Small Hydroelectric Plants Research Articles

Soil-Structure Interaction of Very Flexible Pipes: Centrifuge and Numerical Investigations

AbstractThe unprecedented increasing cost of steel coupled with the superior mechanical and anticorrosion properties of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) creates a huge opportunity for FRP pipes to take the market share of steel and be the pipe of choice for geotechnical engineers for a variety of applications ranging from potable-water systems to feed lines and penstock for hydroelectric power plants. Recently, very flexible large-diameter FRP pipes have been installed in eastern Canada and the United States to replace old wood-stave pipes to convey water to drive the turbines of small hydroelectric plants. The behavior of buried very flexible pipes is one of the complex soil-structure interaction (SSI) problems in geotechnical engineering and has not been studied thoroughly until now. The flexibility classification of pipes is determined based on their effective stiffness. Accordingly, flexible pipes will have an effective flexibility of 10 kPa/m or less. In this paper, the results of centrifuge modeling o...

A closer look at small hydropower projects in India: Social acceptability of two storage-based projects in Karnataka

Abstract Associated with being green, clean and small-scale, small hydroelectric power (SHP) projects generally enjoy a positive image. In India SHP promises answers to issues such as meeting a growing electricity demand, facilitating lucrative investment opportunities, and climate change considerations. The features of being green, clean and small-scale have contributed to the assumption of SHP as an essentially uncontested technology. Empirical studies questioning this assumption are scarce. Research on SHP has so far remained rather hypothetical and policy-level-focused. This article investigates the social acceptability of small hydroelectric plants in India by empirically looking at how people engage with these plants. It thereby underlines the importance of studying technologies in their local context. Based on a detailed case study analysis of two SHP projects in Karnataka, India, the article shows how SHP projects are contested on the local level. The engagement of local people played a crucial role in the contestation of the plants and led to significant and unexpected outcomes and effects. The article highlights the importance of having a broader perspective in the development of SHP that goes beyond a mindset of technological fixes. This includes taking account of existing water infrastructure and a broader range of water users. The article shows that the implementation of SHP projects does not take place in a void. Rather, complex existing physical and social realities on the ground matter for the development and performance of SHP.

Gastropods and periphytic algae relationships in the vicinity of a small hydroelectric plant on the Pas³êka River in northeast Poland

Abstract This study of periphytic algae and gastropods differentiation on macrophytes, stones, and dam substrates and the relationships between these communities in the vegetative season of 2001-2003 was conducted in the vicinity of a hydroelectric plant on the Pasłeka River. Damming the river caused decreased water discharge upstream from the plant, and increased it downstream. Thus, oxygen conditions downstream from the plant improved, but high nutrient concentrations were also recorded. Generally, increased orthophosphate concentrations do not allow river waters to be classified as having good or maximum ecological potential. Damming contributed to changes in the growth conditions of the periphytic algae and gastropods and their differentiation. The highest biomass of periphytic algae was noted on the dam, while the highest gastropods biomass was noted on macrophytes. The periphytic algae was dominated by the diatoms Diatoma vulgaris and Melosira varians (epiphyton, dam) and the chlorophytes Ulothrix tenuissima and Spirogyra sp. (epilithon), while the gastropods were dominated by Lymnea stagnalis (macrophytes), Theodoxus fluviatilis (stones), and Radix balthica (dam). The relationship between the gastropods and the periphytic algae on macrophytes and the dam in spring and summer revealed an increase in gastropods biomass and a decrease in periphytic algae biomass. This was indicated by the negative correlation between the biomass of these communities.

Emergy analysis of a small hydropower plant in southwestern China

Although its environmental performance and sustainability remain unclear, small hydropower (SHP) has undergone rapid expansion in China. Through emergy analysis, this study aimed to assess the environmental impact and relative sustainability of a small hydroelectric plant in Guizhou Province, which is located in southwestern China, in 2010. The analysis included a comparison with similar evaluations that were conducted for large hydroelectric projects: two hydropower dams on the Mekong River in Thailand, one multipurpose dam in Korea, and the Three Gorges Dam in China. As indicated by the emergy yield ratio (EYR), environmental loading ratio (ELR), and emergy sustainability index (ESI), the overall environmental performance of the SHP system examined in this research surpassed the environmental performance of large dams. However, environmentally sensible designs do not automatically imply a promising future. The case-study SHP is on the verge of bankruptcy due to financial losses, which can be attributed to the current grid-connected cost of electricity of 0.23CNY/kWh. The emergy exchange ratio (EER) quantitatively demonstrates that the fair price of electricity from the perspective of emergy balance is 0.4CNY/kWh. The sensitivity analysis reveals that the inherent defect of unstable operation, which is exhibited by the SHP system, greatly affects the environmental performance of a SHP plant.

