Document Type

Closed Project

Publication Date

Winter 2013

Instructor

Timothy Anderson

Course Title

Operations Research

Course Number

ETM 540/640

Abstract

This paper outlines a study of the optimization of methods by which Portland General Electric (PGE) generates the power that it sells to customers. Speci cally, we looked at 16 proposed and hypothetical generation projects, and used a variety of parameters to determine which projects optimized pro t, while adhering to constraints concerning the required overall capacity, government regulations regarding environmental standards, reliability, and desired level of diversity in its generation methods. Our results showed that, based on a grouping of 4 potential projects for each generation type, that the optimal solution involves funding 2 hydro projects, 1 wind project, and 1 natural gas project. This con rms in some ways our original hypothesis, which was that hydroelectricity would be the cheapest in our region, and yet the model showed that due to diversity of generation requirements, other methods were chosen with nearly equal funding. Overall, the information and analysis provided in this study should be bene cial to policy makers and project planners not as a de nitive plan for investment, but as a demonstration of an optimization technique that, given greater access to more accurate proprietary data, could provide a sound argument in support of a particular course of action when determining the optimal investment strategy for a utility company such as PGE.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Comments

This project is only available to students, staff, and faculty of Portland State University

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/21954

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