TY  - EJOU
AU  - Li, Haifeng 
AU  - Li, Xiao 
AU  - Hao, Yuchen 
AU  - Jin, Tao 
AU  - Cao, Yi 
AU  - Yang, Yan 
AU  - Wang, Zheng 
AU  - Zhou, Yuze 
AU  - Zou, Yao 

TI  - Multi-Timescale Flexible Thermal-Electric Coupling Operation of Coal-Fired Thermal Power Units Integrated with Molten Salt Thermal Storage System
T2  - Energy Engineering

PY  - 2026
VL  - 123
IS  - 4
SN  - 1546-0118

AB  - The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) imposes stringent flexibility requirements on thermal power units (TPUs). Integrating molten salt thermal storage systems (MSTS) and thermal-electric coupling technologies into TPUs has the potential to improve their operational flexibility and regulation capability. However, existing research seldom investigates the combined effects of MSTS retrofitting and thermal-electric output coupling on short-term dispatchability, especially under rapid load variation conditions. This study proposes a comprehensive modeling and multi-timescale optimization framework for MSTS-retrofitted TPUs with rapid load variation capability, enabling coordinated thermal and electrical dispatch in both day-ahead and real-time stages. The TPU model incorporates steam heating, electric heating, MSTS charge and discharge characteristics, and ladder typer ramping constraints, enabling detailed representation of thermal-electric coupling interactions. The proposed scheduling framework consists of a day-ahead economic dispatch model and a minute-level intraday rolling optimization. In the day-ahead stage, the model maximizes operational revenue while considering flexibility reserve requirements, multi-period peak shaving, reserve allocation, and thermal-electric coupling strategies that coordinate steam and electric heating with MSTS charging and discharging. In the intraday rolling stage, real-time RES fluctuations and load variations are incorporated to update dispatch decisions, ensuring continuous power–heat balance and efficient use of stored thermal energy. Simulation results verify that thermal-electric coupling enhances the system’s capability to maintain real-time power balance, while MSTS operation effectively mitigates output fluctuations and supports stable, economical operation for addressing RES variation.
KW  - Coal-fired thermal power unit; molten salt thermal storage; thermal-electric coupling; multi-timescale operation

DO  - 10.32604/ee.2025.072787