Abstract
With the proliferation of electricity markets for the purchase and sale of firm and non-firm power and capacity, the possibility exists for using trade in these commodities to minimize the cost impact of operating dams to restore downstream flows to pre-dam patterns—so called Run of River (ROR) dam operation. We examine the impact of such markets on the incremental costs of ROR operation relative to least cost operation via a stochastic, dynamic optimization model. We identify features of the dam structure and of the economic environment that are critical to achieving ROR operation at modest incremental cost.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Andah, W.E.I, van de Giesen, N., Biney, C.A.: Water, climate, food, and environment in the Volta basin. ADAPT
BC Hydro News Release: BC hydro files revenue requirements application with BCUC. BC Hydro News Release, February 20. http://bchydro.com/news/articles/press_releases/2008. Accessed: <Tom – Date needed here.> (2008)
Conner, A.M., Francfort, J.E., Rinehart, B.N.: U.S. hydropower resource assessment final report. Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, December. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/pdfs/doewater-10430.pdf. Accessed on November 19, 2009 (1998)
Edwards, B.K., Flaim, S.J., Howitt, R.E.: Optimal provision of hydroelectric power under environmental and regulatory constraints. Land Econ. 75(2), 267–283 (1999)
EIA: Natural gas navigator, natural gas prices, May. http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ng/ng_pri_sum_dcu_nus_m.htm. Accessed on November 19, 2009
Emmet, J.D.: Network stochastic programming for valuing reservoir storage. MS thesis, University of Colorado (2002)
ENR: $300 Million Turbine Order Launches $1 Billion Program. ENR.com, August 13, 2008. http://enr.ecnext.com/coms2/article_nepoar080813c. Accessed on November 19, 2009
EPRI: Program on technology innovation: integrated generation technology options. Energy Technology Assessment Center Document No. 1018320, Technical Update, Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, California, November (2008)
Farrell, M.B.: Klamath river dam removal project will be the World’s biggest. Christ. Sci. Monit. Sept 30, 2009
Guan, X., Svoboda, A., Li, C.-A.: Scheduling hydro power systems with restricted operating zones and discharge ramping rates. IEEE Trans. Power Syst. 14(1), 126–131 (1999). doi:10.1109/59.744500
Harpman, D.A.: Assessing the short-run economic cost of environmental constraints on hydropower operations at Glen Canyon dam. Land Econ. 75(3), 390–401 (1999). http://www.jstor.org/stable/3147185. Accessed on November 19, 2009
Homa, E.S., Vogel, R.M., Smith, M.P., Apse, C.D., Huber-Lee, A., Seiber, J.: An optimization approach for balancing human and ecological flow needs. In: Proceedings of the EWRI 2005 World Water and Environmental Resources Congress, ASCE, Anchorage, Alaska, pp. 2–12 (2005). http://engineering.tufts.edu/cee/people/vogel/publications/optimization.pdf. Accessed on November 19, 2009
International Rivers: About dams. Fact Sheet www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/287 (2010)
Jager, H.I., Smith, B.T.: Sustainable reservoir operation: can we generate hydropower and preserve ecosystem values? River Res. Appl. 24(3), 340–352 (2008). doi:10.1002/rra.1069
Kotchen, M.J., Moore, M.R., Lupi, F., Rutherford, E.S.: Environmental constraints on hydropower: an ex post benefit cost analysis of dam relicensing in Michigan. Land Econ. 82(3), 384–403 (2006). http://le.uwpress.org/cgi/reprint/82/3/384. Accessed on November 19, 2009
Luenberger, D.G.: Investment Science. Oxford University Press, New York (1998)
Manne, A.S.: Capacity expansion and probabilistic growth. Econometrica, 29(4), 632–649 (Oct 1961)
Mount Holyoke: China’s Three Gorges dam; social consequences of relocation. www.mtholyoke.edu/vanti20m/classweb/website (2011)
Pindyck, R.S.: The dynamics of commodity spot and future markets: a primer. Energy J. 22(3), 1–30 (2001)
Poff, N.L., Allan, J.D., Bain, M.B., Karr, J.R., Prestegaard, K.L., Richter, B.D., Sparks, R.E., Stromberg, J.C.: The natural flow regime a paradigm for river conservation and restoration. Bioscience 47(11), 769–784 (1997)
Preckel, P.V., Sparrow, F.T., Bowen, B.H., Yu, Z., Gotham, D.J., Yang, R.Z.: Preserving low cost electricity while improving the riverine environment: a case study of Ghana’s Akosombo dam complex. Presented at the IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 23, 2008, pp. 1–6. doi:10.1109/PES.2008.4596426
Preckel, P.V., Sparrow, F.T., Bowen, B.H., Yu, Z., Gotham, D.J.: Preserving low cost electricity while improving the riverine environment: part two—model results. Presented at the IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Calgary, Alberta, July 26–30, 2009. doi:10.1109/PES.2009.5275433
Sale, M.J., Brill, J.E.D., Herricks, E.E.: An approach to optimizing reservoir operation for downstream aquatic resources. Water Resour. Res. 18, 705–712 (1982)
Taylor, W.T., Braymer, D.H.: American Hydroelectric Practice. McGraw-Hill, New York (1917). Updated to present costs
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Libby units #6-8 evaluation report. Water Management Division, North Pacific Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (August 1994)
USSD: Policy statement. United States Society on Dams, Committee on Dam Decommissioning (2011)
World Commission on Dams: “Flushing of sediments from reservoirs”, Dr. Rodney W. White, H.R. Wallingford, UK, Prepared for Thematic Review V.5, Operation, Monitoring, and Decommission of Dams (2000)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The authors thank: (a) Gregory Thomas of the Natural Heritage Institute for first making us aware of the problem; (b) Dick Fisher of Voith Siemens Corporate Engineering in York, Pennsylvania for useful insights into the costs of adding generating units to existing hydro-electric structures; (c) Brian Shenk of the Army Corps of Engineers Hydropower Analysis Center in Portland, Oregon for making us aware of the work the Corps is doing in the evaluation of generating additions to existing facilities, in particular, to the Corps Libby Dam complex in Northern Montana; (d) Douglas G. Hall of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory’s Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program for input on the discussion of Hydropower Capacity Increase Opportunities in the U.S.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
About this article
Cite this article
Sparrow, F.T., Preckel, P.V., Gotham, D.J. et al. Regional energy markets and the cost of natural flow dam operation. Energy Syst 2, 325–357 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12667-011-0039-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12667-011-0039-4