Modified flower pollination algorithm for nonsmooth and multiple fuel options economic dispatch

Economic dispatch determines the optimal power generation output to meet the system load at the lowest possible cost. Characteristics of each generating unit may have an impact on the effectivity of the method used in solving economic dispatch problem. Conventional gradient-based methods are inapplicable in economic dispatch problem with non-smooth cost functions and multiple fuel options. In this paper, modified flower pollination algorithm (MFPA) with lambda iteration approach (LI) is proposed. The proposed method is tested on a 10-generator system with non-smooth and multiple fuel options. MFPA results in lower fuel cost compared to FPA. Furthermore, MFPA is tested against other methods used in similar economic dispatch problems. MFPA produces a better solution compared to some of the methods.