Heat Plant Start Profile

Units: GJ (Metric), MMBtu (U.S. Imperial)
Mode: Input Only
Multi-band: True
Default Value: 1E+30
Validation Rule: Any Value
Key Property: No
Description: Detailed regime for running the unit up from zero to [Min Stable Level] when [Run Up Rate] is non-constant.
Detail:

Heat Plant Start Profile defines a series of megawatt steps that the generating units pass through while starting up. Note that if this running up rate is constant for any given cooling state you should use the Run Up Rate property instead.

Start Profile may also be used to define a ramping rate while a unit is 'cold' that is different to its normal Max Ramp Up—see Example 3 below. This feature is allowed because once a unit reaches Min Stable Level, then by default, the Start Profile acts only as an upper limit on Generation. However this behavior can be changed with the Start Profile Range setting.

The input scheme for Start Profile is a special case, where the Timeslice field is used to identify the stages of the start-up. Multiple bands are then used to vary the start-up regime according to the cooling state of the unit. When using multiple bands in this way you should also define the Start Cost and Start Cost Time using the same number of bands.

Example 1 not using cooling states

Property Value Units Band Timeslice
Units 1 - 1
Max Capacity 100 GJ 1
Min Stable Level 40 GJ 1
Start Cost 3000 $ 1
Start Profile 10 GJ 1 H01
Start Profile 30 GJ 1 H02
Start Profile 50 GJ 1 H03

Example 2 using hot/warm/cold states

Property Value Units Band Timeslice
Units 1 - 1
Max Capacity 100 GJ 1
Min Stable Level 40 GJ 1
Start Cost 1000 $ 1
Start Cost 2500 $ 2
Start Cost 5000 $ 3
Start Cost Time 3 hrs 1
Start Cost Time 3 hrs 2
Start Cost Time 6 hrs 3
Start Profile 30 GJ 1 H01
Start Profile 60 GJ 1 H02
Start Profile 10 GJ 2 H01
Start Profile 30 GJ 2 H02
Start Profile 50 GJ 2 H03
Start Profile 5 GJ 3 H01
Start Profile 15 GJ 3 H02
Start Profile 30 GJ 3 H03
Start Profile 40 GJ 3 H04

Example 3 modelling a slower ramp rate when unit is cold

In this case the Start Profile limits the ramping capability of the unit to (10 GJ/hr) for the first 10 hours after a start. After this time the normal ramping rate of 0.5 GJ.min. applies. This is illustrated in Figure 1.

Property Value Units Band Date From Date To Timeslice
Units 1 - 1
Max Capacity 100 GJ 1
Min Stable Level 40 GJ 1
Fuel Price 5 $/GJ 1
Heat Rate 10 GJ/GJ 1
Start Profile 10 GJ 1 H01
Start Profile 20 GJ 1 H02
Start Profile 30 GJ 1 H03
Start Profile 40 GJ 1 H04
Start Profile 50 GJ 1 H05
Start Profile 60 GJ 1 H06
Start Profile 70 GJ 1 H07
Start Profile 80 GJ 1 H08
Start Profile 90 GJ 1 H09
Start Profile 100 GJ 1 H10
Max Ramp Up 0.5 GJ/hr. 1
Max Ramp Down 0.5 GJ/hr. 1

See also: