Computation of Multi-Scenario Hydropower Equivalents Using Particle Swarm Optimization

Simulation of large hydro-thermal power systems requires several extensive simplifications and model reductions. For hydropower systems with several interconnected power stations, these reductions can be particularly challenging and are denoted Equivalent models. The purpose of the Equivalent model is to mimic a more detailed hydropower model, while decreasing computation time, to be used in larger power system models. In this paper different Equivalent models for hydropower systems have been computed with a novel approach using a Particle swarm optimization-algorithm and are evaluated with respect to accuracy in hourly and total power generation as well as computation time. For each of the Equivalent models, computation time is decreased with over 99.99 % and the difference in power production is less than 11% compared to a more detailed model.