Hydroelectric Power Development Research Articles

Ecosensitive Watershed Management as a Solution to the Power Crisis

Sri Lanka is rich in water resources. Therefore the economic well being of the country is closely associated with the water resources development. Most of the technically feasible and economically viable hydropower sources have already been tapped. On the other hand, hydroelectric power development needs comparatively high capital cost and long construction periods. However, electricity demand is rapidly increasing while alternative power sources such as liquid fuel and coal power sources are not acceptable due to high operational cost and negative environmental effects.

Ethiopia and the Eastern Nile Basin

Ethiopia is the main source of the Nile River, and the country urgently needs water for irrigation and hydro-electric power development. To-date, however, Ethiopia is the country in the Eastern Nile basin that uses the least amount of water from the Nile run-off. There is no basin-wide agreement on the utilization and management of the water resources of the Nile Basin. Unilateral planning and implementation approaches have hindered the possibilities of cooperation and coordinated development. On the national level, economic and institutional capacities are also limited. Past initiatives as well as the current Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) are outlined regarding how far these dilemmas are dealt with. The paper ends with suggestions on how to deal with open questions and lessons learned from the ongoing NBI process.

Hog deer Axis porcinus need threatened tallgrass floodplains: a study of habitat selection in lowland Nepal

In Asia, subtropical tall grasslands and their associated fauna are mostly confined to the floodplains of the large rivers draining the Himalayan range. In recent decades, cultivation and hydroelectric dam construction have severely reduced their spatial abundance. During 1998–2000, we conducted a detailed study of the habitat use of hog deer, Axis porcinus, an important prey species of tiger, Panthera tigris, in the floodplains of the large Karnali river in Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. Strong preference for tall grass and avoidance of the successional stages following riparian forests throughout the year was revealed by analyses of tracking data from 18 radio-collared deer and from density estimates from block counts (n=46) in different habitat types. Continuously strong selection for tall grass despite the reduced availability of this habitat type during the monsoonal flooding indicated an insignificant effect of density-dependent factors in habitat selection. Reduced availability of cover following traditional cutting and burning of the tall grasslands by local villagers did not produce changes in habitat use or an increase in daily movements, indicating an absence of trade-offs between habitat preference for food and for predator avoidance. By regulating fluvial action, hydroelectric power development will lead to the loss of tall grasslands due to accelerated secondary succession, which will therefore adversely affect the viability of local populations.

Development of Gyro-Type Hydraulic Turbine Suitable for Shallow Stream (2nd Report, Flow Conditions and Rotor Works)

We are under obligation to coexist with natural ecosystem, for the next leap in the hydroelectric power development. In such circumstances, the authors have proposed the new type hydraulic turbine, named “Gyro-Type Hydraulic Turbine”, composed of some blades with high aspect ratio and the rotor is submerged nearly parallel to the stream. The turbine is suitable for shallow streams with high velocity in mountain torrents and/or rivers. This paper, continuously, discusses the flow conditions around the rotating blade using the flow visualizations by PIV and the numerical simulations by CFD. The visualizations and the simulations proved that the self-motive power is generated by the drag force of the blade facing to the downstream. With the increase of the rotational speed, however, the rotational torque comes to be caused by the lift force of the blade not only facing to the upstream but also facing to the downstream, and the maximum torque/output is at the higher rotational speed.

Development of Gyro-Type Hydraulic Turbine Suitable for Shallow Stream (1st Report, Rotor Works and Hydroelectric Power Generation)

We are under obligation to coexist with natural ecosystem, for the next leap in the hydroelectric power development. In such circumstances, this paper proposes a new type hydraulic turbine, named “Gryo-Type Hydraulic Turbine”, accompanying with the principle of the rotor works and the model test results. The rotor is composed of some blades with high aspect ratio and is submerged nearly parallel to the stream. The turbine is suitable for shallow streams with high velocity in mountain torrents and/or rivers. The rotor has the self-motive power and is driven by the drag force of the blade facing to the downstream at the low rotational speed. With the increase of the rotational speed, the rotational torque comes to be caused successfully by the lift forces of the blade not only facing to the upstream but also facing to the downstream. The maximum output is at higher rotational speed, which is desirable as the turbine performance for the mini/micro hydroelectric power generation.

Sustainable development of hydroelectric power : Kaygusuz, K. Energy Sources, 2002, 24, (9), 803–815

Sustainable development of hydroelectric power : Kaygusuz, K. Energy Sources, 2002, 24, (9), 803–815

Sustainable Development of Hydroelectric Power

This paper deals with policies to meet increasing demand for electricity in Turkey and elsewhere. Turkey has a gross annual hydropower potential of 433,000 GWh; that is equal to 1% of the total hydropower potential of the world and 14% of European hydropower potential. Only 122,322 GWh of the total hydroelectric potential of Turkey can be economically used. Environmental problems created by exploitation of domestic resources should not be ignored. We comment on adverse effects of largescale hydroelectric projects in Canada, Egypt, and the USA. We argue in favor of small-scale dams for sustainable development.

