Optimization of long-term Han River basin hydropower scheduling using linear programming

Power production in Korea can be classified into nuclear, thermal, and hydropower generation. The nuclear power plant occupies the largest portion of power generation, whilst hydropower only accounts for 2%. Nevertheless, many people are interested in hydropower generation, because its power generation time is shorter than that of nuclear and thermal power. In addition, it is considered as clean energy. There are a large number of reservoirs and industries in the Han River basin. So, optimization of the power generation is necessary for the industry. In this study, the five hydroelectric reservoirs and the three multipurpose reservoirs which are placed in the Han River basin, are selected and examined to maximize power generation by monthly operation. The linear programming is used for 10 years historical data. The releases from the upper reservoir calculated from the optimization are utilized as inflows in the downstream reservoirs. The optimization results were compared with the historical data.