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- Conventional Hydro
Integrated Hydropower and Energy Storage: Providing Essential Reliability and Ancillary Services Using Individual or Coordinated Hydropower Plants [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
INL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Thomas Mosier, Thomas.mosier@inl.gov
Macro-trends in the grid—increased penetration of variable generation resources and decommissioning of thermal generators in some regions of the US—are increasing the need for flexibility in the grid. Hydropower as a generation class can provide most grid needs, but the level of a given service it can provide varies significantly between plants. The objective of this project is to increase the value of both hydropower and energy storage and improve provision of grid requirements from existing hydropower plants by examining the synergies of integrating hydropower and energy storage. Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Integrated Variable Renewable Generation and Battery Energy Storage: Value of Predictability in the Financial Performance of Hybrid Systems [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
INL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Thomas Mosier, Thomas.mosier@inl.gov
Increased deployment of variable renewable generation (VRG) assets and lower costs of grid-scale battery energy storage have led to increased deployment of hybrid generation and storage systems. The objective of this work is to compare the technical and financial value of integrating battery energy storage with ROR hydropower, wind, solar, and tidal generation resources. The Revenue, Operation, and Device Optimization (RODeO) model will be used to account for the financial value of capacity, energy sales (including arbitrage), and ancillary services from a VRG-battery hybrid system. Addressing this is important to understand the value of hybridizing resources and which types of resources to prioritize. In this work, at least two resource profiles will be selected for each generation type, and corresponding forecast uncertainties will be analyzed. These resource profiles will be normalized based on total energy produced per year and used as input to RODeO for market conditions corresponding to two different US Independent System Operators. Two of the key considerations that this work will address are: (1) How will forecast uncertainty affect the financial performance of a VRG-battery hybrid system?; and (2) Is hybridization financially advantageous compared to operating the VRG and battery storage independently? This work will provide a quantitative comparison to help motivate enhancement of the industry’s perspectives on “hydro-hybrids” (i.e., ROR hydropower + batteries and tidal + batteries). Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Marine Energy
MHK Data Products and User Community Development (PRIMRE-MHK DATA AND USER COMMUNITY)
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Lead Researcher (s)
- Andrea Copping, PNNL
- Cesar Castillo, SNL
- Jon Weers (NREL)
This project’s primary objective is the outreach, engagement, and development of MHK data and information communities, in alignment with WPTO goals. Reducing Barriers to Testing‒ Work with agencies and other groups to ensure that existing data is well-utilized and identify potential improvements to regulatory processes and requirements, Data Sharing and Analysis ‒ Aggregate and analyze data on MHK performance and technology advances, and maintain information sharing platforms to enable dissemination‒ Leverage expertise, technology, data, methods, and lessons from the international MHK community and other offshore scientific and industrial sectors (e.g., offshore wind, oil and gas).
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability, Technology
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources, Hydrokinetic, Renewable Integration, Tidal, Wave
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
Expected 2023
- Conventional Hydro
Power Flow and Stability Models [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
PNNL, NREL, INL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Abhishek Somani, abhishek.somani@pnnl.gov
Operational needs of U.S. power systems are changing due to increasing penetration of variable renewable energy (VER) resources and retirement of conventional fossil fuel-based generation. The nature of grid services, such as inertia and primary frequency response, may also change as more of these services are likely to be provided by inverter-based VERs and batteries. Consequently, the role of hydropower is also expected to change, as it relates to provision of these grid services. Modeling of hydropower plants in power systems analysis has been studied for decades but there are still modeling gaps that are being acutely realized due to the changing nature of power system operations. For instance, the modeling of hydropower resource capabilities in short-term power flow and dynamic stability models, which are used for analysis of system (and resource) response to contingency events, such as loss of a large generator. These modeling gaps need to be addressed urgently to create better opportunities and challenges for hydropower resources in a changing power grid landscape. The project will produce a report on a list of hydro units modeling gaps in steady-state power flow and dynamic stability models, developed through an extensive stakeholder engagement process. Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Pumped Storage
Predicting Unique Market Pumped Storage Significance [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
EPRI
Lead Researcher (s)
- Aidan Tuohy, atuohy@epri.com
While no new PSH plants have been developed in the past two decades, there is renewed interest in the technology due to increases in VRE penetration. The objective of this project is to develop a framework and outline the parameters needed to analyze the energy and ancillary services PSH provides to the electricity grid currently and how that value may change as the generation asset mix—especially as it relates to increased penetration of VRE—changes over time. A key focus will be to develop understanding of the trends that impact PSH value so that utilities can determine strategy for further development of PSH. Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Pumped Storage
Pumped Hydroelectric storage balances a solar microgrid
Lead Companies
Cornell University
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kevin Kircher
We consider the problem of reliably operating a microgrid with solar generation and pumped hydroelectric storage. We show that reliable operation is possible if storage equipment is sufficiently flexible and storage control is sufficiently robust to solar variability. Pumped storage flexibility can be achieved through a ternary configuration; this enables rapid switching between pumping and generating modes. Controller robustness can be achieved through a novel control synthesis method based on convex optimization and resampled historical solar data. The proposed equipment and controller perform well in simulations including twenty months of real solar data at five minute resolution. These results highlight the potential of pumped storage to enable reliable integration of wind and solar power into the grid.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
complete
Completion Date
2017
- Conventional Hydro
Understanding Operational Flexibility in the Federal Columbia River Power System
Lead Companies
University of Washington
Lead Researcher (s)
- Karen Studarus
Operational flexibility describes a power system’s ability to respond with controllable real power resources to rapid changes in power balance error. For balancing areas with high penetrations of stochastic generation, these changes can be large enough to cause operating problems. We create the tools to quantify and intuitively explore operational flexibility in any power system and apply those tools to analyze the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). We chose the FCRPS because it is a large system with complicated constraints, and because conflicting demands on operational flexibility have become a regional public issue. We inventory system obligations, map all obligations and forecasts to constraints in the form of power (MW) vs. time, create data structures and an algebra for unifying these time series, and assemble an original metric of operational flexibility. The metric quantifies a common but vague concept of flexibility, intuitively characterizes a power system, and yields actionable intelligence that dovetails with existing deterministic indicators of system state. The resulting information-dense summary can improve schedule quality both as a visualization tool for human schedulers and as a versatile formulation for dispatch algorithms.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
complete
Completion Date
2014
- Pumped Storage
Valuation Framework and Techno-Economic Studies for Pumped Storage Hydropower
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Mark Weimer
This project aims to advance the state of the art in assessing the value of PSH plants and their contributions to the power system. The specific goal is to develop a detailed, step-by-step valuation guidebook that PSH developers, plant owners or operators, and other stakeholders can use to assess the value of existing or potential new PSH projects.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Pumped Storage
Valuing PHS with high REN
Lead Companies
GE
Lead Researcher (s)
- David Havard
Project will help industry to understand how various PSH designs, namely variable speed and synchronous drive, provide value to the electrical system under high intermittent renewables.
Technology Application
Pumped Storage
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
Don’t see your waterpower research?
Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org