Abstract
This paper proposes an improved marine predators’ optimization algorithm (IMPOA) for solving the combined heat and power (CHP) economic dispatch problem. This problemprovides optimal scheduling of heat and power generation supplies and pursues to minimize the overall fuel cost (OFC) supply of cogeneration units considering their operational constraints. Four test systems are considered to check the performance of both the MPOA and the proposed IMPOA. The first test system is small sized which involve 5-unit, whereas the second system is medium sized which contains 48-unit system. The third and fourth test systems are large sized systems. The third test system includes 84-unit, which are divided into 40 power-only units, 20 heat only units, and 24 CHP units. The fourth test system includes 96-unit, which are divided into 52 power-only units, 20 heat-only units, and 24 CHP units. The obtained results clearly show the capability, efficiency, and feasibility of the IMPOA with respect to other relevant optimization techniques for optimal solutions of small, medium and large-scale systems. Additionally, the convergence characteristics of the proposed IMPOA are stable and the arrival of the optimal solution is faster than the conventional MPOA.