Low-head hydropower as a reserve power source for wind power

Auth, Trevor L.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/105066 Copy

Description

Title

Low-head hydropower as a reserve power source for wind power

Author(s)

Auth, Trevor L.

Issue Date

2019-04-22

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

• Stillwell, Ashlynn S.
• Garcia, Marcelo H.

Department of Study

Civil & Environmental Eng

Discipline

Civil Engineering

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Date of Ingest

2019-08-23T20:36:05Z

Keyword(s)

• Low-Head Hydropower
• Small Hydropower
• Renewable Energy

Abstract

Wind power generation faces intermittency challenges, typically requiring reserve power generation sources burning fossil fuels to maintain reliability of the electricity grid in the event of a decrease in wind. This study proposes an alternative hypothesis: that hydropower turbines installed at low-head dams can provide similar reserve power generation to support wind, thereby avoiding the externalities associated with fossil-fuel plants and conventional hydropower. Low-head dams, common across the United States, are used for flood control, securing municipal water supplies, and providing ample water depth for recreation. As a case study, hydropower potential at 13 such dams along a 150-kilometer reach of the Fox River (Northeastern Illinois, USA) was estimated using a HEC-RAS model calibrated with U.S. Geological Survey data. The output of the model was then analyzed to determine the capacity of the system and gauge its reliability both as a standalone generator and as a component in a coupled wind-hydropower system. Findings revealed that economic, environmental, and regulatory factors all affected the implementation of this low-head hydropower system. The system was found to perform reliably over a five-year time period in spite of significant long-term fluctuations in streamflow, thereby enabling it to offset the short-term variability of wind power. However, combining the low-head hydropower system with wind power limits the reliable output of the entire system to the lowest amount of power generated by the low-head hydropower system, regardless of how much wind power is deployed. The low-head hydropower system's relatively small capacity and inauspicious cost-benefit ratio suggest that this low-head hydropower system would be best suited for local applications rather than grid-scale operations, especially if environmental and regulatory considerations are included.

Graduation Semester

2019-05

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/105066

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2019 Trevor Auth

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