Achieving a smooth flow of fuel deliveries by truck to an urban biomass power plant in Helsinki, Finland – an agent-based simulation approach

ABSTRACTPower plants that use biomass for fuel can have heavy truck flow rates, especially during winter. From the viewpoint of power plant operations, it is important that this flow of trucks is smooth; a traffic jam can lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the plant or, at worst, to unwanted shutdowns. To study the effects of different logistics solutions on the truck flow in the reception area of a plant, an agent-based simulation model was created. The model mimics the movement of trucks at a fuel reception site. The case selected for this is a power plant, planned for construction in the Helsinki area of Finland. The model period was set as one month during winter time. The case studies the effects of a second weighing station, automatic sampling and the income flows of different truck types. The results show that a second weighing station alleviates potential problems with the truck flow, compared to only having one weighing station, but a more effective way to improve fuel reception would be to decrease the unloading time by using automatic sampling. It was found more beneficial to use high capacity trucks for fuel reception, as fewer trucks need to enter the plant. The study shows that agent-based modeling can be utilized as a study method in power plant fuel reception areas, where all elements affect each other due to the dynamic nature of the logistics.