The Optimization Problems in a Large Nuclear Heat-and-Power Plant Connected to a Developing District Heating System

The development of district heating systems in Poland up to 1990 is characterized with particular reference to the combined generation of heat and electrical energy in fossil-fired and nuclear heat-and-power plants. The proposed method of an economic evaluation of nuclear heat-and-power schemes consists in comparing them with the equivalent fossil-fired plants and minimizing the total annual costs of heat energy generation. Hence, the optimum value of the so-called combination factor α can be obtained, this factor being defined as the ratio of heat output at the steam turbine outlets to the maximum heating load of the whole heat-and-power plant. As an example of the optimization procedure, three particular values of the maximum heating load Q_max in given areas are considered: Q_max = 1000, 1500, and 2000 MW, and in each case the optimum a values are determined.