Volume 5: Innovative Solutions for Energy Transitions: Part IV

Optimal Operation of a Multi-Energy System: A Case Study of University of Warwick’s Energy System Hanmin Cai, Meysam Qadrdan, Muditha Abeysekera, Shi You, Jianzhong Wu, Henrik W. Bindner, Joel Cardinal

Abstract

There has been growing concerns about climate change, and more environmentally friendly operation of energy systems is of high interest to energy systems owners. This study presents the optimal operation of the University of Warwick’s energy system considering both energy and carbon emission costs. The system that currently consists of gas-fired CHP units, heat and electricity networks would be upgraded to a heat pumpbased low-carbon energy system in 2050. A sensitivity analysis was conducted for both scenarios and provides insights into how sensitive the optimum solution is to different levels of demand, energy prices, and carbon price. The results show that a heat pump-based system is less sensitive to carbon emission price and has fewer carbon emissions than the existing CHP-based system.

Keywords decarbonisation, integrated energy system