Hydropower operation in future power grid with various renewable power integration

Journal Article · Mon Nov 14 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Renewable Energy Focus

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ref.2022.11.001· OSTI ID:1901925

De Silva, Thushara ^[1]; Jorgenson, Jennie ^[1]; Macknick, Jordan ^[1]; Keohan, Nicholas ^[1]; Miara, Ariel ^[1]; Jager, Henriette ^[2]; Pracheil, Brenda ^[3]

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1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
3. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Hydropower generation may play an increasingly important role in the power grid under increasing contribution of variable renewable sources such as wind and solar. An improved understanding of the changes to hydropower dispatch under future higher VRE grid conditions reveals research gap that should be informed power grid planning and reservoir water releases policies considering multiple other water uses and varying hydrologic condition. Here this study aims to understand the role of hydropower in a changing power grid by employing a production cost model, PLEXOS, across future power system scenarios, planning horizons, and regions. We explore optimized hydropower dispatch to understand its potential role in minimizing the system cost and renewable curtailment. We also examine the sensitivity of hydropower revenue under various grid scenarios of the Eastern U.S. and hydrology conditions. Results indicate hydropower generation follows net load and compensates for the variability of solar and wind generation. Although energy prices are lower during some periods in the future grid scenarios, there is a potential for higher revenue for hydropower by providing both energy and ancillary services during times of stress. Additionally, hydropower revenue is sensitive to hydrology in the SERC region, which we considered as an example. The feasibility of hydropower dispatching with higher ramps between low and high hourly-capacity factors, as indicated in the optimization model, requires further study to consider other water use and ecology constraints.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725; AC05-76RL01830; AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1901925
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1907229; OSTI ID: 2566852
• Report Number(s): NREL/JA--6A40-82921; PNNL-SA--190217; MainId:83694; UUID:314effe9-fcb5-4f2f-8d51-37e27c176054; MainAdminID:65472
• Journal Information: Renewable Energy Focus, Journal Name: Renewable Energy Focus Vol. 43; ISSN 1755-0084
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

13 HYDRO ENERGY
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
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local marginal prices
production cost model
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