ESTUDO DE CASO: ASPECTOS SOCIOAMBIENTAIS DA PEQUENA CENTRAL HIDRELÉTRICA (PCH)-QUELUZ-SP, NA BACIA DO RIO PARAIBA DO SUL

The generation of electricity is an activity that causes social and environmental impacts. This article evaluates the socio-environmental impacts of the construction of a small hydroelectric plant (SHP) in Queluz, São Paulo, Brazil, in the Paraiba do Sul River Basin.The Preliminary Environmental Report lacks information, and participation of the affected population in the licensing and decision making processes was restricted and ineffective. Most of the population favored the construction of the Queluz Small Hydroelectric center. However, we found that the local community was not familiarized with the negatives impacts associated to this enterprise.The form that the environmental licensing of the Queluz SHP was carried out corroborates the perception that many decisions surrounding the approval of this plant were political while technical aspects were neglected. Finally, we suggest that the licensing of SHPs should be analyzed in the same way as large ones because of their impacts local and regional communities.

Modeling and Analysis of Canal Type Small Hydro Power Plant and Performance Enhancement Using PID Controller

In this paper, the simulation model of a typical canal type small hydroelectric power plant was developed through interconnection of models of various equipments of the plant under consideration in a MATLAB/Simulink based software environment. The various components of small hydroelectric plant like open channel, governor and Semi-Kaplan turbine, synchronous generator, exciter are being considered under modeling and simulation.. The aim is to study its behavior during transient condition. Using the simulated model enhancement through PID controller will be done to reduce oscillations, peak overshoot and peak undershoot during transient period and also to improve the steady state response This study helps in verifying costs and safety conditions, in selecting the best alternatives in the early phase of design and to determine the requirements of special protection devices.

Trasa edukacyjna Bydgoszcz-Łabiszyn: Szlak Małych Elektrowni Wodnych

The described route is a water connection between Bydgoszcz and Łabiszyn, a small town located approximately 34 km south of the large agglomeration of Bydgoszcz. The waterway connection follows the course of the Bydgoszcz Canal and the Upper Noteć Canal. Both of these watercourses contain hydraulic structures of historic significance, as well as small modern hydroelectric plants, used commercially for power production. Due to many years of neglect, the area is not currently used economically or by tourists. The authors of the article, by highlighting selected tourist attractions and educational assets, and by coining the name ‘Small Hydroelectric Plants Trail’ intend to generate interest among the regional authorities in the process of revitalizing the presented route. They also want to promote water tourism, educational tourism and student tourism, which may be included in physical education curricula, especially in part-time study programmes

Communication issues in the control system of reactive power compensator for hydroelectric plant with induction generator

Communication issues in the control system of reactive power compensator for hydroelectric plant with induction generator The presented paper concerns the issues of communication networks applied to monitoring and control of reactive power compensator for small hydroelectric plants installed in areas distant from urban agglomerations. Ethernet, CAN, Modbus and GPRS transmission protocols has been used. Industrial programmable controller as a data collector has been used also.

SEASONAL PANTANAL FLOOD PULSE: IMPLICATIONS FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION – A REVIEW

The Pantanal is fed by tributaries of the Upper Paraguay River in the center of South America, mainly in Brazil. The landscape is marked by contrasts between the seasonally floodplain (Pantanal) and the surrounding highland (Planalto). The floodplain regulates highland riverine discharge by temporarily storing water during flood season and can enhance water loss by evapotranspiration and infiltration. The flood level gradient creates a range of major habitats in a complex mosaic of annual and pluri-annual seasonal patterns. The Pantanal ecosystem is characterized by recurrent shallow water flooding near the surface of the substrate, due to the slow drainage of the vast plain inundated for longer, with variable conditions regarding to physical, chemical, and biological traits. Water discharge, geomorphology, type of soil and biodiversity are the main ecosystem components of the Pantanal. The complex vegetation cover and the seasonal productivity support a diverse and abundant fauna. Many endangered species still occur in health population conditions, including jaguar (Panthera onca). Waterfowl are exceptionally abundant during the dry season. Deforestation with the loss of natural habitats and their associated biodiversity in the Pantanal has been drastic during the last decades, particularly in the upland region of the Cerrado plateaus surrounding the flooding plain. Another threat is unsustainable agricultural and cattle ranching practices, which convert the natural vegetation into pastures and plantation crops such as soybean, especially on the surrounding plateaus where the river springs are located. Fires caused by humans are severe and have become part of the annual productivity cycle for cattle ranch owners. Recently there has been river flow modification due to implantation of small hydroelectric plants on the upland plateaus. The aim of this study is to put together a comprehensive report on the role of the flood pulse on the biodiversity using our research experience in the region and also reviewing published information.

