A Multi State Analysis for Small Hydropower Cluster

Small hydropower (SHP), especially the type of run of river, is renewable, clean, low-carbon and environmentally friendly. However, for a run-of-river small hydropower, the power output varies with the water inflow which makes it quarterly. The power uncertainty of a small hydropower cluster will take a great impact on the reliability of local or outside power systems. This paper proposes a methodology to analyse the multi generation of a small hydropower cluster due to the variability of water inflow using the universal generating function (UGF). Simulations are performed on a realistic SHP cluster in Southeast China to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method.