Eureka Techkriti12: On the Optimization of daily operation of pumped Solar-Wind Hybrid Plant

Anshul Singla1, Rahul Bhambri1

1

Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee-247667 , Uttarakhand , India anshulashu282@gmail.com, rbhambriiit@gmail.com

Abstract: This paper describes an hourly-discretized optimization algorithm aiming to identify the optimum daily operational strategy for a Solar-Wind Hybrid Plant comprising of basic equipments like wind turbines, photovoltaic panels and hydro generation and pumping equipments, provided that a wind-power forecasting and sun insolation estimates are available. As the solar power is available only during the day time and in there is no power during the night . To provide sufficient power during the hydro generator and wind energy are used. The stochastic characteristics of the wind and solar power are exploited in the approach developed in order to identify an envelope of recommended operational conditions. The developed approach has two main goals: 1) to improve the daily economic operational profit and 2) to smooth the operational power production changes that are due to power profile fluctuations, and in this way keep the output power production within upper and lower limits.

1. Introduction:
The increasing pressure for the need to intensify the participation of cleaner forms of energy production in the mix of electricity generation fostered the development and growth of wind and solar-power energy conversion systems, particularly in the India. Although wind and solar-energy conversion systems have attained a considerable technological maturity, the power output of these generators is however strongly conditioned by the variable characteristics of the wind and solar resource. This means that dispatchability is rather difficult, namely when the control of the active power-generation output is required. Using the hydropower to compensate for the intermittent wind power, and the non availability of solar energy at night..To rationalize the electricity production cost and to take advantage of local wind potential, and the solar energy .Due to stochastic solar energy and wind power, a large portion of the demand may remain unserved. The use of Pumped Storage system units with energy sources reduces the intermittency in the supplied power by compensating for the changes in combined power and increasing the amount of power served to the system. This paper deals with the formulation of an optimization problem to identify the optimum daily operational strategy for a solar wind hybrid system facility. The facility, participating in a dayahead electricity market. Then, the mathematical model of proposed methodology is formulated. Next, an algorithm is presented to solve the developed optimization problem; finally, the results with test system are presented and the relevant conclusions are derived. 1.1 Problem Definition: Due to load variations on the power grid, power stations such as coal-fired plants and nuclear power plants and renewable energy power plants are not able to provide base-load electricity and operate at peak efficiency. Rising fossil fuel costs and environmental impact of burning fossil fuels also put tremendous load on renewable energy sources to supply more and more of the electrical energy .But these sources of energy ,such as, Solar energy, being erratic, fluctuating and seasonal cant be considered as a reliable -continuous source of energy and hence need modification. 1.2 Solutions: To improve the output controllability of the hybrid system, a pumped-storage hydro system is added to the park for load balancing , that pumps water from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. During the day hours wind energy and the solar energy are enough for supplying grid load during high demand and have power for pumping. But in night only wind energy and hydro generator are available for providing sufficient demand laods.and in night demand load is also low. If no energy is produced due to unavailablitiy of sun rays and wind power then that time

Low-cost off-peak electric power is used to run the pumps. During periods of high electrical demand, the stored water is released through turbines to produce electric power. Consider a typical plant of around 35 acres which is able to produce max solar power of 5MW and contains 3 wind turbines of total capacity 6MW. Total capacity of the plant is 11MW. Maximum energy store in reservoir 24MW.

2. Details about the optimization Problem

The proposed model was developed exploiting two ideas: 1) to improve the daily economic operational profit and 2) smoothen the operational power production changes due to power profile fluctuations, and in this way keep the output power production within upper and lower limits. To increase its competitiveness in the energy market and to increase its operational value, hybrid parks should be able to guarantee, at the beginning of the day, energy availability for up to 24 hourly periods ahead. Instead of controllable generation plants, electricity production depends of the variations in the primary source of energy. The accuracy of the forecasted wind power ,solar power and the energy storage ability should enable the determination of the width of an output generation interval for the hours ahead. To improve the output controllability of the combined solar and the wind generation, an hydro system is added to the wind park, consisting of: 1) a water pump station that elevates water from a source (i.e., river, lake, reservoir) to an upper water reservoir, using exclusively the electric power produced by the wind generators; 2) a mini hydroelectric power plant (eventually, these latter two equipments can be replaced by a single reversible hydraulic pump/turbine); and 3) penstock and pumping pipes. Although the hydraulic equipments and the wind park can be located in different places, in the present work an electrical proximity between them is assumed. 2.1 Input data 1.) Forecast of wind energy and solar energy for the next 24 hour. 2.) Vector hourly Market power prices. Reliable estimates are done for next 24 h on hourly basis . 6 5 energy in MW 4 3 2 1 0 0 5 10 15 hours 20 25 30 Wind power( MW) Solar energy(MW)

