Abstract
The planning of an energy system with high penetration of renewables is increasing in complexity as only an effective implementation can allow the tackling of environmental and energy security issues. The aim of this study is to present the integration of combined cycle gas turbine cycling costs in EPLANopt, a simulation software consisting of EnergyPLAN coupled to a Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm. The model is then applied to the Italian energy system which is characterized by a very high capacity andelectricity production from combined cycle gas turbine systems. The proposed approach established a first step in the direction of modelling their role for load modulation accou nting for technical constraintsand additional costs related to start-up and par tial load condition. Results show the importance ofconsidering cycling costs of combined cycle gas turbine system within energy system modelling as thenature of these costs at the increasing of intermittent renewable generation can reach peaks of 33.5V/MWh. Additionally, the inclusion of CCGT cycling costs in high penetration non programmablerenewable energy sources scenarios opens up favorable business models for other load modu lationstrategies (e.g. electric batteries)