With the frequent occurrence of global warming and extreme severe weather

the transition of energy to cleaner

and with lower carbon has gradually become a consensus. Microgrids can integrate multiple energy sources and consume renewable energy locally. The amount of pollutants emitted during the operation of the microgrids become an important issue to be considered. This study proposes an optimal day-ahead scheduling strategy of microgrid considering regional pollution and potential load curtailment. First

considering the operating characteristics of microgrids in islanded and grid- connected operation modes

this study proposes a regional pollution index (RPI) to quantify the impact of pollutants emitted from microgrid on the environment

and further proposes a penalty mechanism based on the RPI to reduce the microgrid’s utilization on non-clean power supplies. Second

considering the benefits of microgrid as the operating entity

utilizing a direct load control (DLC) enables microgrid to enhance power transfer capabilities to the grid under the penalty mechanism based on RPI. Finally

an optimal day-ahead scheduling strategy which considers both the load curtailment potential of curtailable loads and RPI is proposed

and the results show that the proposed optimal day-ahead scheduling strategy can effectively inspire the curtailment potential of curtailable loads in the microgrid

reducing pollutant emissions from the microgrid.