Preliminary Study on Unit Commitment for Renewable Energy Integration Considering Operation Cost and Life Cycle Assessment

Most countries, including Japan, are focused on achieving net‐zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, which requires quick action. Despite the increasing level of renewable power generation in power grids, fossil fuel power plants still have a significant role in producing GHG emissions, causing serious environmental issues. Therefore, cost‐effective power systems should be considered with minimum environmental damage. This study will focus on finding the optimal solution to the unit commitment (UC) problem in a thermal power plant, considering the penetration of renewable energy sources, and applying multi‐objective optimization techniques. The main objectives of the present study are to reduce operational costs and environmental damage with an integrated method using life‐cycle assessment (LCA) coefficients. To address this multi‐objective optimization method weighted sum was used to combine multiple objectives into a single objective through weighted combinations , optimizing the operation of thermal power generators. With regard to this objective, combining PV systems and applying to all stages of the LCA in the UC optimization will further enhance cost‐effectiveness and environmental sustainability when it comes to renewable energy sources that consider net load variability into account. © 2026 The Author(s). IEEJ Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Engineering published by Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.