AGENT-BASED SYSTEM TO SUPPORT COLLABORATION AMONG AUTONOMOUS MICROGRIDS

Abstract

Maintaining the sustainability of organizations on the market and their performance in a competitive market is very difficult to accomplish. In this dynamic environment, organizations decide to cooperate, becoming partners in a virtual enterprise. To work efficiently, the partners must collaborate and coordinate their negotiation activities to find the optimal solution unanimously accepted. This paper proposes an agent-based system to support collaborative activities among autonomous microgrids grouped in a virtual enterprise to better meet customers' energy requirements. To maintain the autonomy of each microgrid within the virtual enterprise, it is proposed a decentralised and flexible negotiation solution that combines diverse technologies, such as multi-agent systems in dealing with negotiation interactions issues, and middleware-level coordination facilities for all aspects related to coordination of multiple parallel negotiations. Currently, interoperability among the involved autonomous microgrids in a negotiation is often not reached or maintained due to failure in adapting to new requirements, parties, or conditions. The use of an adaptive agent-based system as proposed will result in a seamless, sustainable interoperability which favours its maintenance across time. The proposed negotiation solution enhances the ability to reach and interoperate with more parties that leads to more business opportunities and to stronger and healthier interactions.

Keywords

• smart microgrid
• intelligent agents
• sme
• virtual enterprise
• negotiation