HYDRO POWER ENERGY

Prepared by: Oliyad Ebba

INTRODUCTION
HYDRO POWER
1) One of the most widely used renewable source of energy for generating
electricity on large scale basis is hydropower
2) The power obtained from river or ocean water is called as hydropower
3) Hydropower is the renewable source of energy since water is available in
large quantities from rain, rivers, and oceans and this is will be available for
unlimited time to come

Hydroelectric power (often called hydropower) is considered a renewable energy source.

A renewable energy source is one that is not depleted (used up) in the production of energy.
Through hydropower, the energy in falling water is converted into electricity without using
up the water.

HISTORY
- Nearly 2000 years ago the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into flour
- In the 1700's, hydropower was broadly used for milling of lumber and grain and for
pumping irrigation water
- Appleton, Wisconsin became the first operational hydroelectric generating station in the
United States, in 1882, producing 12.5 kilowatts (kW) of power
- The total electrical capacity generated was equivalent to 250 lights
- The largest and last masonry dam built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was the
Roosevelt Dam in Arizona between 1905-1911; its power output has increased from 4,500
kW to 36,000 kW
- Still in use today, Niagra Falls was the first hydropower site developed for a vast
quantity of electricity

Humans first learned to harness the

kinetic energy in water by using
waterwheels.
A waterwheel is a revolving wheel
fitted with blades, buckets, or vanes.
Waterwheels convert the kinetic
energy of flowing water to
mechanical energy.

Mechanical energy is a form of kinetic energy, such as in a machine.

Mechanical energy has the ability to do work. Any object that is able
to do work has mechanical energy.

Early waterwheels used mechanical

energy to grind grains and to drive
machinery such as sawmills and
blacksmith equipment.

Waterwheel technology advanced over time. Turbines are advanced,

very efficient waterwheels. They are often enclosed to further capture
waters energy.

Not long after the discovery of electricity, it was realized that a turbines
mechanical energy could be used to activate a generator and produce electricity.
The first hydroelectric power plant was constructed in 1882 in Appleton,
Wisconsin. It produced 12.5 kilowatts of electricity which was used to light two
paper mills and one home.

Hydroelectric power (hydropower) systems convert the kinetic

energy in flowing water into electric energy.

CLASSIFICATION OF HYDROPOWER PLANTS :

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO CAPACITY:

LARGE: >100 MW
MEDIUM: 25 100 MW
SMALL: 1-25 MW
MINI: 100 KW - 1MW
MICRO: 5 100 KW
PICO: < 5 KW

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO HEAD

LOW HEAD:
Low head hydro power applications use river current or tidal flows of 30 meters or less to
produce energy.
These applications do not need to dam or retain water to create hydraulic head, the head is only
a few meters.
Using the current of a river or the naturally occurring tidal flow to create electricity may
provide a renewable energy source that will have a minimal impact on the environment.

Figure-sectional view of low head hydropower plant

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO HEAD

MEDIUM HEAD:
A power station operating under heads from 30m to
300m.

Figure- sectional view of medium head hydropower plant

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO HEAD

HIGH HEAD:
A power station operating under heads above about 300m.
A head of 200m/250m is considered as the limit between medium and high head power stations.

Figure- high head hydropower plant

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO HDROLOGICAL RELATION

SINGLE STAGE- When the run off
from a single hydropower plant is
diverted back into river or for any
other purpose other than power
generation, the setup is known as
Single Stage.
CASCADE SYSTEM When two or more hydropower plants
are used in series such that the runoff
discharge of one hydro power plant is
used as the is a intake discharge of the
second hydro power plant such a
system is known as CASCADE
hydropower plant.

Figure-(a) single stage hydropower development scheme

(b) cascade or multistage hydropower system

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO PURPOSE:

SINGLE PURPOSE: When the whole soul purpose of a

project is to produce electricity then such a project is known as a
Single Purpose Hydro Power Project.
MULTI PURPOSE : When the water used in hydropower
project is to be used for other purposes like irrigation, flood
control or fisheries then such a project is known as Multi
Purpose Hydro Power Project.

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO FACILITY TYPE

RUN-OF-RIVER TYPE
These are hydro power plants that utilize the stream flow as it comes , without any storage being provided.

