Scholarly record

MODELLING OF THE ALGAL BLOOMS AND ENERGY PRODUCTION IN THE VOLGA RESERVOIRS

Ivan Krayev, С. А. Гусейнова, María Ivanova

Abstract

The Volga is a cascade of lowland reservoirs since 1982. This allows flood prevention, river-sea navigation and hydropower generation. The creation of a cascade of hydropower plants led to the flooding of fertile floodplain lands, a decrease in water quality, and drastic algal blooms in the summer season. The alternative solution includes establishment of combined renewable energy plants containing floating solar and pumped storage plants near the existing hydropower plants. This is tentatively estimated to lower water levels and drain flooded land, increase flow rates, reduce blooms and ensure low-carbon energy production. The transformation of the Volga energy cascade can ensure the production of electricity and maintain the water level to ensure river-sea navigation. The purpose of this article is a comparative modeling of algal blooms with existing and prospective parameters. The algal blooming model (created by one of the authors) for the reservoirs of the Volga cascade uses the emission of nutrients, the thickness of the upper mixed layer, and solar radiation as variables. The actual power generation model includes solar radiation as the main source for the operation of floating photovoltaic plant, as well as the parameters of pumped storage plants, including water consumption and power. As a result of modeling, it becomes possible to compare the blooming parameters in the existing cascade and in the renewable energy complex discussed in the Platform project. The comparison results is useful for decision-making based on multi-criteria evaluation.

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