Flexibility Increase on Hydro Installed Base

Hydro Success Stories Neoenergia / Teles Pires – Power Uprate and Partial Load For Ecological Flow Francis – 805MW – 100m – Optimization of operations under cavitation conditions Decrease Cavitation repair cost (625k$/yr) and associated downtime by Optimizing Hydraulic Turbine Operating Zones with Air injection and Cavitation monitoring. Enable smarter decisions on balancing power btw the units / Build and Operationalize an Erosion model to inform when the machine should be stopped for an inspection and provide input data for a predictive maintenance plan. PSP – 130MW – 65m – Operating Range: 30 – 100% Evaluate low CAPEX opportunities to extend services offered by an existing pumped storage plant and compare them to a conversion to variable speed, namely: • Extended operating range targeting an almost continuous power output from near zero to rated power in generating mode; • Simultaneous pumping and generating through hydraulic short circuit operation; • Advanced joint control to adapt the dispatching rules according to optimization criteria (efficiency, wear & tear, maintenance plan, etc.) Applied on 6 hydro plants across Portugal: 4 Kaplan, 1 Francis and 1 PSP 1. Analyze machine’s dynamic behavior based on operational data collected from machine’s field instrumentation for high-level assessment of interest in moving to Step 2 2. On-site assessment of dynamic behavior with additional calibrated sensors. Recommendation for potential extension and cam adjustment (in case of Kaplan) 3. Extend observations of the machine to the full range of operating conditions. Trigger alarm when unexpected running conditions are detected (e.g., vibration levels, running time restriction violation). Extend machine usage based on risk management EDP – Range Extension at Partial Load to support grid secondary regulation EDP / Alqueva 2 (X-FLEX) – Partial Load Range Extension USBR Grand Coulee / Cavitation repair Francis – 11MW – 36m – Op. Range: 10 – 100% + DO Customer challenges: increase operational Flexibility of Francis Turbines at Low Head Sites. Customer outcomes: • Ability to support grid energy needs regardless of flow constraints • Continuous production regardless of flow management constraints High Rock / Eagle Creak – Partial Load Extension with Monitoring + Aeration Francis – 370MW – 52m – Operating Range: under assessment Customer challenges: provide ancillary services through off-design running operations. Demonstrate the unit can run at high load with increase of power and at low load with operation under low discharge (ecological flow). Estimate the lifetime for a typical scenario of off-design operations.