The value of hydropower flexibility for electricity system decarbonization

Wang, Yiwen; Levin, Todd; Kwon, Jonghwan; Baker, Erin

doi:10.1016/j.egyr.2025.02.019

The value of hydropower flexibility for electricity system decarbonization

Journal Article · Mon Feb 17 00:00:00 EST 2025 · Energy Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2025.02.019· OSTI ID:2519276

Wang, Yiwen ^[1]; Levin, Todd ^[2]; Kwon, Jonghwan ^[2]; Baker, Erin ^[3]

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)

Hydropower is an abundant, dispatchable, clean energy resource that will play an important role in supporting the clean energy transition. In particular, dispatchable hydropower can provide the operational flexibility that will be required in future systems with high variable renewable energy penetrations. However, the theoretical operational flexibility of hydropower can be restricted in practice by various non-power constraints. In this paper, we quantify how increasing the operational flexibility of dispatchable hydropower resources with reservoirs impacts least-cost generation portfolios and supports power system decarbonization. Specifically, we conduct a capacity expansion analysis of a two-zone system: a hydro-dominated region and a neighboring region with aggressive decarbonization targets that are represented by the United States Pacific Northwest and California respectively. We then introduce a quantifiable index for characterizing the operational flexibility of reservoir hydropower and assess how changes in this metric impact the system-optimal generation portfolio. We find that increasing hydropower flexibility leads to more investment in wind generation, less investment in natural gas generation, lower system costs, and lower system emissions. We further demonstrate a substitution effect between the grid services provided by flexible hydropower operation, increased transmission capacity on a congested line, and energy storage resources. Finally, we show that increasing the operational flexibility of hydropower increases the effective load carrying capability of both hydropower and wind resources. This research supports a more nuanced understanding of how hydropower can support electricity system decarbonization and may motivate reassessing the cost-benefit tradeoffs of non-power constraints that restrict operational flexibility.

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Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 2519276

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2587313

Journal Information:: Energy Reports, Journal Name: Energy Reports Vol. 13; ISSN 2352-4847

Publisher:: Elsevier BVCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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