Pequeñas y microcentrales hidroeléctricas: alternativa real de generación eléctrica.

En este papel se pretende exponer la revisión realizada a la información existente de Pequeñas Centrales Hidroeléctricas (PCH), concentrando la descripción en tres aspectos: las turbinas más usadas, las características de los generadores y una breve descripción de la legislación colombiana respecto a la pequeña generación. Esta revisión también abarca una corta descripción de los elementos constitutivos y del desarrollo de las PCH en Colombia.

O surgimento das Pequenas Centrais Hidrelétricas e o processo de urbanização no interior de São Paulo (1890-1930)

O período do trabalho é de 1890 a 1930, em que o estado de São Paulo começa seu processo de industrialização, a economia cafeeira está no auge e é fundada a companhia de energia elétrica que fará a primeira usina hidrelétrica do estado de São Paulo; este panorama vai evoluindo até 1930, quando a economia cafeeira entra em crise, a indústria já está estabelecida e a construção de hidrelétricas após 1930 assume outro caráter: o das grandes hidrelétricas, encerrando o ciclo das pequenas centrais hidrelétricas. A geração de energia elétrica no Brasil segue os caminhos da ferrovia e vai desenhando novas fronteiras entre o rural e o urbano, o campo e a indústria. A configuração das cidades muda conforme a disponibilidade de “melhorias”, sendo que muitas delas eram movidas a eletricidade. As nascentes indústrias também vão ocupando o espaço entre a ferrovia e a energia, criando novos bairros e centralidades. Analisa-se então, os processos que a energia hidrelétrica desencadeia no território paulista e suas consequências.

A conservation agenda for the Pantanal's biodiversity

The Pantanal's biodiversity constitutes a valuable natural resource, in economic, cultural, recreational, aesthetic, scientific and educational terms. The vegetation plus the seasonal productivity support a diverse and abundant fauna. Many endangered species occur in the region, and waterfowl are exceptionally abundant during the dry season. Losses of biodiversity and its associated natural habitats within the Pantanal occur as a result of unsustainable land use. Implementation of protected areas is only a part of the conservation strategy needed. We analyse biodiversity threats to the biome under seven major categories: 1) conversion of natural vegetation into pasture and agricultural crops, 2) destruction or degradation of habitat mainly due to wild fire, 3) overexploitation of species mainly by unsustainable fishing, 4) water pollution, 5) river flow modification with implantation of small hydroelectric plants, 6) unsustainable tourism, and 7) introduction of invasive exotic species.

O raciocínio lógico e a lógica do raciocínio na pesquisa arqueológica

O texto utiliza-se do raciocínio lógico e da lógica do raciocínio para estabelecer a relação entre a caracterização da área de pesquisa e as técnicas a serem utilizadas, determinadas em gabinete e laboratório, com as informações obtidas em campo. Para tanto, são apresentados dois estudos de casos de Pequenas Centrais Hidrelétricas do estado de Goiás, em que as informações de campo proporcionaram alteração em alguns procedimentos metodológicos e, principalmente, na contextualização envolvendo os vestígios culturais e as características/dinâmica das áreas. Alguns pressupostos da metodologia científica são inseridos na discussão, destacando a necessidade de o pesquisador conhecer diferentes técnicas de investigação e, dentre estas, aquela que melhor se adapta aos objetivos do projeto.

Aplicação de métodos físicos, químicos e biológicos na avaliação da qualidade das águas em áreas de aproveitamento hidroelétrico da bacia do rio São Tomás, município de Rio Verde - Goiás

O potencial hídrico do país aliado às novas políticas de incentivo a reestruturação do potencial energético estimula a iniciativa privada para a produção/geração de energia em matrizes alternativas. Inserem-se neste contexto as Pequenas Centrais Hidrelétricas PCHs, empreendimentos com menores custos de implantação e menores impactos socioambientais. Um dos requisitos legais para a implantação destes empreendimentos é a realização de estudos que demonstrem as análises das interações destes com o meio ambiente e as respectivas medidas de controle e mitigação dos impactos ambientais. Para tanto foi realizada a avaliação da qualidade das águas de trechos do rio São Tomás no município de Rio Verde no sudoeste goiano como parte dos estudos ambientais necessários para a instalação de quatro PCHs, em quatro pontos de aproveitamento hidrelétrico do rio. Buscou-se com esta avaliação delinear o perfil da qualidade da água deste curso de água anteriormente à instalação de empreendimentos de geração de energia elétrica. Para a avaliação foi utilizada a correlação entre diferentes métodos de análises de qualidade: a aplicação do protocolo de avaliação ecológica rápida, avaliação por bioindicadores coletados nos pontos de amostragem, análise físico-química e bacteriológica e a utilização de Índice de Qualidade de Água IQA.

