ABSTRACT
Contents 7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 7.2 ICT and Climate Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 7.3 Microgrids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 7.4 Motivation behind Microgrids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 7.5 Mathematical Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
7.5.1 Descriptions of Variables Used in the Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 7.5.2 Model Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 7.5.3 Simple Sample Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 7.5.4 Computational Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
7.6 Analyses of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 7.7 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Existing grid infrastructures are optimized for centralized carbon-based energy sources and long-distance power transmission. Concerns about climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would lead us to increase our dependency on distributed small-sized low-carbon energy sources coupled with short-distance power transmission. Owing to the low energy densities as well as the distributed layout of low-carbon sources, the existing grid infrastructure might not be suitable or efficient. Therefore, issues pertaining to the design of a distributed low-carbon infrastructure, i.e., a microgrid, are investigated, and an optimal design method is proposed.
