Improving Hydropower Models to Support a Resilient Grid

Bridging Hydropower Data Gaps for Unrivaled Forecasting Precision

Pictured here is the Glen Canyon Dam, which provides power to multiple states in the western United States. It has been significantly impacted by drought conditions in the region. Dynamic models, such as the ones being developed in this project, will support better hydropower modeling that takes into account extremes in water conditions to support better planning for the future.

(Photo by Dauf | Shutterstock.com)

Maintaining a reliable electric grid that’s resilient to disruptions is challenging, particularly with climate change, fluctuating power demands, and increased renewable energy. A critical component of a resilient grid is being able to forecast and balance power needs and demands.

Hydropower plays a central role providing baseload power to the grid, but current simulations don't account for many factors that affect hydropower generation, which can result in inaccurate power forecasts.

With support from the Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Idaho National Laboratory are working in collaboration with the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) and V&R energy to fill the knowledge gaps in current hydropower models to provide better insights that will inform grid planning and everyday operations.

Improving Insights into Hydropower Resilience for Power System Planning and Everyday Operations

The Hydrological Dispatch and Analysis Tool (Hy-DAT) is a first-of-a-kind tool that provides a more accurate representation of hydropower generation in the Western Interconnection grid under a wide range of hydrological conditions.

Hy-DAT combines historical hydrologic and energy generation data from the Energy Management System to represent hydropower in the Western Interconnection grid under different hydrologic conditions, combining information on both energy generation and environmental constraints. It can create accurate profiles for individual water basins during different seasons and conditions, and provide information about the interdependent relationships between cascading hydropower plants in the same basin.

Hy-DAT can be used to generate more accurate insights during power system planning and operational studies. These studies form the basis of many critical grid-related decisions—from everyday operations that help meet energy demand to investments in new energy infrastructure for the future. Most hydropower generation models currently used in large-scale studies do not incorporate data on hydrological conditions—a major limitation considering the growing impacts of climate change on hydropower resources. Using Hy-DAT to better simulate real-world scenarios supports more informed decisions to ensure future hydropower generation will meet grid needs.

Using Hy-DAT

Hy-DAT is available online and housed on the Hydrogeneration Analysis Software Platform (HASP). HASP combines the data from Hy-DAT with either the GE Positive Sequence Load Flow (PSLF) software or V&R POM Suite software to generate an improved hydropower generation model in a .csv file format. That file can then be used with standard power system tools, such as Siemens PSS®E or GE PSLF, during planning and operational studies.