The costs associated with electricity generation include costs that are independent of their marginal output, including the cost of starting their units, and constraints such as minimum generation levels. Modelling these costs and constraints requires integer formulation of the units, and so...

Growth in energy demand together with the expansion of variable renewables has significant implications for the future electricity system. The increased volatility from growing intermittent production requires new sources of flexibility at a much greater scale to help maintain system balance. In...