid needs to be operated and maintained in its life cycle. The
specific calculation formula of the cost required for this part is as follows:
r
EQ
CMain = S EQ pMain
EQ
(9)
(1 + r )
T EQ
−1
where CEQ
Main represents the maintenance cost of WT, PV and BES. The maintenance cost of each equipment

is closely related to the capacity of the equipment, SEQ. Besides, pEQ

Main are the maintenance cost per unit

capacity of WT, PV and BES.

3.5. Annual Profit of Electricity Sales

The microgrid can exchange energy with the main grid through the main grid bus, which can gain profits
if the microgrid has extra power. The calculation formula of annual electricity sales income ISell of microgrid
including wind-photovoltaic-storage is mainly composed of electricity sales income of wind power,
photovoltaic and battery energy storage.

I Sell = ° °S S °B B
W W
p PSell , t + p PSell , t + p PSell , t (10)
W S B
where %
p ,%
p ,%
p are the electricity sales prices of WT, PV and BES, respectively. W
PSell S B
, t , PSell , t , PSell ,t
are the sales

power of WT, PV and BES, respectively.

To calculate the wind selling power at each time, it is necessary to calculate the wind power PWt .
0；wt  wc

Pt =  S W ( wt − wc ) / k ; wc  wt  wr
W
(11)
 W
 S ; wt  wr
where PWt is the wind power, related to the wind speed at each time. If the wind speed wt at the current moment
is less than the cut-in wind speed wc, the wind power cannot be output. If the current wind speed wt is between
the cut-in wind speed wc and the cut-out wind speed wr, the generated power can be calculated from a linear
expression related to the wind speed and the capacity of WT. If the current wind speed wt is greater than the
cut-out wind speed wr, the rated capacity SW of WT is considered in this paper.
The calculation of solar power PSt is formulated as follows:
Pt S = S S ITt (12)
S
where P is the photovoltaic power generation, related to the planned capacity of solar power generation
t

equipment SS and the radiation intensity of current illumination ITt.

The renewable energy modeling in this paper considers the wind speed and irradiance in the planning
area, establishes a mathematical relationship between wind or solar resources and power output under given
new energy installation capacity, and combines typical power output curves of wind and solar to construct a
scenario-based modeling method.
This paper assumed that renewable energy is preferentially consumed in the system. So, the power
 9

shortage at the current time ΔPt can be expressed as follows.

Pt = PtW + Pt S − Dt (13)
It can be found that if ΔPt is greater than or equal to 0, indicating that the current wind power generation
power PWt and the photovoltaic power generation power PSt are sufficient to supply the load Dt, the surplus
power at the current time can be provided to the energy storage equipment for charging. If ΔPt is less than
0, the current wind power generation power PWt and photovoltaic power generation power PSt cannot meet
the current load Dt demand, and need to be provided by the energy storage system.
SOCt is the remaining capacity of the energy storage equipment at the current time, which is related to
the capacity of the energy storage equipment. The minimum value of SOCt is 30% of the planned capacity
of BES. The maximum value of SOCt is the value corresponding to the planned capacity of BES. In particular,
the remaining capacity of the energy storage device needs to be limited between the maximum and minimum
values of the remaining capacity.
 SOCmax ; SOCt  SOCmax
SOCt =  (14)
 SOCmin ; SOCt  SOCmin
SOCt = SOCt −1 + Pt −1t (15)
where SOCt at the current time is the SOC at the previous time t-1 plus the charge/discharge power at the
previous time. Then, the charge/discharge power of battery energy storage is expressed in the following
formula.

 PSell ,t = SOCt − SOCt −1 ; SOCt  SOCt −1
B

 B (16)
 PCh arg e,t = SOCt −1 − SOCt ; SOCt  SOCt −1

It can be seen that if SOC at the current moment is larger than the SOC at the previous moment, BES in
microgrid is in discharge and sells power to the main grid. Conversely, if SOC at the current moment is
larger than the SOC at the previous moment, BES in microgrid is in charge.
Pt c ,max = Dt + Pt tie,max + Pt B (17)
Pt MAR
= Pt + Pt − Pt
W S c ,max
(18)
where Pt c ,max
is the maximum consumable power at time t, Pt tie,max is the maximum power of tie line at time t,
and Pt B is the battery energy storage power at time t. It can be found that the maximum consumable power
Pt c,max at time t is composed of the load Dt, the maximum power of tie line Pt tie,max and the battery discharge

power Pt B at current time. Pt MAR is the remaining power margin after consuming wind power and photovoltaic,

and its value is the surplus of wind power output PtW and photovoltaic output Pt S after deducting the
maximum consumable load power Pt c,max .
Combined with the power margin and the maximum consumable power calculated above, the actual sales
power of WT and PV can be calculated, which are shown as follows:
 10

