Problem Statement
With the rising demand for electricity, there is an ever increasing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the overall quality of our electric grid. Many of the resources that we are currently using are either non-renewable (e.g. fossil fuels) or cannot consistently guarantee generation (e.g. wind and solar); however, hydropower is renewable, consistent, and allows for greater manipulation of output compared to other renewable generation sources. Hydroelectric power has not seen large growth in North America in the past few decades, leading to a large untapped potential.
Objective
Our objective is to coordinate with the US Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to help develop a long-term “Hydropower Vision”. The goal of this vision is to establish an analytic basis for responsible growth in hydropower, and continue as a major source in the renewable energy market.
Project Scopes
- Identify a region likely to see the largest expansion in hydroelectric power
- Obtain or develop a power flow (or production cost) model of the existing power system in that region
- Identify likely non-hydro generation expansion for the region
- Modify the model of the existing power system to represent the hydro and non-hydro generation
expansion in the region
- Design a transmission expansion to accommodate the hydro and non-hydro generation expansion in the region
With the rising demand for electricity, there is an ever increasing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the overall quality of our electric grid. Many of the resources that we are currently using are either non-renewable (e.g. fossil fuels) or cannot consistently guarantee generation (e.g. wind and solar); however, hydropower is renewable, consistent, and allows for greater manipulation of output compared to other renewable generation sources. Hydroelectric power has not seen large growth in North America in the past few decades, leading to a large untapped potential.
Objective
Our objective is to coordinate with the US Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to help develop a long-term “Hydropower Vision”. The goal of this vision is to establish an analytic basis for responsible growth in hydropower, and continue as a major source in the renewable energy market.
Project Scopes
- Identify a region likely to see the largest expansion in hydroelectric power
- Obtain or develop a power flow (or production cost) model of the existing power system in that region
- Identify likely non-hydro generation expansion for the region
- Modify the model of the existing power system to represent the hydro and non-hydro generation
expansion in the region
- Design a transmission expansion to accommodate the hydro and non-hydro generation expansion in the region