Energy Demand Management in an Industrial Manufacturing Plant using MPC and Neurofuzzy Models

An MPC controller is proposed to maximise the use of renewable energy in a manufacturing process. The strategy has been applied in a manufacturing system which has several machines, renewable generation resources, a combined heat and power (CHP) generator for power production, and a battery bank for energy storage. The work aims to maximise the use of renewable energy sources in this process, also taking into account the price of the electricity market, to reduce the cost. The use of neurofuzzy models for the prediction of the energy produced by renewable generators allows a dynamic prediction, using input values obtained from typical forecasting variables (wind speed, global irradiance, etc.).