Cost modelling of coal power plant start-up in cyclical operation

It has long been recognized that large coal plants that are exposed to cyclic operation incur more damage and have higher maintenance costs than units which operate in a base load regimen. This chapter reviews historical studies that have attempted to model the costs of cycling for these units from both bottom- up and top- down perspectives. It describes recent research at the component, unit and system level which attempts to forecast maintenance costs in the high-cycling scenarios likely to result from changes in the relative cost of fuel and the expansion of renewable energy sources.