Value of Reservoir Operation Coordinating in Hydropower Enhancement for Roseires and Sennar Dam System in Sudan

Increasing the economic profit from reservoir operation in a case study on Blue Nile River in Sudan is the aim of this research short communication. An already developed model that optimizes the coordinated reservoir operation is used to obtain maximum profit from energy generation in a two-reservoir system, i.e., Roseires and Sennar Dam System through the reservoir operation coordinating. An economic crop pattern mix along with two energy generation scenarios in normal year condition are analyzed. Results show that with existing facilities and reservoir operation coordination, 89.5 M$ marginal profit can be obtained, by 280 MW power capacity of Roseires and planned future 50 MW power capacity at Sennar Dam. Model later optimizes the required power capacity and power flow to determine the maximum energy generation in this system. Model shows that in such conditions power capacity of Roseires and Sennar dam can be increased by 528 MW and 568 MW, respectively, to produce 4078 GWh per year energy with 375.3 M$ marginal profit. This modeling shows that by addition of each 1 MW to the power capacity of Roseires and Sennar Dam, respectively, 442,000 $/MW and 249,000 $/MW profit can be obtained at maximum, which is also showing the value of coordination in this system.

Keywords: Hydropower; Roseires dam; Sennar dam; Optimum coordinated reservoir operation

Abbreviations: MPC: Maximum Power Capacity; EPC: Existing Power Capacity