Figure1. Estimates for next 24h on hourly basis

2.2 Optimizing problem The maximization of 24-h operational profit of the hybrid system is wanted. For that purpose , optimization problem was formulated, through maximization of economic gain that results from energy delivered to the grid, considering the main operational restrictions of the system and a discretization in 24 hourly periods. The solution of this problem provides an operational strategy to be followed by the wind, solar ,hydro generator/pumping units during the next hours. The algorithm obtains 24 samples of wind power and solar power , each of them representing their scenario. Sample vector of available wind power Pv, solar power Psp characterize these scenario. For each scenario the following optimization problem is solved:

Max (ci*Pi-cp*Ppi) +n*y*cy. (1<= i <=24) .(1) Subject to constrains: Pi = Pwi + Psi + Phi. Pvi = Pwi + Pp2i + Pd2i Pspi = Psi + Pp1i + Pd1i Ppi = Pp1i + Pp2i Ei+1 = Ei + t(np*Ppi - Phi/nh) E1 = 0 E24 = 0 E18 = 3/4*Eu y*Pl <= Pi <= Pu .(10) Pgl <= Pwi + Pp2i <= Pgu .(11) Pg1l <= Psi + Pp1i <= Pg1u .(12) Phl <= Phi <= min(Phu, nh*Ei) .(13) Ppl <= Ppi <=Ppu .(14) 0 <= Ei <= Eu 0 <=y <=1 Pd1i >= 0 Pd2i >= 0 i=1,,24 .(18) l and u defines the lower and upper limit of particular variables. where the variables are the vectors describing: .(2) .(3) .(4) .(5) .(6) .(7) .(8) .(9)

.(15) .(16) .(17)

P-active hourly power output to the grid, Ph-active hourly power generated by hydro generator, Pp1 & Pp2 active Hourly power supplied to pump by wind energy and solar energy respectively, Pv-total power generated by wind turbine,Pp-total power supplied to the pump- vector hourly energy power prices,Psp-total energy generated by solar panels, cp-cost required for maintenance for pump,Pd-total dumping power,Pd1&Pd2-dumping power by wind turbine & solar panels respectively,E-energy storage levels in the reservoir in each hour , np-efficiency of hydro pump, nh-efficiency of hydro generator, Pw-power supplied to grid by wind turbine, Ps-power supplied by the solar panels to the grid ,Pg &Pg1 power capacity of wind park and solar park respectively ,c y- penalty for generation below the lower output limits, t- duration of each interval (1 h, in this case);n number of discrete intervals. From the observation of the objective function (1), one can identify two terms: the first aims to maximize the profit in the active hourly power (energy) delivered by the solar wind hybrid plant to the grid, considering the internal pumping cost; the second component seeks to perform the requirement of delivering to the network a minimum output power. When there are no possibilities to follow the schedule plan (the available wind and solar power plus the power that can be produced from the stored energy is below the lower output limit), the lower output bound is reduced using a y<1.0 as shown in equation (16). In those cases where the combined solar wind hybrid plant operation can compensate an eventual wind solar -power shortage with power from water-stored energy, the variable y=1.0. As the lower limit should be respected in all the n intervals, the expression(cy*y) is multiplied by the number of discretization periods. As shown in (2), both the hydro production and the portion of the available solar and wind power directly delivered to the grid constitute the output hourly active power of the Wind solar hybrid plant. From (3),(4), a fraction of the hourly available wind power and the solar energy is directly supplied to the grid during the considered interval. Another portion of this can be stored (by using the hydro components) and delivered in subsequent intervals. In some particular cases, it may happen that a part of the available wind energyand the solar energy could not be used. From (5) total pumping energy is sum of part of solar and wind energy used for pumping. Equation (6) describes the energy balance in the reservoir. At the beginning of the -interval, the energy in the reservoir is the initial level in the -interval plus the pumped energy, minus the energy supplied to the grid by the hydro generation during that same interval.

In the proposed formulation, both the initial and final energy levels of the reservoir should be specified, as described by (7) and (8). The initial level is known, because it is the final level of the previous day. In equation (9) Energy level of the reservoir at i=18 should be of total energy store in reservoir as in the night solar energy is negligible and energy store in reservoir plus the wind energy is sufficient to meet required power output in night. It would be desirable that the output power of the generation facility would remain within a given range, as shown in (10). These output limits could represent:1) operational restrictions of the network, usually associated to the thermal limits of the critical branch in the grid or stability constraints, if imposed in certain periods of operation and :2) contractual limitations resulting from the participation of the wind park in market negotiation platforms (daily market or bilateral contracts). Equations (11)(15) describe the operational restrictions of the Wind ,hydro generators and, solar power generated , pumping units and storage capacity. As shown in (13), the maximum hourly hydro generation level depends on the generation equipment limits and on the available energy in the reservoir for that interval. In the presented formulation, (1)(18) represent a linear optimization problem. This problem is solved using a AMPL(a mathematical programmable language). However, any other linear optimization methods could also be used. 2.3 Output data The solution of the optimization problem (1)-(15) provides the hourly active power to be generated by the hydro ,solar panel and wind generators during each of the 24h. Storage levels and the pump operational strategy in the period are also determined. When the wind forecast and the solar forecast are available in reduced time step intervals ,an increase in The details of the solution profile can be obtained.

