Energy Management in Microgrid Systems: A Comprehensive Review Toward Bio-Inspired Approaches for Enhancing Resilience and Sustainability

Energy management systems (EMSs) are essential for enabling the integration and operation of multiple interconnected microgrids within a microgrid system, especially when the penetration of renewable energy resources is high. As global energy demands rise and the need for sustainable solutions intensifies, microgrids offer a promising path toward enhancing grid resilience and efficiency. This review delves into the state of the art of EMSs in microgrid systems, highlighting the predominant use of optimization algorithms, and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques as the most commonly used strategies in energy management. Despite the advancements in these areas, there is a notable gap in the exploration of bio-inspired strategies that do not rely on traditional optimization approaches. Bio-inspired methods, which mimic natural processes and behaviors, have shown potential in various fields but remain underrepresented in EMS research. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of existing strategies and their applicability to energy management in microgrid systems. The findings suggest that while optimization algorithms and AI techniques dominate the landscape, their combination and integration with other techniques, such as multi-agent systems, are also gaining attention. The document explores how bio-inspired algorithms not only improve the efficiency of existing EMS methods but also enable new paradigms for managing energy in interconnected multi-microgrid systems. Additionally, applications such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and the integration of renewable resources are considered in the optimization of operational costs. Bio-inspired approaches could offer innovative solutions for enhancing the performance and sustainability of microgrid systems by defining the interactions between microgrids in a way that mirrors how communities interact; however, bibliometric analysis reveals that those techniques remain under reported, even though they could improve performance and resilience in multi-microgrid systems. This review underscores the need for further investigation into bio-inspired strategies to diversify and improve EMSs in microgrid systems.