Pumped-Storage Hydropower Operation Scheduling Method for Net Load Ramp Leveling

This paper presents a practical method for operation scheduling of pumped-storage hydro in power systems with a high share of renewables. Integrating large shares of variable renewables can lead to a crucial increase of flexibility requirements for the power system operation. The pumped-storage hydro has significant potential in providing flexibility benefits on the power systems with high penetrations of renewables. The proposed method can solve a net load ramp leveling problem that the maximum upward/ downward net load ramps are minimized by the pumped-storage hydro operation. The method can provide a flexible ramping capacity based on the duration curve models of net load ramps regarding operational reserve requirements. Since the method is based on Dynamic Programming, a possible net load ramp leveling can be effectively provided. Effectiveness of the proposed method is numerically shown for a typical power supply and demand balance operational planning problem with a high share of renewables.