Optimal Co-ordinated Control of Hydropower Plants

Author:	Rauschenbach Thomas, Fraunhofer Applications Center for System Technology, Germany
Topic:	6.3 Power Plants and Power Systems
Session:	Power Plants and Power Systems Modelling and Control
Keywords:	optimal control, co-ordination, power station control, simulation

Abstract

River hydropower plants must accomplish several tasks. They have to generate electric energy, guarantee the navigation and reduce the extent of a flood if possible. If there is a cascade of hydropower stations in a river, then it is not possible to solve these tasks with a decentralized control strategy optimally. One is faced with a multiple criteria optimization problem. This contribution presents a strategy for the optimal multiple criteria control of cascades of river hydropower plants. For this purpose a simulation and control toolbox was developed for MATLAB/SIMULINK. The application of this toolbox is shown at the example of the optimal co-ordinated control of four hydropower plants at the Austrian Danube.