Economical-technical-environmental operation of power networks with wind-solar-hydropower generation using analytic hierarchy process and improved grey wolf algorithm

Abstract This paper presents an economical-technical-environmental dispatch (ETED) model for an adapted IEEE 30-bus system incorporated with thermal and a mix of renewable energy sources (RESs). Total fuel costs, active power losses, and emissions level minimization is the main aim. Different equality and inequality limits involving prohibited operating zones (POZs) are considered as system restrictions. Metaheuristic optimization techniques – moth-flame optimization, salp swarm algorithm, improved grey wolf optimizer, and multi-verse optimizer – are employed to find the best solution for the generation cost, losses, and emissions. Various scenarios are examined to approve the ability of the formulated optimization model in solving the problem. A weighted sum strategy using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to convert the multi-objective problem into a normalized single-objective one. The AHP-ETED model presented in this work can significantly minimize fuel costs to 902.4951 $/h, lower emission levels as 0.09785 t/h, and achieve a lower power loss of 2.4110 MW. The results attained validate that the IGWO outperforms the other considered algorithms in finding the best solution to the ETED problem.