Stochastic Optimization Approach for Off-Grid Integrated Energy System Considering Renewable Energy Uncertainty

Off-grid integrated energy systems offer a practical solution for remote regions lacking access to the main power grid; however, their planning and design are challenged by the inherent uncertainty of renewable energy resources. To address this issue, this paper proposes a stochastic optimization framework for off-grid integrated energy systems that explicitly accounts for wind speed and solar irradiance variability. Continuous probability distributions combined with Monte Carlo sampling are employed to generate stochastic scenarios, which are embedded into a bi-objective optimization model minimizing total system cost and pollutant emissions under power balance and device operational constraints. Unlike existing studies that primarily focus on cost–reliability trade-offs, this work introduces the Renewable Energy Penetration Rate (REPR) as a quantitative, planning-oriented indicator and systematically investigates its interactions with economic performance, pollutant emissions, and renewable uncertainty. The REPR is not only used to characterize renewable utilization levels, but also to support investment decision-making and the comparative assessment of Pareto-optimal configurations. A real-world off-grid service area is adopted as a case study. The results show that increasing the REPR leads to a significant reduction in carbon emissions while exhibiting a nonlinear impact on total system cost. Specifically, the proposed framework identifies a Pareto-optimal solution set in which the total system cost varies within 40–92 million ¥, carbon emissions are reduced by 86% compared with diesel-dominated configurations, and the REPR increases from 70% to 96.4% as renewable capacity expands. In addition, the analysis reveals that higher renewable volatility requires a larger stochastic sample size to ensure solution stability. These findings demonstrate that the proposed framework provides a more comprehensive and decision-relevant assessment of off-grid integrated energy systems under renewable uncertainty, thereby offering practical insights for low-carbon and economically viable system planning.

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Publication Details

Journal
Energies
Published
2026-02-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/en19040980
Primary Topic
Integrated Energy Systems Optimization
Type
article
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article

Stochastic Optimization Approach for Off-Grid Integrated Energy System Considering Renewable Energy Uncertainty

Weian Wang, Guodong Chen, Lin Lin, Shang Chen et al.
Energies
Integrated Energy Systems Optimization
article

Stochastic Optimization Approach for Off-Grid Integrated Energy System Considering Renewable Energy Uncertainty

Weian Wang, Guodong Chen, Lin Lin, Shang Chen, Ahmad Arabkoohsar, Jia Zhan
article en

Abstract

Off-grid integrated energy systems offer a practical solution for remote regions lacking access to the main power grid; however, their planning and design are challenged by the inherent uncertainty of renewable energy resources. To address this issue, this paper proposes a stochastic optimization framework for off-grid integrated energy systems that explicitly accounts for wind speed and solar irradiance variability. Continuous probability distributions combined with Monte Carlo sampling are employed to generate stochastic scenarios, which are embedded into a bi-objective optimization model minimizing total system cost and pollutant emissions under power balance and device operational constraints. Unlike existing studies that primarily focus on cost–reliability trade-offs, this work introduces the Renewable Energy Penetration Rate (REPR) as a quantitative, planning-oriented indicator and systematically investigates its interactions with economic performance, pollutant emissions, and renewable uncertainty. The REPR is not only used to characterize renewable utilization levels, but also to support investment decision-making and the comparative assessment of Pareto-optimal configurations. A real-world off-grid service area is adopted as a case study. The results show that increasing the REPR leads to a significant reduction in carbon emissions while exhibiting a nonlinear impact on total system cost. Specifically, the proposed framework identifies a Pareto-optimal solution set in which the total system cost varies within 40–92 million ¥, carbon emissions are reduced by 86% compared with diesel-dominated configurations, and the REPR increases from 70% to 96.4% as renewable capacity expands. In addition, the analysis reveals that higher renewable volatility requires a larger stochastic sample size to ensure solution stability. These findings demonstrate that the proposed framework provides a more comprehensive and decision-relevant assessment of off-grid integrated energy systems under renewable uncertainty, thereby offering practical insights for low-carbon and economically viable system planning.

EnergiesVol. 19(4)
Shanghai University of Electric Power (CN), Shanghai Electric (China) (CN), Technical University of Denmark (DK)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 56%
Integrated Energy Systems Optimization
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