Changes in Power Generation at Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Plant with the Installation of Submerged Breakwaters

Abstract

Kim, T.-W.; Kim, Y.-J.; Yoon J.-S., and Kim, M.-K., 2021. Changes in power generation at Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Plant with the installation of submerged breakwaters. In: Lee, J.L.; Suh, K.-S.; Lee, B.; Shin, S., and Lee, J. (eds.), Crisis and Integrated Management for Coastal and Marine Safety. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 114, pp. 146–150. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Tidal power generation uses potential energy generated by vertical movements of the sea level to run a hydro turbine to produce electricity; thus, it is suitable for areas with large differences between tidal waves. The Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Plant situated on the west coast of South Korea is located at the center of the 11.2-km-long Sihwa Seawall. It generates power by using the increased water level in the outer region during ebb, and it discharges the seawater inflow caused by power generation during flood. In this study, the EFDC (Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code model), which can reproduce the operation patterns of the Sihwa sluice gate and considers permeable structures, was applied to predict the effect of changes in seawater flow resulting from the installation of impact reduction facilities on the nearby offshore of the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Plant. To calculate the amount of power generated using a numerical model, a year-long daily operation record of the tidal power plant in 2013 was analyzed and used as input conditions (sluice gate operation, runoff) of the numerical model. In addition, a relational expression was derived using the data—inner/outer water-level difference (ΔH), hydro turbine water flowrate (Q), and power generated (W)—and the power output was calculated using the inflow rate calculated by the numerical model.