Proposal of a simplified method for integrating reduction of effective power of pumped storage into a generation system planning method

Pumped storage hydropower stations are extensively used as peaking and reserve power plants. The current trend in this area is to increase their power output relative to the capacity of reservoirs, which results in a shorter maximum duration of full-power operation while availability of the energy required for the pumping becomes less evident. This increases the possibility of reducing the effective power of pumped storage units in the case of a tight supply-demand balance in the power system. Although many studies have examined a role of pumped storage in generation systems, few studies have explicitly dealt with the power reduction. This paper proposes a new linear programming model that incorporates the reduction of effective power of pumped storage. The proposed model makes it possible to easily incorporate the power reduction in computations by employing hypothetical daily load curves and dispatching loads to the curves. The model also includes LNG combined cycle power generation plants that are now being intensively implemented. The developed model is applied to a power system model. The sample study reveals that the reduction of effective power considerably varies from season to season and the reduction highly affects the optimal generation mix, that is, the optimal share of pumped storage. © 2001 Scripta Technica.