Water-related modelling in electric power systems : Waterflex exploratory research project : version 1

Water is needed for energy. For instance, hydropower is the technology that generates more electricity worldwide after the fossil-fuelled power plants and its production depends on water availability and variability. Additionally, thermal power plants need water for cooling and thus generate electricity. On the other hand, energy is also needed for water. Given the increase of additional hydropower potential worldwide in the coming years, the high dependence of electricity generation with fossil-fuelled power plants, and the implications of the climate change, relevant international organisations have paid attention to the water-energy nexus (or more explicitly within a power system context, the water-power nexus). The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, the United States Department of Energy, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, the Midwest Energy Research Consortium and the Water Council, or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, among others, have raised awareness about this nexus and its analysis as an integrated system. In order to properly analyse such linkages between the power and water sectors, there is a need for appropriate modelling frameworks and mathematical approaches. This report comprises the water-constrained models in electric power systems developed within the WATERFLEX Exploratory Research Project of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre in order to analyse the water-power interactions. All these models are deemed modules of the Dispa-SET modelling tool.