Aurora has the ability to model commitment units which, if not committed, may also have the ability to run in a cycling mode with a modified capacity, heat rate, and startup cost (e.g. running the simple cycle portion of a combined cycle unit). This option can only be applied to resources which are defined as non-cycling and is activated by populating the Cycle Only Capacity column with a nonzero value.
The Cycle Only Startup Cost column is used to specify start-up cost in $/MW/Start, where the MW value used to determine the total cost is based on the full unit capacity. In general, the cycle only startup cost should be a value smaller than the base start cost for the unit. The cycle only startup cost is only applied when the unit is starting in cycling mode without having run at all the previous hour. If a unit was running in commitment mode the previous hour and then moves to cycling mode no start cost will be applied. Also, if a unit transitions directly from cycling mode into full committed mode without any hours down, the start cost incurred in that period will be the difference between the full start cost and the cycle only start cost.
NOTE: Inputs can be specified for any time period (annual, monthly, weekly, hourly or sub-hourly). For information on how to specify a time series for a variable, see Entering a Time Series.
For more information, see Cycle Only Resources.
Cycle Only Startup Cost Column