Investigation of the distributed generation penetration in a medium voltage power distribution network

This paper investigates the results of the distributed generation penetration in a weak medium voltage power distribution network. The connected distributed generation resources are in their entirety small hydroelectric plants. Their locations are predetermined. Specifically, the influence of distributed generation on the network branch currents and voltage profile as well as on the short-circuit level at the medium voltage busbars of the infeeding substation are examined using a commercial-grade software package. The arising problems are explored and alternative technical solutions to deal with them are proposed. Finally, an initial proposal for an optimum distributed generation penetration in the predetermined network positions is given. A real-world study case, rather than a simplified academic network, is selected to be analysed in order to specify, as accurately as possible, the arising practical problems and to use this experience in the future in the development of a fast and reliable method for the determination of optimal distributed generation allocation in random network positions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Valuation of a Power Plant with the Real Options Approach

Since the late 1990s, the Brazilian electric power industry has been undergoing significant structural changes, the main objective being to increase competition and attract private investment. Due to this, the National Electric Energy Agency has offered a large number of investment opportunities through auctions of the right to build and operate power plants (mostly hydroelectric) and transmission lines, including small hydroelectric plants.In this article we propose a valuation model for a power generation plant under uncertainty and with the flexibility to choose the optimal power purchase agreement using the real options approach, and then apply this model to the case of a small hydroelectric plant. The results indicate that the flexible project has a value significantly greater than that obtained through traditional discounted cash flow methods.

Sustainable siting procedure of small hydroelectric plants: The Greek experience

This paper aims to present the procedure under which a sustainable plant, like a small hydroelectric plant (SHP), can be installed and deployed, especially in countries with complicated administrative and legislative systems. Those must be defined by the rules that characterize sustainable spatial planning, which aims at the environmental protection, the insurance of better living conditions and finally at the economic development within the frame of the principle of sustainability and its three basic dimensions: social, economical and environmental. The main principles of spatial planning are accepted from the jurisprudence of the Hellenic Council of State, either as an appropriate condition for the protection of important ecosystems or as specific expression of the principle of prevention of environmental damage. In this framework it is accepted that the development is experienced, initially to a total and general planning, whose essential part is the assessment and modification of distributed land uses. Besides, the main characteristics of the siting of SHPs and the criteria demanded for their smooth integration and operation are presented.

Turkey's Natural Gas, Hydropower, and Geothermal Energy Policies

This article deals with Turkey's natural gas, hydropower, andgeothermal energy policies. Turkey has made repeated efforts to increase foreign investment in its power industry. Turkey's energy demand is growing at 8% a year, one of the highest rates in the world. But investment has lagged far behind what is required to ensure reliable supply. Turkey's energy use causes serious air pollution problems. Furthermore, the government forecasts strong growth in fossil fuel use, including a four-fold increase in coal use by 2020 that would cause large greenhouse-gas emissions. While the forecasts may overestimate fossil fuel demand growth, the government must address the environmental issues rapidly. Specifically, Turkey needs a strategy that allows it to assume a concrete greenhouse gas emissions target no later than the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Natural gas consumption is the fastest growing primary energy source in Turkey. Turkey has supplied main natural gas needs from Russia; however Turkmen and Iranian gas represent economically sound alternatives. Hydroelectricity accounts for 45% of Turkey's total installed. Turkey continued, despite strong international criticism, to pursue its plans to construct the 1,200-megawatt Ilısu hydroelectric project. Ilısu is part of the Southeastern Anatolian Water Project, known as GAP. When completed, GAP will consist of 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric plants on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Turkey has a total gross hydropower potential of 433 GW, but only 125 GW of the total hydroelectric potential of Turkey can be economically used. Turkey plans to increase hydropower production in the near future by especially using her small and micro hydroelectric plants (SHEPs and MHPs, respectively). Turkey is one of the geothermally potential rich 7 countries in the world. More than 1,000 hot and mineral water springs up to 373 K and 413 K geothermal fields with a temperature range of 313 to 505 K have been discovered in Turkey. Turkey has shot up the list of top direct use geothermal countries in recent years.

