Automated schedule optimisation for CHP plants

Our forecast-based plant scheduling makes it possible to achieve best prices for electricity production and at the same time comply with the heat supply obligation. With flex.ENERGY, dezera offers software and hardware solutions in a service model to optimise the operation of CHP plants and thus the economic efficiency of heating networks. By using algorithms from the field of artificial intelligence, heat demand can be reliably predicted. On this basis, optimisation algorithms find the best schedules for all plants of every site. Data on the current operation and marketing revenues
can be evaluated via our customer portal.

  • Avoiding negative or low electricity prices
  • Increasing revenues from electricity marketing through optimised use of heat storage facilities
  • Minimised risk of high payments for balancing energy
  • Integrated fault and maintenance management
  • Full control over economic and technical parameters of operational management

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Flexible direct marketing for CHP plants

Operation optimization with artificial intelligence
To provide optimal plant schedules, we use a combination of artificial neural networks and optimization algorithms. Individual parameters of all plants at a site are taken into account. Among other things, efficiencies, outputs as well as minimum running times and gas prices are set individually for each heat generator. Storage levels and capacities are also included in the optimization calculation, so that all degrees of freedom and restrictions of plant operation are taken into account. On the basis of local weather forecasts, our algorithms generate heat demand forecasts that enable forward planning and proactive storage management.

Opportunities in short-term power trading
By shifting electricity production to high-price phases, trading revenues are increased. If prices drop or get negative, the heat production of CHP plants is replaced by gas boilers if necessary. Our software maps the merit order of your heat generation plants according to the parameters you set and automatically creates optimal plant schedules. Our multi-stage optimisation of plant operation enables you to market on different spotmarkets. We transmit trading schedules automatically to your existing market access. This way, the entire process from data acquisition at the plant to schedule reporting can be automated.

Redispatch 2.0
Our software easily implements the Redispatch 2.0 requirements for operators of CHP plants. In doing so, we take over the reporting obligations of the dispatch manager. Plant master data and deployment schedules are communicated to the responsible grid operator via the connect+ platform. In the event of a request, the plants can be controlled directly by us. In addition, the reporting obligations for plant failures and maintenance work are fulfilled automatically. In this way, you retain control over your plants despite intervention by the grid operator and can also benefit from increased revenues in electricity trading thanks to our deployment optimization.

Software-as-a-Service
dezera is a software developer and service provider. We offer software as well as hardware to make your plants responsive. Through our flexible Software-as-a-Service model, we can offer individually tailored and custom-fit solutions. Depending on which systems are in use at the customer, we offer a suitable solution for integration. Based on a dezeraBox (fieldbus integration) or as a dezeraCluster in the cloud (control system integration), we can use a variety of common interfaces for data exchange. In addition, you can view operating data, KPIs, schedules and forecasts at any time via our customer portal, as well as adjust the parameterization for your plants.

 

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Questions and answers

Connecting individual plants is worthwhile from an electrical output of approx. 500 kW. If several plants are already connected to a control system, smaller plants can also be optimised economically. The annual full load hours should be below 6,500 and a buffer storage is ideally also available.
Staged marketing on the auction markets is the best way to utilise the flexibility potential. Marketing solely on the day-ahead hourly market, on the other hand, is suboptimal, as the hourly resolution of the market dictates the resolution of the schedule. Scheduling in hourly blocks does not allow the runtime potential of the engines to be fully utilised. of the engines. For example, if on a summer morning the engines could run for 3 h 45 min, only a 3-hour block would be scheduled in an hourly timetable. In this way, more than 20 % running time can be lost on days of transition and in summer. Therefore, it is recommended to market in quarter-hourly trade as well.
dezera is independent of electricity traders. Thus, you remain free in your choice of market access. The communication of schedules can be set up in different ways. We provide forecasts for the day-ahead market as well as for the intraday opening auction.
All processes for forecasting, optimisation, schedule reporting and control are 100% automated. During operation, planned maintenance on the plants can be entered in advance in the dezera customer portal, so that these plants are blocked accordingly for marketing. In the event of plant failures, an alarm is sent from our system. Resulting shortfalls can be automatically reported to the electricity trade.
Frequent cycling of motors should always be prevented. For this purpose, various parameters can be set for optimising operation. On the one hand, minimum running times and also minimum standstill times can be specified for individual motors. On the other hand, costs for the cold start of an engine can also be stored.
We offer various alternatives here. If the central heating system is not already connected to a SCADA system, we can provide a control box - the dezeraBox. This can be connected to the local control of the heating system via various protocols and is used to read measured values and transmit schedule setpoints. If there is already a system monitoring via a higher-level control system, an interface to the existing control system can be used to provide optimisations and forecasts for all connected heating centres. Protocols such as MQTT or OPC UA can be used here, among others. In this case, our services are provided via the cloud in a dezeraCluster.