Design-operation optimisation of run-of-river power plants

This paper addresses a strategy for the optimal design, control and operation of small hydropower (run-of-river (RoR) power) plants with the honey bee mating optimisation (HBMO) algorithm, while taking into account optimal design of the associated penstock as well as the turbines' number, type and their operation in the system. Civil engineering and electromechanical cost-effectiveness and constraints in an expected stream flow are also considered. The optimisation is driven by an objective function that includes the annual difference between generated energy, operating costs and depreciation costs for both initial investment and operation costs, considering various performance and hydraulic constraints. The HBMO algorithm specifies the annual benefit of generated energy and simultaneously determines the annualised operating cost. The solution includes selection of turbine types, number of turbines, penstock diameter, as well as scheduling the operation of an RoR power plant that results in maximum annualised benefit for a given set of river inflow histograms. The results of the proposed algorithm, which are compared with those of an analytical approach using Lagrange multipliers (LM), highlight the advantages in design, effective operation, ease of application and capability of the proposed HBMO algorithm for solving complex problems of this type.