Optimal configuration and pricing strategies for electric-heat cloud energy storage: A Stackelberg game approach

The economic model of cloud energy storage (CES) can help solving the problem of high cost of self-built energy storage. As a contribution to the field of integrated energy systems, the application mechanism of CES for both electric and heat energy systems is studied in this paper, where an optimal configuration and service pricing method of electric-heat CES model based on Stackelberg game approach are proposed. Firstly, a Stackelberg game framework is constructed to consider the interests of both CES provider and users. Secondly, five economic components including energy storage service fee are established, where the optimization models of CES provider and users are built with the objectives of maximizing net revenue and minimizing energy cost, respectively. By decoupling the charging demand of users and the charging plan of the CES provider, the proposed model allows the CES provider to have good flexibility in purchasing energy from the grid and heat network for storage, which in turn can reduce costs and increase revenue. After that, the game problem is constructed as a two-layer optimization model and transformed into a single-layer optimization model based on the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions, where the large-M method is used to deal with the nonlinear equation constraints. Finally, experimental case is designed for three types of loads, namely: industrial areas, residential areas and commercial areas, as four comparison scenarios are studied to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods in enhancing the economy and balancing the interests of multiple subjects.