CHEOPS Hydropower Operations Model
South Feather River Project Operations Model and Improvement Evaluation
The South Feather Water & Power Agency (SFWPA) owns and operates the 118 MW South Feather Power Project (FERC Project 2088) located primarily on the South Fork of the Feather River and its tributary, Lost Creek, on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. The Project captures about 108 square miles of drainage and includes an interbasin transfer. The Project consists of 8 reservoirs, about 12 miles of tunnels, four powerhouses and associated penstocks, transmission lines and recreation facilities. Most of the Project is located within the Plumas National Forest. The FERC license for the Project expires in September 2009. In preparation of relicensing, SFPWA had retained Devine Tarbell & Associates, Inc.’s (DTA) staff to develop an operations model for use during the relicensing process.
Conduct a modeling study of operations and improvements for the South Feather Power Project. The intent of the study was to identify and evaluate any operational refinements or physical improvements that may be economical to implement either during the term of the current Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license or upon relicensing of the project.
DTA’s staff configured its CHEOPS™ model to analyze Project operations in the river system. The model was configured to include include reservoir operations, interbasin-basin routing and the specific water rights and hydrologic conditions in the study system. DTA’s modeling staff used the CHEOPS™ model to perform an analysis of potential new generation at two locations, with multiple alternatives for development at each location. The attractiveness of the alternatives was examined under existing license conditions and the electricity market in California, and under possible new license conditions and the electricity market that may exist in California in the future. During 2005, the model will be used to evaluate alternative operating conditions that may be considered for relicensing.