Abstract
•A consensus-based approach is proposed for the application of battery energy storage in mining microgrids.•The techno-economic operation of hybrid microgrids in the national electricity market is proposed.•The power flow of the microgrid is optimally controlled, based on limited data.•EMT model of power grids with mining microgrids is developed in PSCAD.•The heterogeneous power curve of mining industry and renewables can be flattened.
Utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are emerging as an essential part of future power grids. A framework for the techno-economic application of a BESS in a dc coupled hybrid microgrid serving a mining industry is presented. Specifically, a multi-level consensus-based decision-making (MCD) approach is proposed for the energy management of the microgrid and the active/reactive power control of the microgrid's converters. The MCD can promote the operation of microgrids in the national electricity market as an economic unit. Also, the heterogeneous power curve of mining machines, the intermittency of renewables and the uncertainties of power systems can be addressed with reduced complexity. Whilst, the utility grid can apply and lead the regulatory parameters for the power system, as well as the microgrid, in accordance with the generator performance standards (GPS). A detailed electromagnetic transients (EMT) model is developed in PSCAD for a realistic test system and the effectiveness of the proposed MCD is pervasively assessed through different case studies. According to the assessed scenarios, the operational cost of the microgrid is decreased and the highly varying power curve of the renewables and mining industry is flattened. Further, the operational conditions of the microgrid can be autonomously controlled to mitigate unpredicted voltage disturbances, which can support the stability of power systems.