Transmission-constrained intrahour coordination of wind and pumped-storage hydro units

Abstract

This study proposes a coordination methodology for wind and pumped-storage hydro (PS) units in the day-ahead operation planning of power systems. PS units that can store the extra wind energy will improve the dispatchability of variable wind energy for delivering hourly firmed energy to a power grid. With coordination, the PS unit can offset intrahour wind energy imbalances (i.e. deviations from hourly schedules) and minimise wind energy curtailments. The proposed coordination, which is incorporated into the transmission-constrained unit commitment, can be used by a vertically integrated utility or an independent system operator. The concept of intrahour wind energy imbalances and the wind-PS coordination is illustrated using two case studies. The numerical results for the 6-bus and the IEEE 118-bus system include case studies with and without the coordination of PS and wind generation units. The results that include the intrahour variability of real-time wind speed show the applicability of the proposed wind-PS coordination approach to the short-term power system operation. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2013.