Application of model predictive control to a cascade of river power plants

Abstract

River power plants are important contributors to the over 19% of world electricity produced by hydro-electric plants. Built in the natural course of a river, they produce energy by manipulating the water discharge through their facilities. They therefore introduce fluctuations in the river's natural water level and flow, which might conflict with various constraints imposed for environmental and operational purposes. Motivated by these issues, we present in this paper the application of Model Predictive Control for regulating the turbine discharge of river power plants, taking into account environmental, navigational and economical constraints and limitations. Large disturbances caused by the operation of locks are particularly investigated, as well as the issue of reducing abrasion by keeping the frequency of turbine discharge adjustments modest.