Standard and contemporary approaches in determining the energy characteristics of large and small hydropower plants

Abstract

In the field of renewable energy sources, hydropower is classified as economically and environmentally acceptable source where highly efficient and reliable systems are applied in energy transformation. Designing and exploiting such systems in a dynamic market-oriented environment require continuous updating and quality determination of essential energy characteristics. Determination of hydroenergy potentials of rivers, energy evaluation of new and revitalized small and large hydropower plants and the prediction of their electricity generation are carried out on the basis of numerous criteria, using energy and economic indicators and using different methodological approaches. The prerequisite for obtaining reliable data and valid predictions, regardless of the applied methodology, is based on a good knowledge of hydrological conditions, exploitation characteristics of hydropower plants in a wide operating range and consumption changes in time. Electricity generation in hydropower plants is primarily based on indicators of hydrological and meteorological conditions that are in their character stochastic, non-stationary and unevenly distributed. Consumption as a quantitative parameter belongs to the same category as above, while hydropower plants are equipped with turbines whose operating characteristics are determined by extensive and extremely expensive experimental tests. The existing standards define the conditions and measurement procedures, measuring equipment and analysis of measurement results depending on the type of required testing. In order to rationalize the conditions for obtaining the characteristics of hydraulic turbines, modern numerical experiments based on imperfect numerical simulations of flow are increasingly applied. In recent years, the application of artificial neural network methods for determining reliable parameters of hydraulic turbines, production prediction and optimizing the operation of hydroelectric power plants has shown its strengths. The paper presents the usual methods prescribed by the standards for laboratory and field testing of large and small hydropower plants, as well as trends of using contemporary approaches, pointing out their advantages and disadvantages.