Mitch Clement has been selected to present some current work "A Methodology to Assess the Value of Integrated Hydropower and Wind Generation" at theCEATI Hydropower Operations and Planning Workshop: Renewable Energy Supply Reliability: Forecasting Uncertainties of Water, Wind and Solar, taking place on November 14-15, 2013 in San Diego, CA
Hydropower is considered one of the best resources to provide the necessary balancing reserves to accommodate the variability and forecast uncertainty inherent in renewable generation sources such as wind. Hydropower's flexibility and capacity are limited, however, by non-power constraints associated with environmental and water management objectives that have not been fully accounted for in previous wind integration studies. We present a methodology to evaluate the integration of hydropower and wind using RiverWare, a river system and hydropower modeling tool. The modeling methodology provides a representation of both the physical characteristics of the hydro system and the limitations due to realistic non-power policy constraints. An economic evaluation of the integrated system is also given that includes the value of both energy and ancillary services. The methodology is applied to a test case integrated hydro and wind system for a range of wind penetration levels and hydrologic conditions. Results show that wind at low penetrations adds economic value but has diminishing value as installed capacity increases, primarily due to increased reserve requirements. Increased wind generation also increases the number of policy constraint violations. Non-power constraints significantly limit the total economic value of the integrated system in some scenarios, but their relative impact varies depending on system conditions. Complex interactions between policy and the physical system result in a highly non-linear response of the system to changes in wind penetration. This methodology can provide an improved representation of hydropower systems for future wind integration studies.
Find out more about our hydropower-wind integration project.