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Hydropower Impacts on Electrical System Production Costs in the Southwest United States

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  • Dominique M. Bain

    (School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA)

  • Thomas L. Acker

    (Mechanical Engineering, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA)

Abstract

The Colorado River is an important natural resource for the Southwestern United States. Predicted climate change impacts include increased temperature, decreased rainfall and increased probability of drought in this region. Given the large amount of hydropower on the Colorado River and its importance to the bulk electricity system, this purpose of this study was to quantify the value hydropower in operating the electrical system, and examined changes in hydropower value and electricity costs under different possible future drought conditions and regional generation scenarios. The goal was to better understand how these scenarios affect operating costs of the bulk electrical system, as well as the value of the hydropower produced, and proposed a method for doing so. The calculated value of the hydroelectric power was nearly double the mean locational marginal price in the study area, about $73 to $75 for most scenarios, demonstrating a high value of the hydropower. In general, it was found that reduced water availability increased operating costs, and increased the value of the hydropower. A calculated value factor showed that when less hydroelectric power is available, the hydropower is more valuable. Furthermore, the value factor showed that the value of hydro increases with the addition of solar or the retirement of thermal generating resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Dominique M. Bain & Thomas L. Acker, 2018. "Hydropower Impacts on Electrical System Production Costs in the Southwest United States," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:2:p:368-:d:130201
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Voisin, Nathalie & Dyreson, Ana & Fu, Tao & O'Connell, Matt & Turner, Sean W.D. & Zhou, Tian & Macknick, Jordan, 2020. "Impact of climate change on water availability and its propagation through the Western U.S. power grid," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    2. Sadhukhan, Jhuma, 2022. "Net zero electricity systems in global economies by life cycle assessment (LCA) considering ecosystem, health, monetization, and soil CO2 sequestration impacts," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 960-974.
    3. Oikonomou, Konstantinos & Tarroja, Brian & Kern, Jordan & Voisin, Nathalie, 2022. "Core process representation in power system operational models: Gaps, challenges, and opportunities for multisector dynamics research," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PC).
    4. Zida Song & Quan Liu & Zhigen Hu & Chunsheng Zhang & Jinming Ren & Zhexin Wang & Jianhai Tian, 2020. "Construction Diversion Risk Assessment for Hydropower Development on Sediment-Rich Rivers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, February.

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