Load-Following Operation of Small Modular Reactors under Unit Commitment Planning with Various Photovoltaic System Conditions

Seong-Hyeon Ahn, Jin-Hee Hyun, Jin-Ho Choi, Seong-Geun Lee, Gyu-Gwang Kim, Byeong-Gwan Bhang, Hae-Lim Cha, Byeong-Yong Lim, Hoon-Joo Choi and Hyung-Keun Ahn ()
Additional contact information
Seong-Hyeon Ahn: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Jin-Hee Hyun: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Jin-Ho Choi: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Seong-Geun Lee: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Gyu-Gwang Kim: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Byeong-Gwan Bhang: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Hae-Lim Cha: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Byeong-Yong Lim: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Hoon-Joo Choi: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Hyung-Keun Ahn: Department of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Globally, renewable energies are indispensable resources on account of RE100 and the Paris Agreement. The most developed renewable energies are photovoltaics (PV) and wind energy, and they are continuously expanding. This study aims to optimize and analyze the nuclear power plant (NPP) load-following operation in various PV conditions in a metropolitan region. With theoretically estimated power demand and PV power, a mixed-integer problem (MIP) with ramping cycle constraint (RCC) was constructed for a safe load-following operation and simulated through duck curves under various NPP load-following regions (the extreme, normal, and safe regions). The simulation showed two major results for NPP load-following. Technically, RCC successfully controlled the NPP ramp cycle and was assured to be an optimization tool for NPP operation. Numerically, NPP load-following alleviated PV intermittency to almost 50%, 30%, and 15% depending on the load-following region. However, these effects were restricted when the PV capacity rate was high, especially when it exceeded 60%. Thus, PV system capacity is recommended to be 63% of the maximum power demand in the metropolitan region with NPP load-following, and larger PV systems need more flexibility.

Keywords: NPP; SMR; PV; UC plan; duck curve; load-following model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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