Determining the Optimal Operating Point of CHP Units with Nonconvex Characteristics in the Context of Combined Heat and Power Scheduling Problem

Determining the optimal operating point of generating units in the optimal combined heat and power scheduling is an economic optimization problem aimed at minimizing the total operating costs. The generation cost would nonlinearly increase with the increase in the power generation of fossil fuel thermal units. On the other hand, in combined heat and power (CHP) units, the amounts of power and heat generation are highly mutually dependent. Therefore, the determination of the optimal operating points of such units would be much more difficult compared to electric power or heat-only generating units. Obviously, the aim beyond implementing the day-ahead generation scheduling (GS) problem is to determine the optimal operating points of generating units. In this regard, the power outputs of the units are specified such that the total operating costs of the system are minimized taking into consideration the technical and economic constraints. This paper solves the GS problem in the presence of CHP units with nonconvex feasible operating regions (FORs). This paper investigates the problem of optimal operating point determination of CHP units along with electrical and heat-only units.