Batch Learning SDDP for Long-Term Hydrothermal Planning

Abstract

We consider the stochastic dual dynamic programming (SDDP) algorithm - a widely employed algorithm applied to multistage stochastic programming - and propose a variant using experience replay - a batch learning technique from reinforcement learning. To connect SDDP with reinforcement learning, we cast SDDP as a Q-learning algorithm and describe its application in both risk-neutral and risk-averse settings. We demonstrate the superiority of the algorithm over conventional SDDP by benchmarking it against PSR's SDDP software using a large-scale instance of the long-term planning problem of inter-connected hydropower plants in Colombia. We find that SDDP with batch learning is able to produce tighter optimality gaps in a shorter amount of time than conventional SDDP. We also find that batch learning improves the parallel efficiency of SDDP backward passes.