Optimal Scheduling for Coordinated Wind and Hydro Power Generation

With increasing penetration of large wind farms, significant stochastic power variation may have an impact on the power balance between load demand and generation, particularly during peak and valley extreme load periods, therefore, the curtailment of wind generation occurs frequently. To ensure balanced generation provision optimal dispatch is required, particularly in a diverse generation mix. A high level of connected wind penetration can result in broad generation variability, thus to ensure reliable and robust generation provision, having access to large-scale reserve is essential. One viable choice is hydroelectric generation, which, when integrated alongside substantial wind sources, can be used in a coordinated hydro and wind power generation (CHWG) strategy, as proposed in this paper. In this strategy, a phasor measurement unit (PMU) was used to connect a wind farm and a hydropower plant. The hydro generator was used to compensate fluctuations in wind provision and hence balance the total output. The CHWG strategy can therefore take part in generation scheduling. The paper proposed an optimal dispatch model for CHWG which includes a wind forecasting confidence interval and electricity tariff. The boundary constraint and inertia coefficient of a particle swarm optimization algorithm were adopted and used to solve the optimal dispatch model. The model was applied to a wind farm system in North China to exemplify the proposed strategy.