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UBC Theses and Dissertations

Efficient hydroelectric generation using novel balance schemes Fekri Moghadam, Milad

Abstract

In order to control frequency and interchange schedules in electric power systems, a permanent balance between generation and demand is necessary. Following electric demand has traditionally been realized by control of flexible generation resources. As a consequence, conventional generation units are utilized in lower maximum output power and less efficient operating points. Transition toward increased penetration of intermittent Distributed Energy Resources (DER) requires more balancing capacity in power systems which makes frequency control a more challenging issue. Demand Side Management (DSM) is a main ingredient of Smart Grid (SG)s to improve efficiency and reliability. Some industrial processes have inherent flexibilites making them capable of virtually storing enough energy to immediately and continuously respond to control signals of transmission system operator. These loads, when equipped with advanced metering, communication and control infrastructure, can realize participation of Demand Side Storage (DSS) in sub-hourly time steps of grid balance. In order to fairly distribute the benefits of interconnection among all control areas, frequency control standards are defined and proposed by reliability coordinators e.g. NERC. Once new standards become effective, Balancing Authorities (BA)s modify their Automatic Generation Control (AGC) and real-time balance logic to comply with the new requirements. This research is dedicated to finding novel balance structures in sub-hourly dispatch and real-time operation. The objectives of the proposed balance structures are to increase hydroelectric generation efficiency and reduce unit maneuvering leading to mechanical wear and tear. A new Demand Dispatch (DD) application for industrial flexible loads and a new sub-hourly balance structure based on use of DSS are developed in this thesis. Also in real-time operation, a novel AGC logic is proposed to maximize the benefits of a hydroelectric dominated Balancing Authority based on latest frequency control standards. It is shown through mathematical modeling, static scheduling optimization formulations and dynamic simulations that utilizing 5% of system peak demand as sub-hourly dispatched DSS saves up to 2% in generation efficiency and utilizing the proposed real-time AGC logic leads to generation efficiency saving of up to 1.3%. Both proposed methods also significantly reduce mechanical wear and tear.

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Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada