A localized smart energy management system comprises a plurality of controllable loads, at least one intermittent energy source, a selectively connectable dispatchable energy source, and optionally an energy storage system. A method for balancing power production and power consumption of such localized smart energy management systems in real time comprises performing a coarse-grained optimization in a first layer of a hierarchical optimization structure to generate a predicted schedule, based on long-term load demand profiles and long-term power generation profiles. A second layer iteratively refines the predicted schedule upon receiving a new forecast of a short-term power generation profile for the at least one intermittent energy source.