On Improving Efficiency of Electricity Market Clearing Software with A Concurrent High Performance Computer Based Security Constrained Unit Commitment Solver

Wholesale electricity markets in the U.S. have brought significant benefits to society by maximizing social welfare while ensuring system security. Optimization models and algorithms are at the core of the software tools used to make this happen. In recent years, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) has focused on improving its market clearing software performance to enable further developments in its market products. This has largely entailed reducing solution time to ensure the timely commitment of resources and maintain high solution quality. With rapid evolution in the power sector, software performance will become increasingly important. In recent years the mix of resources and fuel types offering into MISO markets has been rapidly shifting and diversifying. In turn, resource modeling requirements are becoming more complicated, system constraints more intricate, and the volume of information greater. This paper introduces the next generation market clearing software built on concurrent high performance optimization engines under the Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) project. The goal of this development is to position Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators (RTOs/ISOs) for future industry evolution.