 W
 Pt ; Pt
MAR
0
P = W W
W
(19)
 Pt ( Pt + Pt ) / Pt ; Pt MAR  0
Sell ,t S c ,max

 S
 Pt ; Pt
MAR
0
S
PSell =  S W (20)
 Pt ( Pt + Pt ) / Pt ; Pt MAR  0
,t S c ,max

Therefore, when the residual power margin is less than 0, WT and PV power are the actual output power.
If the power margin is greater than 0, WT and PV power can only be consumed proportionally.

3.6. Annual Profit of Equipment Scrapping

Another part of the income of wind-photovoltaic-storage microgrid comes from the scrapping income of
wind-photovoltaic-storage equipment, and the specific calculation formula is as follows:
W
I Drop =I Drop + I Drop
S
+ I Drop
B
(21)
r
EQ
I Drop = S EQ pDrop
EQ
(22)
(1 + r )
T EQ
−1

where the annual scrapping income of planned equipment consists of the scrapping income of WT IWDrop, the
S
scrapping income of PV IDrop B
, and the scrapping income of BES IDrop . The coefficient r is discount rate. TEQ

are the life cycles of WT, PV, and BES respectively. pEQ
Drop represent the scrapping income per unit capacity

of WT, PV and BES.

4. Improve the Cultural Gray Wolf Optimization Algorithm

The above problem is a planning model with complicated constraints and variables. It contains a large
number of logical judgement constraints, which is intractable to most of the mathematical solvers. Further,
traditional optimization algorithm has slow convergence speed. In this situation, the advantages of heuristic
optimization algorithm are more prominent.
This paper improves the gray wolf optimization algorithm (GWO)[20], and proposes an improved cultural
gray wolf optimization algorithm (CGWO) which is suitable for the capacity planning model of wind-
photovoltaic-storage equipment in microgrid. The proposed CGWO algorithm enhances the gray wolf
optimization method to effectively solve the capacity planning problem and optimize the performance of
wind-photovoltaic-storage equipment in microgrids.
Traditional GWO is based on the classification of wolves. The weight of wolves with high level is higher,
and the weight of wolves with low level is lower. The search range and target of different wolves are different.
Finally, the search information of different wolves is summarized and synthesized, and the optimal search
mode of the whole wolves is given. With the iteration, the search range is continuously narrowed to achieve
the optimal position. However, the iterative update mode of the traditional gray wolf optimization algorithm
in the evolution process adopts the linear decreasing strategy to shrink, and the convergence factor
 11

calculation formula of the traditional gray wolf algorithm is as follows:

 l 
a = 2 1-  (23)
 T
where a is the convergence factor. l is the current iterative algebra. T is the total number of evolutionary

iterations.
Inspired by particle swarm optimization, slowing down the convergence rate of convergence factor can
enhance its global search ability and prevent the algorithm from falling into local optimal solution. Therefore,
in order to improve the global performance of algorithm contraction, this paper proposes a new convergence
factor updating method based on exponential law change, as shown below.

(
a = 2 exp − l
T ) (24)
The convergence factor a will decrease in the form of negative exponent, and its decreasing speed is
lower than that of linear decreasing strategy.
Secondly, in order to better carry out the global search and consider the performance of local utilization
(the basic idea of greedy algorithm), this paper proposes an adaptive search strategy, which makes the
algorithm still attach importance to the role of the first wolf (α wolf), but at the same time, it does not take
the average value of the positions of the three wolves. The specific expression is as follows:
X1 + X 2 + X 3  l  l
X (l + 1) =  1 −  + X1 (25)
3  T T
where X1 is the position of α wolf, X2 is the position of β wolf and X3 is the position of γ wolf, which indicates

the central position of the population after evolving from the previous generation to the next generation.
In addition, a better initial solution can significantly improve the initial search performance. Therefore,
this paper is inspired by the cultural gene optimization algorithm to give full play to the global search
performance of genetic algorithm. Before starting iteration, the initial solution is generated blindly and
randomly. Firstly, the high-quality initial solution is obtained based on genetic algorithm (GA), and then the
evolutionary iteration is carried out based on gray wolf optimization algorithm.
 12

α
dα Best Solution
β
dβ
move α wolf

dδ β wolf

δ wolf

δ
Estimated position
of the prey
Agent
Fig. 1. Framework of Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO).
The steps of the improved gray wolf optimization algorithm are summarized as follows:

Start

Initialize IGWO parameters

Generate initial population with GA

Calculating fitness of each grey wolf in population

Record the fitness of each grey wolf and its

corresponding position ( decision variable value )

Y Termination
Conditions?

