Lecture29 Hydropower

Course: CE 401 (Water Resources Engineering)

Hydropower
- Hydropower plants
- Firm Power & Secondary Power
- Turbines & selection

Instructor:
Prof. M. J. Reddy
[email protected]

Hydropower from Reservoir System

 Hydropower plants capture the energy of falling water to
generate electricity
̶ A turbine converts the kinetic energy of falling water into
mechanical energy. Then a generator converts the mechanical
energy from the turbine into electrical energy
Dam: Raises the water level of the river to create falling water; and helps to control
the flow of water through intakes.
1
Major components of
hydroelectric power plant
• Turbine: The force of falling water pushing against the

turbine's blades causes the turbine to spin. The turbine
converts the kinetic energy of falling water into
mechanical energy.
• Generator: Connected to the turbine by shafts and

possibly gears, so when the turbine spins it also causes
the generator to spin, thereby it converts the mechanical
energy into electric energy.
• Transmission lines: Conduct electricity from the

hydropower plant to homes and business.
Classification of Hydropower plants

I. based on Hydraulic characteristics
II. based on Unit capacity
III. based on Available head
IV. based on Location
V. based on Functional basis
VI. based on Nature of project
2
Classification based on Hydraulic characteristics
• Run-of-river plant
• Storage plant
• Cascade plant
• Pumped storage plant
Run-of-river hydropower plant

• Generate electricity with stream flow
• River should be perennial
• Little or no storage provided
• Economical benefits varies
3
Storage plant
Substantial water storage is
provided
Cascade plant
Available water is utilized more than
once in a series to utilize available
drop in head
Pumped storage plant
• Power is generated during the

period of peak load
(it is a peak load plant)
• Water is pumped back into the

upper reservoir during low
energy demand
4
Classification based on Unit capacity
Type Unit size

Micro 1 to 100 kw
Mini 101 to 1000 kW
Macro 1001 kW to 5MW
Small Upto 15 MW
Large Above 15 MW
Classification based on Available head
S. No. Type of Power Operating head (m)

station
(i) High head Over 300 m

(ii) Medium head 30-300 m
(iii) Low head Less than 30 m
5
Classification based on location
• Surface power plant
Power plant built overground
• Underground power plant

Power plant built underground, i.e., located in the cavity in
the hill with no part of the structure exposed to outside
Classification based on Functional basis

• Base load plant
– Designed to run at uniform load and generates nearly constant
power for long period
– Generally large capacity plant
• Peak load plant

– Plants which runs at peak capacity during peak hours only
– Works for a few hours in a day
6
Classification based on Nature of project
• Power project
– In mountainous regions, hydropower projects are constructed
for electric energy only
• Long transmission lines are required, & Construction is expensive
• Multi purpose project

– In large scale multipurpose projects, power is generated
besides other purposes such as irrigation, flood control, public
water supply etc.
Water Power Potential

• The amount of power generated when Q m3/s of water is allowed
to fall through a head difference of H metres is given by
where γw is unit wt of water = 9.81 kN/m3

= 9.81Q H kW
Electrical energy or Power in kW: where η is the overall efficiency of turbine/

generator
If η = 80%, P (kW) = 9.81×0.8×Q ×H

= 7.84 Q H
Metric H.P. generated
H is the design head in m ;

Q is the design discharge in m3/s
7
Hydropower
Electrical energy or Power consumption is also expressed in kWh
It is energy produced by 1 kilowatt acting for one hour
where, Ht is the net head available in period t (m) ;

Rt is the total volume of water diverted to
turbines in period t (Mm3)
Power generated in MW for 1 month
(considering 30 days in a month)
Firm Power and Secondary Power

• Firm Power: The amount of power that can be generated with
certainty without interruption at a site
– i.e., at no time the power produced will be less than the firm power
• Secondary Power: The power that can be generated more than

50% of the time
‒ For determining the secondary power for a run-of-the-river plant, we
must know the flow with 50% reliability (i.e. the flow which will be
equaled or exceeded 50% of the time) and substitute it for Rt.
(in kWh) = . .
8
Example
Consider a river with a minimum monthly flow of 20 Mm3. If a drop of
30m is available at a site on the river. Assume efficiency of plant as 70%.
Estimate the firm power in kWh.
The firm power that can be produced at the site in a month is
P (kWh) = 2725 η Rt Ht
= 2725×0.7×20×30
=11, 44,500 kWh
Problem
A run-of-river power plant is proposed at a site for which the mean monthly
flow data (m3/s) available for 2 years is given in the Table. The head available
at the site is about 10 m and plant efficiency is about 80%. Assume that the
intake capacity of hydropower plant is 500 m3/s.
Estimate the Firm Power and Secondary Power (in kwh) for the plant.
Mean monthly flow data (in m3/s)

Time in year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Year-1 105 210 645 1000 1308 419 89 28 32 40 80 210
Year-2 440 275 337 515 1968 1965 360 71 50 95 100 88

Lecture29 Hydropower

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lecture29 Hydropower

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lecture29 Hydropower

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Course: CE 401 (Water Resources Engineering)

Hydropower from Reservoir System

• Turbine: The force of falling water pushing against the

• Generator: Connected to the turbine by shafts and

• Transmission lines: Conduct electricity from the

Classification of Hydropower plants

Run-of-river hydropower plant

Pumped storage plant

• Power is generated during the

• Water is pumped back into the

Type Unit size

Classification based on Available head

S. No. Type of Power Operating head (m)

(i) High head Over 300 m

(iii) Low head Less than 30 m

• Underground power plant

Classification based on Functional basis

• Peak load plant

• Multi purpose project

Water Power Potential

where γw is unit wt of water = 9.81 kN/m3

Electrical energy or Power in kW: where η is the overall efficiency of turbine/

If η = 80%, P (kW) = 9.81×0.8×Q ×H

H is the design head in m ;

where, Ht is the net head available in period t (m) ;

Power generated in MW for 1 month

(considering 30 days in a month)

Firm Power and Secondary Power

• Secondary Power: The power that can be generated more than

The firm power that can be produced at the site in a month is

Mean monthly flow data (in m3/s)

You might also like