Reducing fuel cost and enhancing the resource utilization rate in energy economic load dispatch problem

This study contributes for solving the economic load dispatch (ELD) problem to reduce the energy waste caused by thermal generation units and promotes cleaner and sustainable production in the power industry. Electricity is produced by thermal power plants; however, thermal power generation involves low economic benefits and high pollution levels, which hinders cleaner and sustainable production in the power industry. An improved manta ray foraging optimization (IMRFO) algorithm is developed for solving the ELD problem and realizing the cleaner and economic goal of the thermal units. The characteristics of the novel method present that: (1) Sine and cosine adaptations were introduced in the manta ray foraging optimization algorithm to enhance its adaptive ability; (2) a nonlinear convergence factor was presented to enhance the convergence speed; and (3) a differential evolution algorithm was introduced in the original algorithm to enhance robustness. Three typical ELD test systems were selected to prove the feasibility of the IMRFO-based solution method. The results indicated that IMRFO algorithm obtained the most competitive scheduling strategy compared with the existing methods. Improving the economy of power system operation is beneficial to realize cleaner and sustainable power production.