Economic Dispatch of Combined Heat and Power Energy Systems Using Electric Boiler to Accommodate Wind Power

It is of significant economic value to use an electric boiler to coordinate the heating network and power grid to reduce wind curtailment during heating supply seasons in the north area. This paper presents an optimal economic dispatching model of combined heat and power energy systems to minimize the total operation cost and wind curtailment by using electric boilers. The proposed model comprehensively considers the thermal characteristics of buildings and the constraints of electric and thermal power balancing, combined heat and power (CHP) units, heat storage tanks, electric boiler power, and wind power. To address this model, a linearization optimization model is built, where different dispatch strategies under CHP only, CHP + HST (heat storage tanks), and CHP + HST + EB (electric boiler) different conditions are conducted. Thereafter, the relationship between indoor temperature and thermal power is analyzed with consideration of the temperature time-delay effect and the heat loss on heating balance. A 6-node combined heat and power energy system is used to validate the effectiveness of the proposed model and solution method. Furthermore, the case studies illustrate the impact of heat storage tanks and the electric boiler on wind power curtailment and coal consumption.