3. SOLUTION METHODOLOGY
The developed formulation, given by (4)-(15), is a linear programming problem. In this work, this problem is solved by mathematical Programming techniquesuch as AMPL. Various computational steps involved in the solution of the daily scheduling problem facility are as follows: 1. Read the following data: a. Rating, wind power of wind farm, b.Rating, solar power of solar farm c. Rating, pumping and generating costs and pumping and generating efficiencies of pumped storage plant unit, d. Energy capacity of the reservoir, e. Minimum, maximum, initial and final energy levels of the reservoir, f. Number of time segments and corresponding wind and solar energy for the day under consideration, g. Lower and upper bounds on the power (energy) to be dispatched with the associated tariff as per the contractual agreement,all the rating are provided in table 1 2. Calculate the power output from the wind farm
Table 1. Power Plant Characteristics

Power in MW lower limit upper limit

P 3 8

Ph 0 3

pp 0 3

pg 0 12

pg1 1 8

E 0 12

Hourly energy power prices: ci = Rs 2500/MWh for(1<=i<=8) and (22<=i<=24), = Rs 5000/MWh for (8<i<22) Penalty for generation below lower output limit: cy=Rs 25000/MWh Pump operation cost cp: Rs 100/MWh Efficiency of pump : n p = .833 Efficiency of hydro generator: nh = .90

4. Results:
To test the developed formulation for optimal daily scheduling the wind farm and the solar farm is assumed to be situated near Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The necessary wind power and solar power data is obtained from wind and solar forecast. We consider a typical plant of around 35 acres which is able to produce max solar power of 5MW and contains 3 wind turbines of total capacity 6MW. The total installed capacity of farm is 11MW. The duration of daily scheduling interval (i.e. i) is taken as 1 h. To identify the daily scheduling strategy for system, a typical day of July is chosen. The day is divided into 24 segments, each corresponding to a particular hourly interval of the day. The hourly wind power and solar power for the day under consideration is illustrated in Fig. 1. The capacity of Pumped storage plant unit is assumed as 6 MW. . The efficiencies associated with pumping and generation operations are taken as 83.33% and 90%, respectively. The energy capacity of the reservoir is considered as 24 MWh. The minimum and maximum energy levels of the reservoir are considered as 0 and 24 MWh, respectively. The hourly power dispatched to the electricity market is represented in Fig. 2. The dispatched power during most of low pricing period is less, just maintaining the lower limits on the power to be dispatched. On the other hand, a large amount of energy is supplied to the power pool during high pricing period in order to earn the maximum profit.

Dispatched power(MW)

10 8 6 4 2 0 0 5 10 15 hours 20 25 30

Fig. 2. Hourly power dispatched to the electricity market

The contribution from wind farm,solar farm and pumped storeage unit towards the dispatched power are represented in Fig. 3. The dispatched power is jointly contributed by available wind and hydro energy. Whenever sufficient wind energy is available, the share from wind energy towards the dispatched power is large as compared to from PSH unit because storing the available wind energy in the form of hydro energy involves extra expenses due to the operating costs associated with PSH unit during pumping and generating modes and results in less efficient operation due to energy losses during pumping and generating actions.

Contribution towards Dispatched Power(MW)

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 5 10 15 Hours
Fig. 3. Hourly profile of power dispatched and the contribution from wind Farm,solar farm and PSH unit

Pw(MW) Ps(MW) Ph(MW) 20 25 30

4.1 Profits Gains obtained when using the solar wind hybrid operation strategies comparatively to only wind, only solar and combined wind and solar, for the 24 hours of simulation. Profit due to wind only: Rs250750 by considering the wind data given in figure 1. And the hourly vector cost power prices. Profit due to solar : Rs 181250 by considering the solar data given in figure 1. And the hourly vector cost power prices. Profit due to combined solar and wind without using pumped storage system : Rs 428000 by considering total power by wind and solar not exceeding the upper and the lower range. Profit due to solar wind hybrid plant : Rs 456282

5. Conclusions
In this paper, an optimization approach was developed to identify the best-combined daily operation strategy to be adopted in a wind, solar and small hydro generation/pumping facility. The utilization of the water storage ability allows an increase in the wind park and solar park economic profit, since combined wind and solar energy is preferentially delivered to the network during the off-valley hours (higher price intervals). In these periods, the available power generation is complemented with hydro generation, when possible. When in low price periods or network congestion situations, the pump station is used to enlarge the water reservoir levels. When compared with the only combined wind and solar operation (i.e., without hydro components), the predicted daily average economic gain of the strategy is about Rs 28282 for analysed test data.

6. References
1. HYBRID (SOLAR AND WIND) ENERGY SYSTEMS FOR RURAL ELECTRIFICATION : M. Muralikrishna -Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.M.K. Engineering College, Kavaraipettai, Tamil Nadu, India 2. Celik A.N. 2002. Optimization and techno-economic analysis of autonomous photovoltaic-wind hybrid energy systems in comparison to single photovoltaic and wind systems. Energy Conversion and Management. Vol. 43, pp.2453-2468.