Leticia Souza 1/11/2016

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Hi!!
I'm using the optimization module to design the Brazilian energy sector from 2015 to 2040.
The base year I chose was 2014 and for the following years I added the capacity that will be installed as exogenous variables using the step function.
When I was analyzing the results, I realized that for the year 2014 LEAP considers historical production as expected, but the optimization result of the following years discarded some plants without taking into account their lifetime.
The same happens with the power plants which I had considered the capacity that will be installed in the future. For example, biomass power plants will increase their installed capacity until 2022. Then, in 2023 LEAP ignored their lifetime and removed these plants.
Is this because I didn't add up any decommissiong costs?

Another question is in regard to the minimum capacity addition. Can I use this variable to restrict the capacity to be installed so the program will not add, for example, 1 MW of thermal power, but instead it will consider a typical capacity of a brazilian generating plant?

Thanks in advance.

Taylor Binnington 1/14/2016
 

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Hi Leticia,

I'm wondering if you're confusing the capacity of a plant with its electricity generation. When you assign an Exogenous Capacity, you're telling LEAP that the capacity must exist - even though LEAP may choose not to dispatch that capacity. So when you say that plants are discarded, do you mean that they are no longer generating electricity? You can check this in Results view by viewing Transformation: Outputs by Output Fuel, and Transformation: Capacity (displayed by branches), which will show you how many MW of each plant exist, and how many MWh they generate.

Note that when you choose to optimize the construction and dispatch of plants in LEAP, then LEAP will begin performing these calculations beginning in the First Scenario Year. For you, this is the year after your base year of 2014, and means that the Historical Production variable is ignored after this year.

Aside from this, what version of LEAP are you currently running?

To answer your last question, yes, you may use the Minimum Capacity Addition variable to constrain the smallest amount of capacity that can be added in a given year.

http://www.energycommunity.org/WebHelpPro/Transformation/Copy_of_Minimum_Capacity_Addition.htm

However, note that this applies in every year - including those in which LEAP would not have otherwise built any capacity. If you want to discretize the allowable capacity additions of power plants (but still allow the possibility that 0 MW are added) you'll need to use mixed integer optimization. Visit Basic Params: Optimization, and check the box next to "Enable Addition Size". This will reveal a new variable for each power plant which allows you to control the "block size" of new capacity. Have a look at this help file:

http://www.energycommunity.org/WebHelpPro/Transformation/Minimum_Addition_Size.htm

Hope this helps,
Taylor