NSTU-NETI scientists have developed a model for optimizing HPP modes, taking into account the influence of a natural energy accumulator — a river floodplain. This will increase electricity generation without disturbing the ecological balance and increase the economic efficiency of the hydroelectric power plant.
The river floodplain works as a natural energy accumulator, accumulating excess water during high water and high water and releasing it later, which maintains the river level during the period of low water. Taking into account the intake and discharge of water by the floodplain is necessary for accurate forecasting of inflow and planning of water use, says Tatiana Mutezh, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Power Supply Systems at NSTU-NETI.
University scientists have studied the influence of floodplains on the process of controlling the modes of operation of a hydroelectric power plant. Data on the Kamenskaya floodplain for several years was taken into account — the periods when the floodplain took water and when it gave it away were taken into account. Trained neural networks were used to obtain forecasts. Based on the forecast values obtained, the influence of the Kamenskaya floodplain on the generated capacity of the Novosibirsk HPP was determined using the optimization methodology developed by the authors.
"We predicted the output of HPP capacity without taking into account the impact of the Kamenskaya floodplain and taking into account the impact in high-water and low-water years. The calculations performed showed that for high—water years, taking into account the influence of the floodplain, there is an increase in electricity generation by 20%, for low-water years - by 14%, without taking into account the influence of the floodplain, production decreases by the same percentage. It is important to take this into account when planning the daily operation of the HPP. An accurate forecast makes it possible to more efficiently plan the discharge and accumulation of water in the reservoir, maximizing energy production. Increasing the share of environmentally friendly HPP energy in the daily load schedule makes it possible to reduce the specific fuel consumption at the CHPP and reduce emissions of harmful substances," said Tatiana Mutezh.
The optimal generation capacities of the Novosibirsk HPP as part of the hydrothermal energy system were obtained during the calculations. So, when the influence of the Kamenskaya floodplain is taken into account, the optimal capacity is 300 MW, without the influence of the Kamenskaya floodplain — 198 MW. If we compare the optimal capacity of 300 MW with the actual output, which varies in the range of 220-255 MW, then taking into account the floodplain as a natural accumulator provides an increase in output by 10-20%. This makes it possible to consider the Kamenskaya floodplain as an important factor in improving the efficiency of the HPP.
In the future, scientists plan to conduct a comparative analysis of floodplain behavior using statistical and predictive models and improve the optimization model, taking into account an expanded database and the use of a more powerful neural network.