Lacustrine shore platforms at Lake Waikaremoana, North Island, New Zealand

AbstractThis paper examines the morphology and processes governing the development of shore platforms at Lake Waikaremoana, North Island, New Zealand. Shore platforms at Lake Waikaremoana are recent features, and were formed when a new sequence of shoreline development was initiated, due to lowering of the lake by 5 m in 1946 for hydroelectric power development. Three predominant platform morphologies were identified around the lake. These include gently sloping platforms (c.1·5 to 3·9°), ramp platforms (c.6·8 to 9·2°), and concave ramp platforms (c.7·9 to 12°). Platform widths ranged from 11 to 31 m, with the gently sloping platforms characterized by the widest morphologies. Erosion rates were estimated using perched sandstone boulders and were found to range from 3·4 to 12·5 mm a−1, with a mean erosion rate of 5·9 mm a−1. Higher rates of erosion were identified at lower platform elevations, due to a greater frequency of wetting and drying cycles coincident with storm waves, while lower erosion rates were identified at higher elevations. Field evidence suggests that shore platforms at Lake Waikaremoana were likely initiated and continue to develop as a result of subaerial wetting and drying cycles. Waves, coincident with fluctuating lake levels, play an important role by removing the weathered material from the platforms, and appear to control the width of the platforms. A conceptual model of platform development is presented, and analogies are drawn between this model, and the formation of shore platforms in oceanic environments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Historical Impacts of Hydroelectric Power Development on Traditional Mountain Irrigation in the Valais, Switzerland

Abstract In many Western European mountains, ancient irrigation practices have been the basis for sustainable subsistence-based mountain agriculture, especially up to the beginning of the 20th century. These mountain zones have proved popular sites for the development of hydroelectric power (HEP). Few attempts have been made to measure the impact of HEP on traditional indigenous irrigation systems dependent on the same resource base. This article examines the physical and socioeconomic impact of HEP development on the bisse irrigation system in the Valais, Switzerland, and discusses new water resource issues, conflicts, adaptations, and innovative responses. The study shows that a two- to three-tier consultation process has led to communes and autonomous collective irrigation institutions (consortages) signing and ratifying long-term conventions that ceded water to HEP companies at the scale of watersheds. Water supplies for irrigation are protected by these conventions at the same time as changed hydrolo...

Private micro-hydro power and associated investments in Nepal: the Barpak village case and broader issues

This article examines a number of issues connected with the development of small-scale hydroelectric power and related investments in Nepal. The micro-hydro investment scheme in Barpak village serves as a case study, and the article also presents a number of related issues discussed against the background of the evolution of micro-hydro power in Nepal. The article outlines the success of micro-hydro development, modest in relation to its enormous potential, the realization of which depends on whether a number of challenges and constraints can be overcome. The article closes with suggestions on implementing sustainable micro-hydro development in rural areas, based on the Barpak experience and the authors' other recent studies of rural energy issues in Nepal.

A Positive Research on the Channel Characteristics of the Hime River

In order to clear the channel characteristics of the Hime river, the history of the hydroelectric power development and the disaster were examined based on the consideration on the topography, the geology, and the disaster in 1995. In the Hime valley, a vast channel is clearly noticed on the mid-stream through the field investigation, it's considered that the channel characteristics are divided into several classes. As the results, the function as the sediment storage area of the vast channel on the mid-stream was confirmed. Furthermore, two follow in gcontribution of the existence of the channel characteristics were found: 1) For prevention of the deposited silt to the lower valley in the mountain disaster. 2) For stabilizing the main river-bed evolution for several years after the disaster.

95/06162 Sustainable development of hydroelectric power

95/06162 Sustainable development of hydroelectric power

Sustainable development of hydroelectric power

This paper deals with policies to meet increasing demand for electricity in Turkey and elsewhere. Environmental problems created by exploitation of domestic resources should not be ignored. We comment on adverse effects of large-scale hydroelectric projects in India and Canada. We argue in favor of small-scale dams for sustainble development.

