A framework for joint management of regional water-energy ... - Orbit

Recognizing the problem’s complexity, the focus of this study is on the
interaction between water and electric energy (or power) systems, in an
attempt to find methods that can be used in dealing with the water-energy
nexus.
Joint modeling of water and power systems is difficult because of differences
in their spatio-temporal scales and their current management. First, power
systems typically span an entire country or region and power supply must
meet demand on a second-by-second basis. In contrast, water systems are
spatially defined by a catchment area and hydraulic connections; and the
water storage in rivers, lakes, groundwater, reservoirs and other water
infrastructure allows some flexibility in balancing supply and demand.
Second, the current management of these systems is markedly different:
electricity is commonly traded in a wholesale market, while water is allocated
using a wide variety of water rights regimes (Bruns et al., 2005).
In this context, the PhD study was focused on applying optimization
techniques to model the water and power systems of the Iberian Peninsula
(IP) jointly, with the goal of developing a method that can be used to assess
the water-energy nexus.
The main objectives of this research were to:
Develop a method to model the spatial and temporal interactions
between water and power systems.
Improve the representation of hydropower benefits in hydro-economic
models.
Evaluate the influence of spatial aggregation on water-power analysis.
Assess some of the potential impacts of climate change on the waterpower
system of the IP.
This thesis provides a summary of the three papers submitted for publication
as part of the PhD study, as well as an overview of the methods and the main
findings of the investigation. It is structured as follows. Chapter 2 reviews
relevant literature. Chapter 3 presents the case study area where the proposed
methods are applied. Chapters 4 and 5 provide an overview of the methods
and the main results, respectively. Chapter 6 summarizes the conclusions of
this study and Chapter 7 lists the future research directions identified
throughout this project. Chapter 8 includes the list of references, and Chapter
9 the three scientific papers.
2