Economic-Enviromental Power Dispatch

Abstract

A revised dispatch procedure for power is described that meets the demand for energy while accounting for both cost and emission considerations. First, a tradeoff curve, representing all alternative dispatch policies, is derived for each demand level. Since air pollution damage is a function of the spatial distribution of pollutants in the atmosphere, an air pollution diffusion model is utilized in order to evaluate each dispatch policy on the tradeoff curve from an air impact point of view. Under the postulate of rational behavior, the utility function of the decision maker can be described by a quasi-concave function whose maximum point is found among points on the tradeoff curve. An interactive search method, based on the golden section search technique, is then devised in order to guide the decision maker toward finding the dispatch policy that maximizes his utility function.