Modeling the dynamic equilibrium of objects weakened by thin low-strength inclusions

Successful development of hydroelectric power as well as the use and protection of the resources of the Azov/Black Sea basin require formulation and solution of design and control problems for hydroengineering and coastal constructions. The authors have developed two-dimensional mathematical models of dynamic equilibrium of various hydroengineering and coastal constructions with weak thin sections of natural or artificial origin (low-strength inclusions, cracks, technological seams), where shearing strength conditions must be considered. These models are applicable to objects whose dynamic characteristics can be fully described by considering their profile cross-sections (dams, coastal slopes, wave breakers). The weak thin sections are modeled by cuts with appropriate contact conditions. Finite-element algorithms have been developed for solving the corresponding initial-boundary-value problems, and a model example has been solved.

Historical determinants and future options for the forests of the Central Plateau, Tasmania

Summary The history of land use on the Central Plateau is reviewed, and the effects on the forests of pastoral activities, attempts to encourage agricultural development, hydro electric power developments and recreational activity are assessed. In recent years forestry for wood-production has replaced stock-grazing and hydro-electric construction projects as the main basis of the local economy, whilst tourism and recreation are being promoted. Wood-production has evolved from the primary exploitation of natural forest towards sustainable forest management aimed at the rehabilitation of degraded forest via extensive silviculture for sawlog production. The long-term accommodation of wood production with tourism is discussed.

Oligochaete response to changes in water flow in the Dokka Delta, Lake Randsfjorden (Norway), caused by hydroelectric power development

The results reported here are part of a joint study on possible ecological effects in the delta area of Lake Randsfjorden, Southern Norway, caused by a reduction in water flow as a result of hydroelectric power development.

Tourism and resource development conflicts on the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers, Otago, New Zealand

The Kawarau and Shotover Rivers are in the heart of Southern New Zealand's premier tourist region, focused upon Queenstown in Central Otago. Over the last fifteen years they have become important as the venue for a variety of adventure activities, principally jet boating and white water rafting. These have grown rapidly to become a major part of the regional tourism product. During the same time period, proposals for hydro electric power development on the Kawarau threatened to eliminate white water rafting and severely modify jet boating; during the last five years a revival of the region's gold mining industry, which was founded in the 1860s, has threatened rafting on the Shotover River. This paper examines the ways in which these conflicts were assessed and managed, and points to a new threat, namely that of overcrowding.

World War I and the Birth of American Regionalism

Soon after American entry into World War I, Colonel Charles Keller of the Army Corps of Engineers confronted an emergency on the home front that threatened to stymie victory abroad. For several years, the West Point career officer had been in charge of overseeing the development of hydroelectric power at Niagara Falls, New York. Now Keller began receiving urgent messages from manufacturers in nearby Buffalo complaining that shortages of electricity were preventing them from producing vital materials such as high-grade steel for shell casings, aluminum for airplanes, chlorine for poison gas, and other electrochemicals.

Environmental consequences of hydroelectric development: The role of facility size and type

The development of hydroelectric power throughout the world is receiving renewed attention as the economic, political, and environmental costs of conventional energy production rise. There is currently a perception that hydroelectricity has environmental and economic advantages over electricity produced by conventional energy technologies, but there is a paucity of information about the environmental impacts of hydroelectric facilities as a function of size and type. We characterize the environmental impacts of hydroelectric developments and quantify these impacts as a function of the size and type of project. Several unexpected conclusions arise from our analysis. For most hydroelectric facilities, size, as measured by installed capacity, is not necessarily a good indicator of the severity of environmental costs. For impacts such as land flooded and evaporative water lost, smaller facilities cause greater environmental disruptions per unit of energy produced than do larger facilities. A more striking conclusion, however, is that differences in the type of facility, as indicated by the relationship between dam height and gross static head, are often far more important from an environmental perspective than are differences in the installed electrical capacity of a facility. Another major conclusion is that the development of hydroelectric facilities (independent of their size) such as dams at new sites and dams operated to produce peak power are often accompanied by environmental and ecological disruptions comparable to or exceeding those of conventional non-hydroelectric energy facilities. These results suggest that there is no justification to expedite licensing procedures for hydroelectric facilities smaller than some arbitrarily chosen installed capacity, as currently permitted by some laws. Appropriate policies should emphasize the development of dams on the basis of other favorable physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.

The 'Amenity' Clause: An Insight into Half a Century of Environmental Protection in the United Kingdom

The paper traces the manner in which an obligation came to be imposed on select industries, requiring them to take account of amenity, wildlife and outdoor-recreational interests in the course of preparing and carrying out developmental schemes. Under pressure from the relevant voluntary bodies, the statutory obligations, first imposed on hydro-electric power development, were generalized to cover 'whole' industries, and then, under the Countryside Acts of 1967-68, were extended to all State utilities. The recent privatization of those industries has provided a further pretext for extending and strengthening the 'amenity' clause. The approach has provided important insights into how industry itself might become more fully involved in determining the balance to be struck between the exploitation and conservation of rural resources.