Patent Document ID: 20020120352
Application ID: 10021344
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for optimizing power plant control values, where the method comprises the steps of a) determining a trajectory of plant control values {right arrow over (u)}(&tgr;), b) determining from the trajectory of plant control values {right arrow over (u)}(&tgr;), by simulation of the power plant's behavior, corresponding trajectories of costs {right arrow over (c)}(&tgr;) for operating the plant and trajectories of revenues {right arrow over (q)}(&tgr;) from selling produced output, c) computing a total operating cost J&lsqb;u&rsqb; as an integral of an objective function that comprises a difference between costs {right arrow over (c)}(&tgr;) and revenues {right arrow over (q)}(&tgr;), d) iteratively repeating steps a) through c) with the optimization module varying the trajectory of plant control values {right arrow over (u)}(&tgr;) until an optimized lower total operating cost J&lsqb;u&rsqb; is arrived at, characterized in that in step b), by modeling of plant components, a trajectory representing a rate of ageing {right arrow over (e)}(&tgr;) of plant components is determined from the trajectory of plant control values {right arrow over (u)}(&tgr;), and that, in step c), the objective function comprises said rate of ageing {right arrow over (e)}(&tgr;).