Impact of the Combined Integration of Wind Generation and Small Hydropower Plants on the System Reliability

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the integration of wind generation, together with small hydropower plants (SHPs), in the reliability of the power system. In order to preserve the characteristics of the time series of the variable energy sources (wind and river inflows) and the variable load, the analyses are based on the sequential Monte Carlo simulation. By calculating the reliability indices, we intend to evaluate how the uncertainty of wind energy production impacts on system planning, especially with the reduction of capacity of reservoirs associated with SHPs. We also intend to evaluate the existence of complementarity between wind and hydro-generation, or even between different wind generation and/or the load. Finally, we intend to analyze how the correlation between these energy sources can benefit the supply of the future foreseen demand.