Integrated Energy System: A Low-Carbon Future Enabler

Energy-related carbon emissions are one major contributor to global warming. Apart from reducing fossil fuels and promoting sustainable energy, the advanced utilization of different energy systems can also play a key role in realizing low-carbon targets. The adoption of innovative information communication technologies (ICTs) provides ubiquitous, proactive, and efficient measures to co-manage a variety of energy systems for achieving the enhancement of energy utilization efficiency, security, and decarbonization. In this chapter, we present the concept of “integrated energy system (IES).” An IES is defined as a system that integrates many physically different energy systems, such as electricity, gas, heating, cooling, etc. The key coupling technologies are those for energy conversion, e.g. combined heat and power, gas furnace, and power to gas (P2G), which transforms energy from one type into another. In this chapter, the net-zero carbon background is first introduced, followed by the description of key technologies in IESs. Thereafter, we review and compare optimization methods for IES. We then explore one key research problem in IESs - supply quality in terms of voltage and gas compositions. We propose a distributionally robust optimization-based operation scheme for managing the supply quality, considering the fluctuated renewable uncertainties. Finally, we conclude this chapter and also point out the potential research direction of IES management for supporting low carbon transition.