Operation of a CAES Facility Under Price Uncertainties Using Robust Optimization

This paper proposes a robust optimization model to maximize the profit of a price-taker Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) plant under price uncertainty. In order to have a more realistic representation, the thermodynamic characteristics of the CAES plant are considered. The model takes the point of view of the plant owner, determining its optimal operating schedule, while participating in the energy, spinning, and nonspinning reserve markets. The model is tested for a CAES plant proposed in the literature, using historical data of hourly energy and reserve prices taken from the Hourly Ontario Electricity Price (HOEP). Different ranges of price uncertainties are considered in the robust optimization model to evaluate how they would affect the daily schedule and profit of the plant. The results are validated by a comparison with Monte Carlo simulations, demonstrating the features of the proposed model.