Smart and Resilient Microgrid for EV Mobility and Commercial Applications with Demand Response

Worldwide, microgrids (MGs) become crucial in enhancing the reliability and cost-effectiveness of energy supply, particularly during significant circumstances in utility grid. Despite their potential, the literature has not extensively explored the resilience benefits of MGs, especially in terms of net energy metering (NEM), demand response (DR), outages, and consequent economic returns. This study fills this gap by optimizing and simulating a smart, resilient solar PV/battery MG tailored for office facilities, with an integration of electric vehicles (EVs) to support e-mobility applications. The impact of NEM and DR on the MG’s performance is assessed, demonstrating that the proposed system can meet the energy demands of both office buildings and EVs during various conditions including normal days, weekends, peak demand periods, outages, and DR events, all while achieving best techno-envrio-economic performance. The annual revenue attained with DR and NEM smart grid mechanism has reduced the energy cost by 6.25% and annual electricity charges by 6.43% compared to the based case without DR and NEM. Also, this proposed MG system cuts the annual greenhouse gas emissions by 4%. The MG effectively utilizes 93.6% of the generated PV electricity on-site, exporting the excess to the grid, which highlights the role of NEM in minimizing power curtailment and enhancing efficiency. In our opinion, the alignment of this study with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 in promoting sustainable power and transportation solutions and enhancing energy system resilience highlights the pivotal role of MGs in shaping the future energy landscape.