Optimal Operation of a Gas Turbine Cogeneration Plant in Consideration of Equipment Startup/Shutdown Cost

A rational method of determining the operational strategy of energy supply plants in consideration of equipment startup/shutdown cost is proposed. The operational planning problem is formulated as a large-scale mixed-integer linear programming one, in which on/off status and energy flow rates of equipment are determined so as to minimize the sum of energy supply and startup/shutdown costs over the period considered. By utilizing a special structure of the problem, an algorithm of solving the problem efficiently is proposed. Through a numerical study on the daily operational planning of a gas turbine cogeneration plant for district heating and cooling, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is ascertained in terms of computation time, and the influence of equipment startup/shutdown cost on the operational strategy and cost is clarified.