Effectiveness of Optimization Procedures on the Economic Profitability of a Virtual Tri-generation Power Plant Connected to a District Heating-Cooling Network

This study investigates the impact of an optimized schedule procedure in enhancing the Economic Profitability (EP) of a Combined Heating Cooling and Power Plant (CHCPP) of a tri-generation energy facility. This energy unit is located in the Northern Italy and is coupled with a local District Heating and Cooling (DHC) grid. The FICOTM Xpress Software has been utilized to optimize the thermal and electrical scheduling of the overall CHCPP–DHC energy system by making use of both the effective exercise parameters of the CHCPP machines and a suitable selection of the DHC loads delivered to the grid. The complex evolution of the traditional energy market has driven the optimized elaborations to include the constrains resulting from the subscription of a suitable Virtual Power Plant Management (VPPM) agreement. As main purpose, this work analyses and compares the impact that both the adopted optimization procedure and/or the subscription of the VPPM contract have in enhancing the EP of the entire facility. As main outcome this study evidences that the acceptance of the VPPM constraints can have a positive impact on the EP of the energy facility. This happens on the condition that the exercise of the plants is rescheduled following the outcomes derived from optimized processing. The proposed results are significant since they are obtained by elaborating monitored data sets attributable both to the machines and the loads profiles of the DHC grid. This study evidences the relevant impact that the optimization procedures have in rescheduling the exercise conditions of the plant machines of a centralized energy plant. At the same time it highlights the role that of the existing energy facilities on the future energy assessments including the subscription of the emerging VPPM agreements.