Regulatory Incentives for Digital Solutions to Improve Hydropower Generation Performance

The main objective of this project is to propose improvements to the Brazilian regulatory framework for the inclusion of mechanisms capable of adequately compensating resources that promote operational flexibility at low costs. Among the possible resources, the study focuses on the use of digital solutions that allow for the provision of additional power from hydroelectric plants, achieved by relaxing the plants’ safety operation margin, using sensing and artificial intelligence techniques. Within the project’s scope, methodologies are developed to quantify the capacity reserve of each plant in the National System and to estimate the economic benefit of hourly flexibility provided by hydroelectric plants, considering the implementation of the digital solution. Additionally, a unique modeling of generator characteristics is performed, which is used for operation studies and the calculation of the system’s firm energy. These innovations can be applied to other hydroelectric plants, as well as to different mechanisms for increasing the operational flexibility of power plants.