Model Predictive Control for Hydroelectric Power Plant Reservoirs

The present work describes a project aimed to the optimization of the water management within the reservoirs of a hydroelectric plant located in Italy. The considered reservoirs feed a set of turbines for energy production. The nature of the process and the availability of forecasts on water requests by the hydroelectric plant motivated the choice of a Model Predictive Control strategy. A first principle linear model with time delays has been adopted for the process modellization; the relationship between the sensor level information and reservoir water volume has been suitably identified from data. A tailored strategy for taking into account unknown water flows has been developed. The MPC strategy has been designed based on the obtained linear model and on assigned control specifications. In particular, special attention has been given not to waste water and at the same time to guarantee a prompt reaction to possible variation of the electric energy production plan. The reliability of the proposed approach has been tested through tailored simulation experiments, taking into account different significant scenarios. The developed proprietary framework has been installed on the real plant, confirming the validity of the designed control strategies.