Zohra Zidane^1,, Mustapha Ait Lafkih¹, Mohamed Ramzi¹

The hydroelectric energy is one of the most important renewable energy in the world. It does not encounter the problem of population displacement and is not as expensive as solar or wind energy. However, the hydro electrical generating units are usually isolated from the grid network; thus, they require control to maintain of constant the power for any working conditions. The simulation model of hydropower plant was constructed based on mathematical equations that summarize the behavior of the hydropower plant. The simulation model of power plant is useful in stability studies. This paper, presents the approach of Generalized Predictive Control (GPC) is applied to a multivariable model of the part turbine/generator of hydropower plant. In this study, the standard multivariable (GPC) algorithm is presented. It is then applied to achieve sets points tracking of the outputs of the plant. A Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO) model is used for control purposes. A comparative study is carried out using the named controller’s multivariable Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) and multivariable (GPC) Controls. The performance of the proposed controller is illustrated by a simulation example of hydropower plant. Encouraging results are obtained that motivate for further investigations.

Generalized Predictive Control, modeling, Linear Quadratic Gaussian Control, multivariable systems, hydropower plant