MPC-Guided Deep Reinforcement Learning for Real-Time Scheduling of Microgrid with Uncertainty

Authors

  • Yilu Zhang North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
  • Xiaobing Kong North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/dgaej2156-3306.4136

Keywords:

Microgrid, real-time scheduling, model predictive control, deep reinforcement learning, deep deterministic policy gradient

Abstract

Microgrid energy management plays a critical role in ensuring the secure and economical operation of microgrids. To address the uncertainty of renewable energy generation, this paper proposes an MPC-guided deep reinforcement learning (DRL)–based intraday scheduling strategy for microgrids. The proposed approach integrates the advantages of model predictive control (MPC) and DRL, where the optimization results of the MPC module are provided as environmental inputs to the DRL agent, and the DRL module interacts with the real microgrid environment to generate compensation actions. This framework not only mitigates the performance degradation caused by uncertainties in model-based methods, but also reduces the search space of DRL, thereby accelerating training convergence and suppressing policy fluctuations. Comparative simulations are conducted against standalone MPC and standalone DRL controllers. The results demonstrate that the proposed strategy can significantly reduce both operational security cost and economic cost, while effectively improving the utilization of renewable energy. Therefore, it provides an innovative solution for the microgrid scheduling problem.

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Author Biographies

Yilu Zhang, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China

Yilu Zhang, female, born in May 2000. She pursued her Bachelor’s degree in Automation at North China Electric Power University from 2019 to 2023 and has been studying for a Master’s degree at the same university since 2023. During her master’s studies, she primarily participated as a researcher in the China-Egypt government joint research project on power grid frequency regulation and in an industry-collaborative project on model predictive control for wind turbines. Her main research focus is on deep learning-based microgrid energy management.

Xiaobing Kong, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China

Xiaobing Kong, female, was born in February 1987. She received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from North China Electric Power University in 2008, 2011, and 2014, respectively, and served as a visiting scholar at Baylor University from 2013 to 2014. She was appointed as a lecturer in 2014, promoted to associate professor in 2020, and has been a master’s supervisor since 2017. She is a member of the IEEE Power & Energy Society and a committee member of the Chinese Association of Automation Youth Committee.

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Published

2026-06-04

How to Cite

Zhang, Y. ., & Kong, X. . (2026). MPC-Guided Deep Reinforcement Learning for Real-Time Scheduling of Microgrid with Uncertainty. Distributed Generation &Amp; Alternative Energy Journal, 41(03), 655–686. https://doi.org/10.13052/dgaej2156-3306.4136

Issue

Section

Renewable Power & Energy Systems