Renewables integration | In the mix
New developments worldwide continue to highlight hydropower’s important role in renewables integration
at seven of the country’s reservoirs, with a total production capacity of 263MW. Portugal’s energy secretary Joao Galamba said the
technology not only had benefits for the environment but was also more energy-efficient as it complements hydroelectric generation, reusing existing facilities and avoiding the use of more land. Portugal’s plan is to install solar parks with a capacity
of up to 100MW on the waters of the southern Alqueva dam, the largest artificial lake in Western Europe, as well as 50MW on the Castelo de Bode dam, located in the central region. The Alqueva and the Castelo de Bode floating solar parks will be the biggest projects of the seven, which are all expected to be operating by 2023, Galamba said.
Portugal’s largest utility EDP has been preparing for
Above: View of Tehri hydropower dam in Uttarakhand, India. The NHPC says that India will have to at least double its hydropower capacity over the next decade to help integrate renewable energy generation into the grid
INDIA SAYS IT WILL have to at least double its hydropower capacity over the next decade to reduce dependence on coal and integrate renewable energy generation such as solar and wind within its grid, NHPC Chairman and Managing Director AK Singh said recently.
Below: Hydropower on the Columbia River in the US. A newly developed framework will help improve hydropower’s representation within grid operations models
He added that “hydro is a critical part of our electricity basket” and that “it is the greater degree of integration of solar and wind in our system which shall provide impetus to hydropower development”. Singh also spoke about the “irony that hydropower, the most environment-friendly and cleanest source of energy available to mankind is relentlessly opposed”. He said that hydropower projects often face challenges from locals “due to misconceptions” as in India land is an emotional issue and requires a sympathetic view. He believes that as a society the country needs to adopt a holistic approach to “really appreciate” the role of dams and hydropower projects.
Floating solar parks In late November 2021 Portugal launched its first
auction for the right to install floating solar parks
the expansion of this kind of renewable energy and installed a pilot floating solar power plant in the Alto Rabagao dam in 2017 to test the technology.
FLASH
With support from the US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are developing a systems-engineering-based approach that will help improve hydropower’s representation within grid operations models. The Framework for Linked Analysis of Streamflow and Hydropower (FLASH) uses NREL’s expertise in grid integration as well as the river-basin-scale modelling and water forecasting knowledge of RTI International, a North Carolina-based non-profit research organisation and NREL’s partner on this project. FLASH will help users better understand the link between river-basin operations and hydropower’s availability, opening new opportunities for renewable energy to support the grid. The research team also hopes it will also provide an example that will be helpful for those developing the next generation of market simulation and grid operations models.
28 | January 2022 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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