Simulation and Digital Twins

This project aims to develop a software for the optimization of hydroelectric potential development (fall division) considering both technical-economic aspects and socio-environmental constraints.

The model’s objective function maximizes the economic benefits of the hydrographic basin’s energy development, considering the costs of civil works, electromechanical equipment, and socio-environmental aspects of the candidate projects. The formulation of this mathematical problem and the search for solution methods is, without a doubt, the most original aspect of this project. There are also other original aspects, such as: (i) The development of a computational architecture for distributed execution (in the cloud) during the candidate project construction phase, which requires intensive computational processing to execute Geographic Information System (GIS) functions; and (ii) The automatic generation of project budgets through unit costs (informed by the user) and quantities of the different structures of the candidate projects (i.e., dams, spillways, turbines, etc.) that are dimensioned according to the Eletrobrás Inventory Manual.

This project aims to indicate the main advancements needed to promote economic efficiency in the use of energy resources and in the economic signaling given by the short-term price. Additionally, it seeks to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages between cost-based and offer-based pricing mechanisms in the context of the Brazilian electric sector, based on theoretical analyses, international experiences, and computational tests. Finally, in the event of adopting the offer-based pricing mechanism, the project must indicate in detail the best arrangement for the Brazilian market and highlight the necessary adjustments to the arrangement – both in institutional terms, the commercial and regulatory environment, and the adoption of best practices by companies in the sector.

The main objective of the project is an extension of the HERA computational model to include a methodology for evaluating reversible power plants as flexible resources in transmission planning. The idea is to develop models that evaluate the insertion of these plants in the most suitable locations of the SIN transmission grid as a cost-benefit solution, minimizing or even avoiding new investments in transmission lines.

The objective of this project is to propose improvements to the current regulation that incentivize new remuneration models for distributors, suitable for the inevitable insertion of Distributed Energy Resources and, with them, the possible creation of Distributed Service Platforms.

This involves mapping and analyzing international experiences in the regulation of electricity distribution aimed at the insertion of DERs and distributed service platforms, followed by a diagnosis of the current regulation in Brazil vis-à-vis the international experience. With these inputs, and considering an analysis of the trends and impacts of Distributed Energy Resources on the electricity sector (and, in particular, on the electricity distribution activity) and distributed service platforms, an initial proposal for improving the current regulation of energy distribution is constructed. This proposal is then subjected to a qualitative analysis (through SWOT matrices) and a quantitative analysis (with the two simulation models built in the project). The results of these analyses lead to the consolidation of the final version of the proposal for improving distribution regulation.

This R&D project develops a tool to identify locations for pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) projects, considering both closed-loop and open-loop systems (using an existing river or reservoir as an upper or lower reservoir). The system uses a digital terrain model and other information layers, such as the electrical grid, preservation areas, and more. Follwoing that, it focuses on promising areas to optimize the location of the PSH projects and carry out the engineering design (including determining the project budget for civil works and equipment). With this bottom-up approach, it is possible to create interesting projects of various sizes (capacity in MW and storage capacity in MWh). Finally, a top-down approach uses an integrated resource planning to evaluate which of these projects are viable for the electrical system, considering the various services provided by the projects, such as energy, capacity, reserves, and reliability.

The main objective of this project is to comply with the provisions of Strategic R&D Project Call No. 013/2011, with the goal of evaluating the technical-commercial insertion of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation through the design, construction, and operation of a 1MWp commercial plant, with two photovoltaic technologies, a technological laboratory with five different photovoltaic technologies, and a wind turbine. This constitutes the study center with 75kWp solar and 6kW wind to evaluate the complementarity between sun and wind, integrating the results of the project PD-0063-0042/2011, with data acquisition, monitoring, and processing integrated into a system developed by the project teams.