N
Calculate convergence factor a

Output optimal Sort grey wolf populations into

planning solution three levels

Obtain the central position of

evolved population

N Compress to
Check Constraints? the boundary

End Iterations count, l = l + 1

Fig. 2. Framework of Cultural Grey Wolf Optimization (CGWO).

 13

(i) Initializes CGWO parameters. Including population number N, total iteration times T, etc.
(ii) Giving full play to the global optimization ability of genetic algorithm, the initial solution is obtained
by genetic principle, and the initial gray wolf population is generated.
(iii) Calculate the fitness function of each level of gray wolf in the population. For the calculation of
fitness function in this paper, refer to the objective function of the optimal capacity planning model of wind
and solar storage equipment in microgrid, which is presented in (1). After the calculation, the fitness function
of different gray wolves and its corresponding position (the value of decision variables) were recorded.
(iv) Judge whether the condition of algorithm termination is met. For example, whether the algebra of
convergence iteration is reached or not, the optimal solution does not change in K iterations. If the
termination condition is satisfied, the optimal solution of cycle output is jumped out, and the optimal capacity
planning scheme of wind-photovoltaic-storage equipment in microgrid is obtained. Otherwise, Step (v) is
performed.
(v) The convergence factor a is calculated according to (24).
(vi) The gray wolf population was sorted, and the gray wolf level was divided into three levels.
(vii) The center position of the evolved population is obtained based on formula (25), and it is checked
whether the center position of the new population violates the relevant constraints of the model. If the
constraint is violated, it is compressed to the boundary.
(viii) The number of iterations plus 1, that is, l = l+1, Return to Step (iv).

5. Case Study
The following will be combined with the actual solution example for analysis, based on MatlabR2020a
to solve, the processor parameter of the computer is Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8565U CPU @ 1.80GHz, 1.99
GHz.

5.1 Model Parameter Description

This paper takes a microgrid as a simulation example. 8760 hours of the actual load demand in the
microgrid, the wind speed and light intensity of the microgrid in a year for this area are collected and
uploaded in [24].

5.2 Algorithm Parameter Setting

Before solving the model based on heuristic/metaheuristic optimization algorithm, it is necessary to set
the memory of each parameter involved in each algorithm. In order to ensure the comparability of the
algorithms, each heuristic optimization algorithm sets the same parameters in population number and
iteration times, and other algorithms determine the optimal parameter settings according to the grid search
method[21][22][23]. The specific parameter settings of each algorithm are shown in Table II, Table III, Table
 14

IV, Table V, Table VI.

Table II Parameter setting of particle swarm optimization (PSO).

Parameter Name Value
N Population number 50
G Maximum number of iterations 50
C1 Learning factor 1 2.0
C2 Learning factor 2 2.0
vmax Maximum speed 0.8
vmin Minimum speed 0.1

Table III Parameter setting of genetic algorithm (GA).

Parameter Name Value
N Population number 50
G Maximum number of iterations 50
Pc Crossover Rate 0.8
Pm Variation rate 0.05

Table IV Parameter setting of whale optimization algorithm (WOA).

Parameter Name Value
N Population number 50
G Maximum number of iterations 50

Table V Parameter setting of grey wolf optimization algorithm (GWO).

Parameter Name Value
N Population number 50
G Maximum number of iterations 50

Table VI Parameter setting of improved cultural gray wolf optimization algorithm (CGWO).
Parameter Name Value
N Population number 50
G Maximum number of iterations 50
Pc Crossover Rate 0.8
Pm Variation rate 0.05

5.3 Comparison of Different Optimization Algorithms

To verify the convergence and convergence speed of the improved cultural grey wolf algorithm (CGWO)
proposed in this paper, it is compared with particle swarm optimization (PSO) [8], genetic algorithm (GA)
[9], whale optimization algorithm (WOA) [10] and grey wolf optimization algorithm (GWO) [7]. The
convergence curves and convergence times of different algorithms are shown in Figure.3 and Figure.4.
 15

CGWO

Fitness Value

Iteration

Fig. 3. Convergence Curves of Different Optimization Algorithms.

