Optimal energy supply system and hourly operation plan for the TUM campus Garching using linear programming model URBS

With 12,000 students and 6,000 employees, the TUM campus Garching is one of Germany’s largest university facilities. The continuous development of the campus requires a continuous development of its energy supply system. With regard to renewable energies such as wind, solar and geothermal heat as well as to conventional generation technologies as gas turbines and gas engines a cost-optimal and secured energy supply system for the campus in Garching is identified. The linear programming model URBS is used to describe the power system. The model optimizes the overall system costs and simulates power plant operation with an hourly resolution for one year. Next to the generation of heat and power, the optimal supply with cold is also investigated. Therefore electrically and thermally powered refrigeration machines are considered. The simulation is carried out for the current energy demand just as for an estimated demand in 2020. The results indicate that a gas driven cogeneration plant in addition to the existing Cheng Cycle plant, supplemented with PV and absorption chillers, result in the lowest overall system costs. Under the given condition of purchasing geothermal heat from a nearby plant, heat supply with geothermal energy is not economic.