Optimal Power Distribution among Hydropower Units Taking into Account Head Loss in Units’ Trash Screens

Abstract

As is known, the importance of renewable energy sources is rapidly growing. The paper addresses one of the important issues paying attention to the optimization of hydropower plant units’ regimens. Considering the unit operating characteristics as unequal at different head levels, the authors propose to take into account the real head of water column for each unit to define the actual performance specifications. Further, this information can be utilized in the optimization process to minimize water expenditure at hydropower plant. The authors have derived the objective function and the restrictions related to the process of real power production. Then, they have proposed a new optimization algorithm instead of traditional ones, assuming that it has advantages in speed and simplicity. The block diagrams of the proposed algorithm as well as the necessary and sufficient explanations have been presented. As a final point, the results of conducted tests and conclusion indicate that the algorithm solves the problem satisfactorily. It could be integrated into the group power control system to perform operations at a hydropower plant in an effective way.