Abstract

In this chapter, some innovative case studies in the hydropower sector are discussed, highlighting how novel technologies and operational practices can make it more efficient, sustainable and cost-effective. Some practices to reduce hydropeaking effects, improving fish habitat, and turbines with higher survival rate, allowing to bring fish survival >98%, are discussed. The retrofitting of non-powered barriers can help to minimize the environmental impacts, reducing costs by more than 20%. New turbines are described focusing on their advantages with respect to standard ones, in particular, water wheels in irrigation canals to promote the valorization of watermills and old weirs, the very low head (VLH) turbine in navigation locks (reducing overall cost by more than 20%), the vortex turbine, and the Deriaz turbine with adjustable runner blades to improve the efficiency curve, especially at part load. Digitalization can help in preventing damages and failures increasing the overall efficiency and energy generation by more than 1%.

Highlights

  • Hydropower is the largest renewable energy source used worldwide, with 1308 GW of global installed capacity in 2019

  • More flexible turbines are being developed to cope with the always more frequent grid instabilities and load variations [9], pumped storage hydropower plants to allow storage capacity and flexibility [10], digitalization to prevent failures and to optimize the operation [6, 7], new low head hydropower converters to be used in irrigation canals and at low head existing barriers [11, 12], and more fish-friendly solutions to reduce impacts on fish [13]

  • A review work [13] on the first generation of “fish-friendly” turbines described the conceptual development and implementation of two relevant technologies designed for better fish passage conditions, namely the minimum gap runner (MGR) and the Alden turbine

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Summary

Introduction

Hydropower is the largest renewable energy source used worldwide, with 1308 GW of global installed capacity in 2019. Several emerging technologies and best practices are under development [6, 7] aimed at increasing hydropower flexibility, cost-effectiveness and sustainability, minimizing environmental impacts, and providing sustenance and electrification to rural areas [8]. More flexible turbines are being developed to cope with the always more frequent grid instabilities and load variations [9], pumped storage hydropower plants to allow storage capacity and flexibility [10], digitalization to prevent failures and to optimize the operation [6, 7], new low head hydropower converters to be used in irrigation canals and at low head existing barriers [11, 12], and more fish-friendly solutions to reduce impacts on fish [13]. These case studies are described with the aim of showing how the implementation of novel methodologies and technologies can help in reducing costs and impacts while increasing efficiency and energy generation. Proper references are included for the readers interested in knowing more about the technical details of these technologies, while here we will mostly focus on their benefits and effects

Hydropeaking reduction
Reaction turbines
The vortex turbine
Reuse of existing barriers
Waterways and basins
Aqueducts
Overflow from dams
Weirs in irrigation canals and in old mills
Navigation locks
New turbines: the Deriaz turbine
Digitalization
Findings
Discussion and conclusions
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