Co-optimization of nuclear reactor flexible power operation and maintenance scheduling

Rigby, Aidan; Alhadhrami, Saeed; Lindley, Ben

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2024.134098

Co-optimization of nuclear reactor flexible power operation and maintenance scheduling

Journal Article · Fri Dec 06 00:00:00 EST 2024 · Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2024.134098· OSTI ID:2480860

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University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI (United States)

As flexible power operation of nuclear power plants becomes more attractive due to the reduction in fossil-fueled dispatchable generation on energy grids, finding optimal power production strategies that balance revenue generation with operational concerns becomes more complex. This article presents a general framework to aid operators in designing economically optimal long term dispatch strategies for nuclear power plants. The principal novelty is the linking of estimated system remaining useable life (RUL) to strategic operational decisions. It is shown that, depending on the relationship between the fixed costs from maintenance and the associated lost revenue from an outage, it can be economically optimal in the long term to delay a maintenance outage and not perform this alongside refueling. For a given relationship between power ramping and degradation, optimal strategies were found that discouraged load following in some situations while minimizing unnecessary maintenance. It is shown that heavy load following can cause maintenance and refueling outages to diverge due to their inverse relationships with respect to load following, potentially leading to a significant loss in capacity factor. As a result, this general framework can be applied to specific reactor dispatch allowing operators to adapt operational strategies as future grid conditions change.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP)

Grant/Contract Number:: NE0008975

OSTI ID:: 2480860

Journal Information:: Energy, Journal Name: Energy Vol. 313; ISSN 0360-5442

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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