PNNL

Through the US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory co-hosted a workshop on hydropower characterization within grid models and the seams between water and energy models. The workshop, “Improving hydropower representation in power system models: Insights to inform regional planning,” was held at the Western Electricity Coordinating Council in Salt Lake City on March 6-7, 2019.

Workshop Goals

1. Understand the current state of representation of hydropower in power system models, including challenges of effective characterization of hydropower assets and seams (spatial, temporal, units, computational complexity) between electricity dispatch and water management models.
2. Discuss the perceived negative consequences of modeling limitations in terms of unused flexibility and non-monetized services as well as how improved representation could enhance operations, increase economic opportunities, and inform investment strategies.
3. Identify and prioritize research and modeling activities to improve the representation of hydropower services in power system models.