Calculation Time (s)

CGWO
Algorithm
Fig. 4. Calculation Time of Different Algorithms.
By using MATLAB, CGWO can converge to the optimal value of-1.1908 * 106 yuan at a faster speed.
In order to verify the optimality of the convergence objective, this paper increases the number of population
searches and iterations of other heuristic optimization algorithms, and finally converges to the same objective
function value. Therefore, it can be considered that the convergence value is the optimal objective function
value of the wind-photovoltaic-storage microgrid planning model, and the specific decision variables
obtained by the convergence of different algorithms are [395.8956, 397.6725, 864.0066]. The calculation
time of different algorithms can be completed within 15s, and the solution efficiency can meet the
requirements of planners for planning and design, and the efficiency is much higher than that of manual
scheme design and index comparison.
In this case study, we compared the performance of several optimization algorithms in solving a model.
Here are the key findings:
(1) Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) produced average initial solutions, eventually converging to a
local optimal solution. PSO's optimization time was moderate, but its performance was sensitive to parameter
settings, making it less adaptable and robust.
 16

(2) Genetic Algorithm (GA) had poor initial solutions and convergence speed, but its diverse and global
solutions made it a valuable component of the improved Gray Wolf Algorithm, which combined GA with
the stable and powerful optimization performance of Gray Wolf Optimization.
(3) Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) had better convergence and shorter calculation times
compared to PSO. It's a meta-heuristic algorithm, easier to apply and understand than PSO.
(4) The Cultural Gray Wolf Optimization algorithm (CGWO) outperformed all other algorithms in
convergence speed and actual calculation time. Its combination of cultural genes enabled high-quality
solutions to evolve and converge quickly.

Fig. 5. Box diagram of convergence values for different optimization algorithms.

To further verify the convergence of the algorithm, different optimization algorithms were repeated 20
times and the curves were plotted in a boxplot, as shown in Figure 5. It can be found that CGWO has the
best convergence, both in terms of the fluctuation of the boxplot (length of the boxplot) and the mean value
of the boxplot, which are superior to other algorithms. Therefore, it can conclude that the algorithm proposed
in this paper has better convergence compared to other optimization algorithms.

5.4 Sensitivity Analysis of Model

(1) Electricity price sensitivity analysis of different types of generators.
a) Sensitivity analysis of wind power selling prices
The sensitivity analysis of different wind power sales prices is made and shown in Fig.5. A sensitivity
analysis on wind power sales prices by multiplying the reference price with corresponding electricity price
coefficients ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 in increments of 0.05.
Based on the findings presented in Fig.6, It can be inferred that an increase in the selling price of wind
power will lead to an increase in the planned capacity of wind power equipment. When electricity price
coefficient exceeds 1 p.u., the planned capacity of wind power equipment increases while the planned
capacity of photovoltaic and energy storage equipment decreases. However, due to the ability of energy
storage to smooth fluctuations, a certain capacity of energy storage equipment is still necessary.
 17

Fig. 6. Optimal equipment capacity for different wind power selling prices.
b) Sensitivity analysis of solar power selling prices
The sensitivity analysis of different selling prices of photovoltaic power generation is made and the
results are shown in Fig.7.
When revenue from photovoltaic electricity sales increases, it often leads to an increase in the
construction of photovoltaic equipment. However, if the revenue from photovoltaic electricity sales
continues to remain high, it may result in a decrease in the construction of wind power equipment and an
increase in the construction of energy storage equipment. This is because high revenue from photovoltaic
electricity sales may make wind power projects less financially attractive, and energy storage equipment
becomes more important to balance the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
Therefore, it's important to consider the overall energy mix and the balance between different renewable
energy sources and energy storage technologies to ensure a sustainable and reliable energy system.

Fig. 7. Optimal equipment capacity for different solar power sale prices.
c) Sensitivity analysis of storage power selling prices
The sensitivity analysis is made on the selling price of different energy storage power generation and the
results are shown in Fig.8.
When the revenue generated by selling electricity from energy storage equipment increases, it
 18

incentivizes the expansion of energy storage construction capacity. However, as the cost of selling electricity
from energy storage equipment increases to a certain level, it may become more expensive to rely solely on
energy storage to meet the load power demand. At this point, there may be an increased incentive to expand
the construction capacity of photovoltaic equipment to help supplement the energy supply and lower costs.

