Introducing solar energy to share heating load with combined heat and power(CHP) unit is an effective way to improve the peak-shaving ability of the unit

and to increase the accommodation of renewable energy. Based on the linear programming method and with the goal of maximizing the operation income of the solar-aided CHP unit

an operation optimization model for the solar-aided CHP unit

which contains solar field

thermal energy storage system and CHP unit

has been built. The model is then solved by GAMS software and CPLEX solver. Moreover

a 330 MW CHP unit has been studied as a study case. According to hourly meteorological and load data of the typical day and the heating season

the daily operation income of the solar-aided CHP unit and the hourly output distribution of the key equipment are obtained. The results show that

the optimized solar-aided CHP unit could meet the load demand of customers. Furthermore

the optimized solar-aided CHP unit has significant advantages in renewable energy consumption

coal saving and economy compared with the independent coal-fired CHP unit.