Hydro Energy

Dec 25, 2018

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• Outline
• Hydropower – world outlook
• Hydropower basics
• Power output
• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Classification
• Hydropower plant components
• Dams and other building
constructions
• Turbines
• Main design parameters
 INTRODUCTION
Definitions
• Hydropower derives energy from turbines being spun by
flowing water. This can be from rivers or from man-made
installations, where water flows from a high-level
reservoir down through a tunnel and away from a dam.
• Hydropower is a mature and cost-competitive renewable
energy source.
• It plays an important role in today’s electricity mix,
contributing to more than 16% of electricity generation
worldwide and about 85% of global renewable electricity
Hydropower - History
• For many centuries, hydropower had been
used to produced mechanical power to
perform a range of activities, including
– grain milling,
– textile processing and
– other light industrial operations.
• A great part of the industrial revolution in
the 18th century was “fueled” by access to
hydropower
 Hydrologic Cycle

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http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/hydro_how.html
 World Trends in Hydropower

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Boyle, Renewable Energy, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2003
Renewable Energy – World
Outlook (2003)
World Trends in Hydropower

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Sources of Electric Power – US

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 Global Renewable Electricity Sources

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Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company, http://www.wvic.com/hydro-facts.htm
Major Hydropower Producers, 2000

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Top Ten Hydroelectricity Producing States in 2006 (Billion
Kilowatthours ,KWH)
• China - 431.43
• Canada - 351.85
• Brazil - 345.32
• United States - 289.25
• Russia - 173.65
• Norway - 118.21
• India - 112.46
• Japan - 84.90
• Venezuela - 81.29
• Sweden - 61.11
Source: Energy Information Administration. International Energy
Annual September 2008.
 World Trends in Hydropower, 2012

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Boyle, Renewable Energy, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2003
 World’s Largest Dams
Max Annual
Name Country Year Generation Production

Three Gorges China 2009 18,200 MW

Itaipú Brazil/Paraguay 1983 12,600 MW 93.4 TW-hrs

Guri Venezuela 1986 10,200 MW 46 TW-hrs

Grand Coulee United States 1942/80 6,809 MW 22.6 TW-hrs

Sayano Shushenskaya Russia 1983 6,400 MW

Robert-Bourassa Canada 1981 5,616 MW

Churchill Falls Canada 1971 5,429 MW 35 TW-hrs

Iron Gates Romania/Serbia 1970 2,280 MW 11.3 TW-hrs

3. Xiluodu, China
This dam has a generating capacity of 13,860 commissioned in 2013,

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“Hydroelectricity,” Wikipedia.org
Three Gorges Dam (China)

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 Itaipú Dam (Brazil & Paraguay)

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“Itaipu,” Wikipedia.org
 Guri Dam (Venezuela)

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http://www.infodestinations.com/venezuela/espanol/puerto_ordaz/index.shtml
 Grand Coulee Dam (US)

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www.swehs.co.uk/ docs/coulee.html
 Hydropower basics: Energy
Transformations

Electrical
Potential Energy
Energy
Electricity

Kinetic
Energy

Mechanical
Energy

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 Hydropower basics
• Water can generate power when it moves from a high
potential energy state to a low potential energy state.
Hydropower basics
P (W) = ρ g H Q ηt

ρ = water density = 1000 kg/m3

g = gravitational const. = 9.81 m/s2
H = Net head (m)
Q = water flow (m3/s)
ηt = turbine efficiency
 Example 1
A hydroelectric power plant takes in 30 m3/s of water through
its turbine and discharges it to the atmosphere at V 2 m/s. The
head loss in the turbine and penstock system is hf = 20 m.
Assuming turbulent flow, the kinetic correction factor α of
1.06, estimate the power in MW extracted by the turbine.
Soln for Example 1
Hydropower advantages
• A big advantage of hydroelectric power is the
ability to quickly and readily vary the amount
of power generated, depending on the load
presented at that moment.
• It utilizes a renewable energy source as “fuel”
(water)
• Generation process is environmentally clean
• High reliability
• Once the dam is built, the energy is virtually
free
• Much more reliable than wind, solar or wave
power.
• Hydro-electric power stations can increase to
full power very quickly, unlike other power
stations
Hydropower disadvantages
• It requires large initial investments The
dams are very expensive to build.
However, many dams are also used for
flood control or irrigation, so building
costs can be shared.
• Water quality and quantity downstream
can be affected, which can have an
impact on plant life.
• Long transmission lines
• Social and environmental impacts for
large-scale schemes
 Advantages &
Disadvantages of Hydropower
Advantages Disadvantages
• Storage of energy • Environmental impacts of large
• low emissions ….. schemes
• Quick follow-up of • Water pollution
the load • Location dependency
• Large capacity • Excavation and movement of earth
• Low operational • Displacement people large capital
costs costs
• Predictable output • Dependence on rain
• Renewable • Displacement of natural water flows
• Political problems between countries
• Long lifetime
Long construction time
Hydropower Plants Classification
Hydropower Plants Classification
Hydropower plant
Hydropower plant components
• Dam
• Penstock
• Spillway
• Turbine
• Powerhouse
• Generator
• Transformer
• Transmission lines
 Powerhouses
• The powerhouses contain the turbine, generator,
control equipment, transformers and supporting
auxiliary equipment.
• Below the turbines are the draft tubes and their
gates
Types of powerhouses:
• Integral intake powerhouse
• Conventional surface powerhouse
• Underground powerhouse
 Turbines
• A variety of shapes and size with diameters ranging from as
little as a third of a meter to some 20 times
• Mechanical energy converted to electricity –rotating turbine
turns an electric generator.
• The type of hydropower turbine selected for a project is
based on the height of standing water (head) and the flow,
or volume of water, at the site. Also efficiency and cost are
other important deciding factors
• Two main types of hydro turbines
– Impulse: flow hits the turbine as a jet in an open
environment, with the power deriving from the
kinetic energy of the flow
– Reaction: The turbine is totally embedded in the fluid and
powered from the pressure drop across the
device
 Turbines
Impulse Reaction

Pelton wheel impulse turbine Francis Reaction turbine

Turbines
Turbines
Turbines
Types of turbine runners
 Main design parameters
The power capacity of a hydropower plant is
primarily a function of two main variables of the
water:
– water flow
– the hydraulic head
 Hydraulic head
• GROSS HEAD of a hydropower facility is the
difference between headwater elevation and
tail water elevation.

• NET HEAD is the effective head on the turbine

and is equal to the gross head minus the
hydraulic losses before entrance to the turbine
and outlet losses
Net Head
 Hydraulic losses
• Friction losses
• Intake losses
• Trash racks losses
• Transitions losses
 Example 2
Calculate the theoretical power output by the
hydropower power plant in KW with the following
parameters, the discharge water flow through the a
2.5 m diameter penstock and a distance of 75 m with
a rate of 100,000 L/s, the gross head is 60 m , Friction
coefficient of the pipe is 0.004, Intake losses of 2 m,
Trash racks losses 2m, Transitions losses of 3.55 m,
assume the overall efficiency of the systems (turbines
and generators) are 85%.
 Energy Resources
Hydroelectric power: Summary
• Hydro-electric power means getting
energy from flowing water
• Usually we build a dam, and let the
water turn turbines & generators as
it goes through pipes in the dam
• Renewable
• No pollution, no fuel needed, no
waste
• Expensive to build
• Building a dam means flooding a lot
of land