Solving Customer-Driven Microgrid Optimization Problems as DCOPs

In response to the challenge by Ramchurn et al. to solve smart grid optimization problems with artificial intelligence techniques [21, 23], we investigate the feasibility of solving two common smart grid optimization problems as distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOPs). Specifically, we look at two common customer-driven microgrid (CDMG) optimization problems – a comprehensive CDMG optimization problem and an islanding problem. We show how one can model both problems as DCOPs and solve them using off-the-shelf DCOP algorithms, thus showing that researchers in the distributed constraint reasoning community are in a unique position to contribute towards this challenge.