Operation of Hydropower Plants Considering Daily Streamflows

by J. Estalrich, Univ Autonoma, Barcelona, Spain,
N. Buras, Univ Autonoma, Barcelona, Spain,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Waterpower '91: A New View of Hydro Resources

Abstract:

Operation of hydropower plants is a sequential decision process often modeled as a dynamic programming problem. Typically, such formulations consider monthly stages assuming that monthly streamflows can be represented by a Markov chain. Thus a strategic framework is established for the operation of the hydropower plant, that takes into account the stochastic characteristics of monthly streamflows. Subsequently, the monthly operational stage is disaggregated into shorter periods, say daily, when tactical decisions are made. The monthly streamflows, which are arrived at by aggregating daily discharges, remove from the hydrogeological picture details of the inflow hydrograph which may exhibit one or more high values which will be called peaks. The proposed approach is to view the inflows into a hydropower reservoir as a succession of peak volumes separated by a variable time period. A Stochastic Dynamic Programming model based on this approach called Peak Based Stochastic Dynamic Programming (PBSDP) model has been applied to the San hydropower reservoir in Northeastern Spain. Analysis of a 24-year hydrological trace has shown that the application of the PBSDS model can improve significantly the electricity production.

Subject Headings: Hydro power | Dynamic models | Streamflow | Power plants | Hydrologic models | Computer programming | Reservoirs | Spain | Europe

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