Dataset of hydropower characteristics for creating ramping and generation constraints in aggregated energy system models across European bidding zones

The dataset was created to support the implementation of ramping and generation constraints for hydropower in large-scale aggregated energy system models. It is based on collected and subsequently processed data from ENTSO-E’s transparency platform, but can be freely applied to models utilising other data sources. Historical generation data builds the basis for the dataset and has been processed into weekly data series for hourly maximum and minimum generation, as well as maximum hourly ramping rates. The proposed constraints are available for different types of hydropower, pumped storage, reservoir and run-of-river, aggregated in the European bidding zones. In addition, one subset of the dataset focuses on the pondage of run-of-river hydropower plants, aiming to provide estimates of storage volumes based on historical cumulative outputs. The dataset was used in [1] to create the operational framework for aggregated hydropower, enabling analysis of lost flexibility at the European scale.