Optimal operation of biomass combined heat and power in a spot market

This study presents daily optimal operation of biomass combined heat and power (CHP) with thermal storage in a spot market. Since CHP mainly relying on environmental condition as well as spot price is fluctuating under influence of so many factors, optimal operation of CHP district heating systems is not easy to achieve. In this paper operation of medium scale biomass CHP in spot price with and with out storage for a typical day in winter, autumn/spring and summer is investigated. Further, the impact of spot price variability on thermal storage utilization is examined. For this purpose, a residential community in the UK with known heat and electricity profile is being considered. Results of the study show that by making flexibility in CHP operation such as flexible operating point and installing large thermal storage, its partnership in competitive market in an economic way would be achievable much easier. Moreover, thermal storage utilization for CHP operation in competitive market is varied significantly versus variability in spot price and demand profile which contribute to the difficulty of optimal sizing of CHP and thermal storage in deregulated market.