Fig. 8. Optimal equipment capacity for different battery storage power selling prices.

(2) Sensitivity analysis of BES investment cost

The sensitivity analysis of investment and construction costs of different energy storage equipment is
made and the results are shown in Fig.9.

Fig. 9. The optimal equipment capacity of different energy storage equipment investment construction cost.
Fig.9 demonstrates that a decrease in the investment cost of energy storage equipment results in a
significant increase in its optimal planning capacity. This is because energy storage plays a vital role in
stabilizing power fluctuations within a microgrid. As such, a reduction in the construction cost of energy
storage equipment incentivizes its greater utilization and expansion within the system.
(3) Discussion on the costs and benefits.
Through sensitivity analysis, the costs and benefits of different types of renewable energy on the planning
results can be summarized as follows:
 19

(1) With the increase of WT selling price, the WT installation capacity increases. In comparison to PV
selling prices, the advantage of WT will squeeze out some of the PV installation capacity. However, due to
the greater uncertainty of WT fluctuations compared to PV, WT installation capacity rapidly decreases when
the selling price is below 1 p.u.
(2) With the increase of PV selling price, the PV capacity increases to a certain extent, but after reaching
a certain point, PV also needs some energy storage support and will not increase further. In comparison to
WT selling prices, the advantage of PV will squeeze out some of the WT installation capacity. Since the
output of PV is relatively regular (high radiation intensity at noon and low radiation intensity at other times),
the PV installation capacity is replaced by WT installation capacity only when the price is below 0.8 p.u.
(3) BES plays an important role in suppressing the volatility and uncertainty of wind and solar energy.
Therefore, when the electricity price for energy storage and sales decreases, it is necessary to retain a certain
degree of installed energy storage capacity to promote the consumption of wind and solar resources. When
the electricity price for energy storage and sales increases, the efficient combination of energy storage and
photovoltaic will show “bundled growth”.

6. Conclusion
This paper proposes a capacity planning model for wind-photovoltaic-storage equipment in microgrids,
and solves the model using the CGWO algorithm. The paper presents the following conclusions:
(1) This paper analyzes the whole life cycle costs and profits that need to be considered in the planning
of wind-photovoltaic-storage equipment in microgrid. Then, a capacity planning model of wind, photovoltaic,
and storage equipment considering LCC and profits in microgrid is established. In terms of life cycle cost,
annualized investment cost, annual power outage compensation cost, annualized main grid purchase cost
and annualized equipment operation and maintenance cost are considered. In terms of profits of the system,
electricity sales income and scrapping income are considered.
(2) CGWO is applied to solve the proposed model efficiently. From the simulation results, it can be seen
that CGWO improves the solution efficiency and convergence characteristics without increasing too much
computational complexity. Besides, the robustness and adaptability of the algorithm are obviously improved
compared with the traditional heuristic optimization algorithms.
(3) Sensitivity analysis on electricity selling price and energy storage investment and construction cost
in the model are conducted to analyze the influence of electricity selling price and energy storage
construction cost on the planning scheme. Case studies reveal the impact of the planned capacity of WT, PV,
and BES increase in varying degrees when the selling price of different equipment decreases. What’s more,
microgrid planners will rapidly increase the proportion of BES investment when the investment cost of BES
 20

decreases.

Declarations
Ethical Approval
I confirm that I understand journal Electrical Engineering is a transformative journal. When research is
accepted for publication, there is a choice to publish using either immediate gold open access or the
traditional publishing route. The results/data/figures in this manuscript have not been published elsewhere,
nor are they under consideration (from you or one of your Contributing Authors) by another publisher. I
have read the Springer journal policies on author responsibilities and submit this manuscript in accordance
with those policies.

Competing interests
I declare that the authors have no competing interests as defined by Springer, or other interests that might
be perceived to influence the results and/or discussion reported in this paper.

Authors' contributions
Lingyu Liang: Conceptualization, Software, Writing-Original Draft, Visualization
Xiangyu Zhao: Supervision, Validation
Wenqi Huang: Supervision, Validation
Liming Sun: Methodology, Resources
Ziyao Wang: Writing - Review & Editing, Supervision
Junjie Huang: Writing- Reviewing and Editing

Funding
This work was jointly supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (52207105). The
authors gratefully acknowledge their supports.

Availability of data and materials

The data has been uploaded to the google driver, which can be downloaded from [20].

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