Integrated platform to design robust energy internet

This study proposes a novel method to address the design problem of the energy internet (EI). The novel approach consists of a Pareto multi-objective optimisation of the distributed energy system (DES) and a bi-level DES configuration and grid design, which guarantees n-1 security through a robust stochastic optimisation model. The model is tested using two case studies. The results reveal that the novel approach can yield the optimal combination of the DES configurations and the grid design for the EI, which reduces the overall cost up by to 60% when compared to methods with separate optimisation of each system and the grid (as is common in the present state-of-the-art). The study reveals that EI design is sensitive to locations of the demand and their intensity and to the cost of the grid, which makes it difficult to use a simple algorithm such as the minimum/weighted spanning tree. Moreover, the novel method ensures n-1 security of the EI, which decreases the loss of load probability (LoLP) by up to 45%. The approach introduced in this study can be used to design future urban EIs with robust operation and improved interaction among the DESs.