Optimal control of storage for arbitrage, with applications to energy systems

James Cruise, Richard Gibbens, Stan Zachary

Published 2013-07-02, updated 2014-06-14Version 2

We study the optimal control of storage which is used for arbitrage, i.e. for buying a commodity when it is cheap and selling it when it is expensive. Our particular concern is with the management of energy systems, although the results are generally applicable. We consider a model which may account for nonlinear cost functions, market impact, input and output rate constraints and inefficiencies or losses in the storage process. We develop an algorithm which is maximally efficient in then sense that it incorporates the result that, at each point in time, the optimal management decision depends only a finite, and typically short, time horizon. We give examples related to the management of a real-world system.