Solving the Combined Heat and Power Economic Dispatch Problem in Different Scale Systems Using the Imperialist...

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Optimization Theory
• Computational Intelligence

Background:

• The electrical load dispatch (ELD) problem aims for optimal power plant planning to meet demand at minimal cost.
• Combined heat and power (CHP) units enhance energy efficiency and reduce pollution by producing electricity and heat simultaneously.
• Integrating CHP units transforms ELD into the complex, non-linear, and non-convex combined heat and power economic dispatch (CHPED) problem.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a review of optimization algorithms for the CHPED problem.
• To introduce and evaluate the novel imperialist competitive Harris hawks optimization (ICHHO) algorithm for large-scale CHPED.
• To address the exploration and exploitation limitations of individual algorithms by combining Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA) and Harris Hawks Optimizer (HHO).

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive review of classical, stochastic, and hybrid optimization techniques for CHPED.
• Development and application of the hybrid ICHHO algorithm, merging ICA and HHO.
• Testing the ICHHO algorithm on four standard case studies with 24, 48, 84, and 96 units.

Main Results:

• The ICHHO algorithm demonstrated superior performance in solving large-scale CHPED problems.
• Comparative analysis showed ICHHO achieved better solution quality and lower fuel costs than existing algorithms.
• Simulation results indicated cost reductions of at least 0.1870% to 0.342% compared to literature benchmarks.

Conclusions:

• The proposed ICHHO algorithm is effective for solving complex, large-scale CHPED problems.
• ICHHO offers a robust approach to optimizing energy systems with CHP units.
• The hybrid strategy enhances both exploration and exploitation capabilities for improved economic dispatch outcomes.