Clustering Approach for the Efficient Solution of Multiscale Stochastic Programming Problems: Application to Energy Hub Design and Operation under Uncertainty

The management of the supply chain for enterprise-wide operations generally consists of strategic, tactical, and operational decision stages dependent on one another and affecting various time scales. Their integration usually leads to multiscale models that are computationally intractable. The design and operation of energy hubs faces similar challenges. Renewable energies are challenging to model due to the high level of intermittency and uncertainty. The multiscale (i.e., planning and scheduling) energy hub systems that incorporate renewable energy resources become more challenging to model due to an integration of the multiscale and high level of intermittency associated with renewable energy. In this work, a mixed-integer programming (MILP) superstructure is proposed for clustering shape-based time series data featuring multiple attributes using a multi-objective optimization approach. Additionally, a data-driven statistical method is used to represent the intermittent behavior of uncertain renewable energy data. According to these methods, the design and operation of an energy hub with hydrogen storage was reformulated following a two-stage stochastic modeling technique. The main outcomes of this study are formulating a stochastic energy hub optimization model which comprehensively considers the design and operation planning, energy storage system, and uncertainties of DRERs, and proposing an efficient size reduction approach for large-sized multiple attributes demand data. The case study results show that normal clustering is closer to the optimal case (full scale model) compared with sequence clustering. In addition, there is an improvement in the objective function value using the stochastic approach instead of the deterministic. The present clustering algorithm features many unique characteristics that gives it advantages over other clustering approach and the straightforward statistical approach used to represent intermittent energy, and it can be easily incorporated into various distributed energy systems.