Network and Reserve Constrained Economic Analysis of Conventional, Adjustable-Speed and Ternary Pumped-Storage Hydropower

Abstract

With increasing renewable penetration and projected increase in natural disasters, the reliability and resiliency of a power system become crucial issues. As network inertia drops with increasing penetration of renewables, operators search for flexible resources that can help cope with a disruptive event or manage renewable intermittency. Energy storage is a solution, but the type of storage solution needs to be profitable to exist in the current and upcoming power markets. Advanced pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) is one solution that can help cope with such requirements, which will in turn help to increase the renewable penetration in the system. This paper qualitatively compares the revenue earning potential of PSH configurations, including, adjustable-speed PSH (AS-PSH) and ternary PSH (T-PSH) in comparison to conventional PSH (C-PSH) from the arbitrage and regulation markets, with and without the presence of wind penetration. In addition, a framework for quantitative analysis of any energy storage system has been proposed. A 24-bus RTS system is studied with summer and winter variations in load and wind power. Through revenue and operational mode analysis, this paper reveals that T-PSH has the highest revenue earning potential, which is mainly due to its ability to operate with a hydraulic short circuit.