An optimal hydrothermal planning model for the New Zealand power system

Abstract

The Stochastic Dual Dynamic Programming software is a mathematical programming model for medium and long term planning of generation and transmission systems. SDDP applies stochastic dynamic programming to a high dimensional problem which can not be solved by standard techniques. A recent study by Transpower NZ Ltd has successfully tested this model on the New Zealand power system. The requirements for a stochastic hydro-thermal optimization are described, the principles of the model are outlined, some results from a trial study are presented and possible applications are discussed.

Keywords:

• Hydro-thermal
• stochastic
• dynamic
• programming

Additional information

Notes on contributors

T S Halliburton

Tom Halliburton

Tom received his BE (Electrical) in 1977 and PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1984 from the University of Canterbury. Since then he has worked for the Ministry of Energy in New Zealand in long term planning and modeling, and in hydro power operations and maintenance. After a period with Design Power in substation design, he moved to the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand working again in investment analysis and on a variety of generation system modeling projects. These included optimisation models with planning time scales ranging from real time load sharing between generators, day ahead planning models, through to medium-term operations planning with a time horizon of several years. In 1996 he left New Zealand for the United States to work on optimal generation scheduling modeling first at the US Department of Energy in the Pacific Northwest, and then at Pacific Gas and Electric Company in San Francisco. This was followed by a period at Enron in Houston, Texas working on dispatch analysis for power projects in numerous countries, and then in the Research Group on model development to support both gas and electricity trading. He returned to New Zealand late in 2001, and is now a director of Energy Modeling Consultants Ltd, specializing in optimal generation planning models.