Open Access

ARTICLE

Low-Carbon Economic Dispatch of an Integrated Energy System with Multi-Device Coupling under Ladder-Type Carbon Trading

Chenxuan Zhang, Yongqing Qi^*, Ximin Cao, Yanchi Zhang
School of Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Dianji University, Shanghai, 201306, China
* Corresponding Author: Yongqing Qi. Email:

Energy Engineering https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2025.069878

Received 02 July 2025; Accepted 13 August 2025; Published online 04 September 2025

Abstract

To enhance the low-carbon economic efficiency and increase the utilization of renewable energy within integrated energy systems (IES), this paper proposes a low-carbon dispatch model integrating power-to-gas (P2G), carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen fuel cell (HFC), and combined heat and power (CHP). The P2G process is refined into a two-stage structure, and HFC is introduced to enhance hydrogen utilization. Together with CCS and CHP, these devices form a multi-energy conversion system coupling electricity, heat, cooling, and gas. A ladder-type carbon trading approach is adopted to flexibly manage carbon output by leveraging marginal cost adjustments. To evaluate the resilience of the proposed low-carbon scheduling strategy involving multiple energy units under the variability of renewable energy, a two-level robust optimization framework is developed. This model captures the most adverse scenarios of wind and solar generation. The dispatch strategy is validated against these extreme conditions to demonstrate its flexibility and effectiveness. The problem is solved using the GUROBI optimization tool. Results from simulations indicate that the model increases renewable energy integration by 39.1%, and achieves reductions of 15.96% in carbon emissions and 16.29% in operational expenditures. The results demonstrate that the strategy ensures both economic efficiency and environmental performance under uncertain conditions. Compared with existing studies that separately model two-stage P2G or CCS devices, this paper integrates HFC, CHP, and CCS into a unified dispatchable system, enabling refined hydrogen utilization and flexible carbon circulation. Furthermore, the introduction of a ladder-type carbon pricing mechanism, combined with multi-energy storage participation in implicit demand response, creates a dynamic and cost-sensitive dispatch framework. These modeling strategies go beyond conventional linear IES formulations and provide more realistic system representations. The proposed approach not only deepens the coupling among electric, thermal, and gas systems, but also offers a feasible pathway for high-penetration renewable integration in low-carbon energy systems.

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Keywords

Integrated energy system; ladder-type carbon trading; low-carbon economic dispatch; two-stage robust optimization

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