Utilization Plan for Power Generated at the Mezen' Tidal Electric Plant in the European Power System

The S. Ya. Zhuk All-Russian Scientific-Research Institute for Design and Exploration and the ScientificResearch Institute of Construction Economics on assignment to the Russian joint-stock company Unified Electric Power Systemof Russia have com pleted a four-year study on utilization of the renewable and ecologically safe power generated by the Mezen’ tidal electric plant in the pool of East-West power systems [1, 2]. The following were adopted as a basis for the studies: surveys and design materials on the Mezen’ tidal electric power plant, which were performed from 1940 through 1992 under the guidance of L. P. Bernshtein, basic positions of the feasibility study for the Tugur tidal electric plant (S. Ya. Zhuk Scientific-Research Institute for Design and Exploration, 1996), the 30 years of operating experience gained at the Rance tidal electric plant in France [3], and the Kislogubsk tidal electric plant in Russia [4], and developments of the Scientific-Research Institute of Construction Economics on the creation of a new orthogonal turbine for tidal electric plants, and small hydroelectric plants [2]. The Mezen’ tidal electric plant is planned for the coastline of the White Sea in the Gulf of Mezen’, where basic reserves of tidal energy are concentrated in the European portion of Russia, and the magnitude of the tide attains 10.3 m. Of the eight sites considered for the location of the tidal electric plant in the shallow gulf, the most prominent one, which will make it possible to place the powerhouse for the tidal plant and spillway dam at natural depths without underwater excavations, and in the channel portion, which is not subject to silting by detritus, has been adopted (Fig. 1). The potential capacity of the tidal electric plant is 19.7 million kW with a generation of 49.1 billion kWh. Based on the region’s power demand at the start of the century, 11.4 million kW with a generation of 38.9 billion kWh for 3,400 h of annual utilization is assumed for use in the domestic and foreign markets [1, 8]. Structures of Tidal Electric Plant. The powerhouse for the tidal electric plant consists of 150 floating 93.0 × 76.5 × 55.3-m blocks each with four generating sets manufactured by the Zultser Esher-Weiss Company (SEW) (Fig. 2); the blocks will employ 86.0 × 53.0 × 47.4-morthogonal sets. The water-passing damwill also be built of floating 100 .0 × 45.0 × 38.0-mblocks with four bottomconduits in each block. The reliability and strength of the thin-wall reinforced-concrete design of the large-scale floating blocks for the tidal electric plant, which will function jointly with an artificial foundation bed and under the action of complex loadcombinations, were substantiated on the basis of analysis of their stress-strain state and with consideration of the 33 years of monitoring experienced gained with the floating powerhouse for the Kislogubsk tidal electric plant, and the building of floating water-passing structures in the protective dike for Saint Petersburg. The left- and right-bank dams, which will extend over 53 km (deployed at depths to 8 m) will be built of local materials. A lock and fish-passing structures will be blended into the dam. Ice- and Marine-Growth-Resistant Concretes with Extra-High Frost Resistance. The action of ice and sea water on the reinforced-concrete structures of the tidal electric plant represents a complex set of concrete-destroying mechanical, physical, chemical, and biological effects. Operating experience with concrete structures in various countries bordering the northern seas is negligible, and contradictory in nature. Dams with a compressive strength of no less than 60 MPa are recommended as ice-resistant structures in Finland, while Norway uses concretes with microsilica additives for the construction of platforms in the North Sea. Concretes for the Mezen’ tidal electric plant were developed on the basis of field tests on marine benches at the Kislogubsk tidal plant [4]; this made it possible to determine the compositions for a sulfate-resistant cement with additives of ecologically safe biocides, microfillers, and super-plasticizers, which provide for durable and impermeable structures with the capacity to resist long-termabrasion and the impact action of ice over its service life; the structure should also exhibit extra-high frost resistance ( F> 1000), and resist marine encrustation for more than 10 years

Short-cut design of small hydroelectric plants

The problem of designing small hydroelectric plants has been properly analysed and addressed in terms of maximizing the economic benefits of the investment. An appropriate empirical model describing hydroturbine efficiency was developed. An overall plant model was introduced by taking into account their construction characteristics and operational performance. The hydrogeographical characteristics for a wide range of sites have been appropriately analyzed and a model that involves significant physical parameters has been developed. The design problem was formulated as a mathematical programming problem, and solved using appropriate programming techniques. The optimization covered a wide range of site characteristics and three types of commercially available hydroturbines. The methodology introduced an empirical short-cut design equation for the determination of the optimum nominal flowrate of the hydroturbines and the estimation of the expected unit cost of electricity produced, as well as of the potential amount of annually recovered energy.