Optimal Configuration Strategy of Electricity–Hydrogen Coupled Rural Microgrid Considering Long-Term Hydrogen Storage Characteristics

Abstract

The limited flexibility of rural microgrids in accommodating long-term renewable energy fluctuations poses a major challenge to achieving low-carbon and cost-effective operation. To address this issue, an optimal configuration strategy for an electricity–hydrogen coupled rural microgrid (EH-RM) system is developed, considering the long-term operational characteristics of hydrogen storage. Firstly, detailed models of key energy conversion and storage devices, including electrolyzers, fuel cells, combined heat and power (CHP) units, and hydrogen storage tanks, are established to capture multi-energy coupling relationships among electricity, heat, gas, and hydrogen. Then, a bilevel optimization framework is proposed, where the upper-level capacity configuration model minimizes the annualized total cost, and the lower-level scheduling model minimizes daily operating cost under multi-energy balance constraints. Subsequently, a Benders decomposition–based algorithm is employed to decouple capacity planning and operational scheduling, iteratively generating feasibility and optimality cuts to ensure convergence and computational efficiency. Finally, case study results show that the proposed bilevel configuration model effectively reduces the total system cost and carbon emissions in rural applications, demonstrating its economic efficiency and low-carbon advantages for rural integrated scenarios.