Generation Expansion Planning for Systems with a High Share of Hydro Power

This paper presents a method for integrating a detailed model of the hydroelectric system into existing power system planning tools. The purpose of the hydro model is not primarily to optimize hydro expansion, but to represent the influence of hydro regulation on the thermal system expansion. Stochastic production costing routines are used to calculate operating costs as a function of hydro production. Linear programming is used to determine the hydro production schedule that minimizes production costs along the planning period, taking into account a number of constraints in the hydro production system. A study with 16 cascaded hydro plants and 25 thermal units is presented and discussed.