An efficient method for pumped-storage planning and evaluation

An efficient method for systematic planning and evaluation of pumped-storage plants is developed, in which a detailed operation simulation using an hourly chronological probabilistic production costing model is introduced so that the time dependency of storage operation policies through the charging and discharging processes is reflected. The optimum capacity of pumped-storage plants is chosen to minimize the overall system cost. In addition, peaking constraints are incorporated both in the thermal unit planning model and in the daily operation simulation model. So it is well-suited to the planning and evaluation of peaking plants. In this paper, a detailed description of the algorithm is provided and a real application to the East China Electric Power System is discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.