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Conventional HydroApplied Statistical Analysis Techniques for Hydro Generation and Runoff
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0426
The focus of this report is to review the current practices for data analysis techniques, with specific emphasis on contemporary approaches relevant to hydropower systems.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Enhancing the representation of conventional hydropower flexibility in production cost models [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
PNNL, ANL, INL, ORNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Nathalie Voisin, Nathalie.voisin@pnnl.gov
Hydropower is in high demand from a power grid coordination perspective because of its operational and economic characteristics. But production cost models (PCMs)—a tool traditionally used to plan and optimize power generation sources to meet demand within security constraints at the lowest cost—currently oversimplify hydropower operations. As part of the HydroWIRES Initiative, researchers from PNNL, ANL, and ORNL are teaming with the Center for Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems to improve the representation of hydropower operations in PCMs across regional power grids. The PNNL-led team is leveraging large-scale, integrated water-modeling tools and unit commitment models to build a module that characterizes potential hydropower operations based on daily hydrologic conditions, regulatory water management compliance rules, and economic signals. This module, referred to as “dynamic classification” by PCM modelers, will support more robust PCM-based studies. The dynamic classification will be developed over the western United States as proof of concept. Results from this effort will guide future model development and research to improve generator fleet dispatch, scheduling, and planning, toward the goal of better co-optimizing water and energy systems. Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
HIPPO-HS: A Tool for Planning and Assessing Hybrid Resources at System Level
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Feng Pan, feng.pan@pnnl.gov
The benefits of utilizing and integrating large-scale hydropower into grid operation are multi-faceted. Run-of-river (RoR) hydropower by itself has limited dispatchability, but RoR and energy storage hybrid resources have much more flexibility and controllability in their operations. At the system level, these hybrid resources will impact electricity market operations, and the full benefit will depend on how these resources are configured, controlled and represented in market models. The project team will develop a RoR and energy storage hybrid resource representation model to represent the new combination of resources in the day-ahead market. This model will be used for security-constrained unit commitment and for siting and sizing of energy storage paired with RoR in an independent system operator size system. The objective of this project is to assess the benefits of co-located and/or co-optimized hybrid RoR hydroelectric generators and energy storage resources from a system operator perspective. Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Hydro Operations and Planning Maturity Matrix
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0427
A tool for HOPIG members to use to benchmark their water management departments and to improve operational efficiency in the planning and management of hydroelectric generation and water resources.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Improving Hydropower Benefits by Linking Environmental Decisions and Power System Trade-offs Through Flow Release Decisions [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
ORNL, PNNL, ANL, INL, NREL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Brenda Pracheil, pracheilbm@ornl.gov
Hydropower has a new and potentially important role in enhancing resilience of the electric system due to its ability to generate power without inputs from the grid. It is imminently important to understand if hydropower can have the necessary operational flexibility to provide these services given environmental flow requirements placed on the fleet. Environmental flow requirements included in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hydropower licenses are an important component to preserving and, in some cases, restoring ecological function and services provided by riverine ecosystems. While environmental flow requirements in a FERC license may improve outcomes such as water quality, fish habitat, or recreation, they may limit the operational flexibility of hydropower plants, narrowing their ability to respond to the grid. Defining linkages between flow requirements and specific environmental outcomes is essential to not only producing favorable environmental outcomes, but also to enabling greater operational flexibility within a given hydropower facility. This project will provide pathways for this co-optimization in hydropower systems by quantitatively linking power system and environmental outcomes through the common hub of flow decisions. It is anticipated that the co-optimization framework created in this project will provide a guide for designing environmental flow requirements that create value propositions for a diversity of stakeholders in FERC licensing proceedings. Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Improving the Representation of Hydrologic Processes and Reservoir Operations in Production Cost Models [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
NREL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Greg Stark, greg.stark@nrel.gov
Although there have been many advances in PCM techniques over the past decade, the representation of hydropower operations has remained relatively rudimentary. Hydropower operational constraints (e.g., equipment, water use priorities and rules, environmental constraints) are not easily characterized in unit commitment and economic dispatch models. Uncertainties involved with hydropower planning also do not align well with grid operation methodologies. These misalignments make it difficult for grid operations models to comprehensively value and make best use of the flexibility available with hydropower generation. To address these challenges, NREL will lead integration of intraday and day-ahead grid operations models with a river basin model, enabling a global optimization across both grid and reservoir operations. The lab will also use stochastic hydropower forecasts combined with progressive hedging to perform multi-stage, multi-time period optimization. This allows the combined grid and water model to value multiple timescales and uncertainties in a single optimization, enabling more accurate value of real-time flexibility to help balance supply and demand under different scenarios while enforcing precise, long-term water level constraints. In essence, the project will help to improve both grid and water system resilience while making better use of the water throughout the season. Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Improving Timing and Volume of Hydrosystem Inflow
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Mark Wigmosta
This project provides a proof of concept to identify the potential of forest restoration to improve inflows to the hydrosystem that may be beneficial to salmon habitat and increase power production.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Water Conveyance
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Modeling Conventional Hydropower Plants to Duplicate Pumped Storage Hydro Operation
Lead Companies
EPRI
Lead Researcher (s)
- Francisco Kuljevan
As interest rises in pumped storage’s role for integrating variable renewable energy (VRE) resources into the grid, a key resource may be overlooked. Conventional hydropower can, and sometimes does, provide ancillary services that mimic pumped storage’s capabilities. This report describes (1) the development and demonstration of an innovative, water-based methodology for analyzing and evaluating alternative energy and ancillary services operations under different market conditions, (2) the results from analyses using the methodology, and (3) recommendations based on results from the analyses. Results are provided from detailed analyses of a hypothetical three-unit hydropower plant operating (a) under cold weather (February) and hot weather (July) conditions; (b) with low, medium low, medium high, and high water budgets; and (c) in three market regions (CAISO, MISO, and NYISO). Across markets, seasons, and water budgets, the daily revenues from co-optimized energy, regulation, and spinning reserves significantly exceed the daily revenues from energy-only operation.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Outage Planning Maturity Matrix
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0424
The matrix includes all activities for Outage Planning including the scheduling and impact evaluation of outages in the forecast mode, the evaluation of actual outage impacts computed after the fact, and issues pertaining to efficient communications within the organization.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Review of Data Screening Methods for Discharge/Inflow Time Series
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0425
The main objectives of this project are to review/describe/classify data screening methods, identify easily applicable and robust techniques, develop a reference guide to assist users in the selection of data screening methods, and identify emerging techniques for discharge/inflow data screening.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
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