General Utility Plant Load Optimization
Challenges
- A general utility plant generates power, produces water and steam, and supplies sea water for cooling.
- There is no holistic approach to allocating heat and power between units, which results in higher fuel consumption and electricity costs.
- Power and water demand change constantly, as do weather conditions, and there is no direct way to assess the economic effect of a load balancing decision.
Approach
A plant optimizer accounts for unit capacities and efficiency curves, customer demand and pipeline constraints, and computes the most cost-effective hourly load distribution.
Each unit's output flow is modeled from its input flows and unit-level constraints; balance equations are calculated for steam, power and water alongside supply and demand, and a cost function prices the required power, steam and heat.
Key features
- Unit output modeled from input flows and unit-level constraints
- Balance equations for steam, power and water, with supply-demand equations
- Cost function for required power, steam and heat
- Hourly recommendations for the most cost-effective load distribution
- Equipment tags, gas flows, temperature, humidity and condensate data used as inputs
Impact
2.5%
Expected cost saving potential
Hourly
Load distribution recommendations
Economic effect of balancing decisions made visible
As stated in the company deck