The integration of large amounts of variable renewable generation, such as wind and solar, can increase the demand on flexible resources in the power system. Hydropower can be an important asset for managing variability and uncertainty in the power system, but multipurpose reservoirs are often limited by nonpower constraints. Previous renewable generation integration studies have typically simulated the operation of the electric system with simplified representations of hydropower to avoid complex nonpower constraints. In a collaborative project between CADSWES and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), we combine RiverWare hydropower modeling with the PLEXOS power system model to illustrate the effect of detailed hydropower modeling on the power system and its benefits to the power system. In a demonstration case we model the Western Interconnection with PLEXOS and ten large reservoirs on the Columbia River with RiverWare. The results show a decrease in overall production cost and a reduction of renewable generation curtailment.

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