Joint Seminar with the  de la Canada Research Chair in Discrete Nonlinear Optimization in Engineering and GERAD

Title: Application of mathematical programming in assessing the integration of wind power: Case study of Kenya

Speaker: Maureen W. Murage – Étudiante au doctorat, Biological and Environmental Engineering Department, Cornell University, États-Unis

Abstract:

Wind power in Kenya currently contributes less than one percent of the total generation installed capacity, but this is anticipated to increase to approximately seventeen percent by 2016 after the completion of the 300MW Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project. Wind power is considered a ‘clean’ source of energy and compared to other variable renewable power sources has the lowest levelized cost of electricity, making it an attractive alternative power source. However it is non-dispatchable, variable, and difficult to accurately predict. As such its introduction, especially at high penetration levels, could pose serious challenges to the planning and operation of a power system. This talk entails a discussion on strategies to overcome the aforementioned challenges and ease the integration of the LTWP into the Kenyan power system. I begin this talk by specifying the benefit of combining the LTWP with a storage unit in controlling the total power output of the system using a deterministic dynamic programming model. Further, I discuss the effect of introducing dynamic pricing on the operation of the coupled system and sizing of the storage unit. Finally, I present findings from a study on deriving the optimal day-ahead commitment and operation of the coupled system using a two-stage stochastic model.

Registration: http://doodle.com/78ey7t89mv36sdqc