Figure-Run-of-River hydropower plant

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO FACILITY TYPE

STORAGE (RESERVOIR) TYPE

Hydropower plants with storage are supplied with water from large storage reservoir that have been
developed by constructing dams across rivers.
Assured flow for hydro power generation is more certain for the storage schemes than the run-of-river schemes

Figure-pumped storage hydropower plant

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO FACILITY TYPE

PUMPED STORAGE TYPE

Pumped storage type hydropower plants are those which utilize the flow of
water from a reservoir at higher potential to one at lower potential.
During off-peak hours, the reversible units are supplied with the excess
electricity available in the power grid which then pumps part of the water of the
tail-water pond back into the head-water pond.

Figure-pumped storage hydropower plant

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO FACILITY TYPE

IN-STREAM
When the velocity of water i.e kinetic
energy flowing in the stream is used
for conversion into electrical power,
then the system is known as Instream.

Photograph of In-stream hydro power system

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO TRANSMISSION SYSTEM:

ISOLATED: Whenever a hydropower plant is set up in a remote area in

order to meet the local demands then such a hydropower plant is known
as Isolated System.

CONNECTED TO GRID: Whenever the hydropower plant is set up to

meet the demands of areas which are at a fair distance from the plant,
then the transmission of power takes through the grid system. Such a
setup is referred to as Connected to grid.

COMPONENTS OF HYDRO POWER PLANT

1) Dam
Classification of dams
Storage dams
Diversion dams
Detention dams
Debris dams
Coffer dams

Advantages of Dam
Dams gather drinking water for
people.
Dams help farmers bring water to
their farms.

Water Supply
Irrigation

Dams help create power and

electricity from water.

Hydroelectric

Dams keep areas from flooding.

Flood Control

Dams create lakes for people to swim in

and sail on.

Recreation
Navigation

2) Water reservoir
Place behind the dam
Potential energy
3) Intake or control gates
Gates inside of the dam.
Inlet gates
4) The penstock
To carries the water
Controlled by the control gates
5) Water turbines
Convert HYDROLIC energy to MECHANICAL energy
6) Generators
Convert MECHANICAL energy in ELECTRICAL energy

7) Transformer
Converts the alternating current to high voltage current.
Two coils: the supply coil and the outlet coil.
Voltage required for various applications is 110V or 230V.
Numbers of turns in outlet coil are double of supply coil, the voltage produced
is also double.

8) Tailrace
Pipeline to drain the water
The potential energy of water in the tailrace has been used to generate
electricity

WORKING PRINCIPLE OF HYDRO POWER PLANT

WATER CYCLE
The continuous cycle in which water changes from water vapor in the atmosphere to
liquid water through condensation and precipitation and then back to water vapor
through evaporation, transpiration, and respiration
Water cycle in nature:
Water surface evaporation
Precipitation of clouds
Collected back to the oceans
VAPORATION PRECIPITION RAIN

Water cycle in the hydraulic power plant

Water energies: Kinetic energy , Potential energy
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. Any moving
object has kinetic energy.
PROCESS / STAGES
1) Water in reservoir
2) Fall in turbine blade
3) Shaft rotation
4) Electric generation
5) Flow back of water

How a Hydropower System Works

The mechanical energy produced by the turbine is converted into

electric energy using a turbine generator. Inside the generator, the shaft
of the turbine spins a magnet inside coils of copper wire. It is a fact of
nature that moving a magnet near a conductor causes an electric current.

How much electricity can be generated by a hydroelectric power plant?

The amount of electricity that can be generated by a hydropower plant depends on

two factors:
Flow rate - the quantity of water flowing in a given time; and
Head - the height from which the water falls.
The greater the flow and head, the more electricity produced.

Low Impact Hydropower

A hydropower project is considered low impact if it considers these
environmental factors:

River flow

Water quality

Threatened and
endangered species
protection
Cultural resource
protection

Watershed
protection

Fish passage
and protection

Recreation
Facilities recommended
for removal

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF

HYDRO POWER PLANT

Advantages
1) No fuel required
2) Cost of electricity is constant
3) No air-pollution is created
4) Long life
5) Cost of generation of electricity
6) Can easily work during high peak daily loads
7) Irrigation of farms
8) Water sports and gardens
9) Prevents floods

DISADVANTAGES
1) Disrupts the aquatic ecosystems
2) Disruption in the surrounding areas
3) Requires large areas
4) Large scale human displacement
5) Very high capital cost or investment
6) High quality construction
7) Site specific
8) Effects on environment
9) Safety of the dams

FACTS ABOUT HYDROPOWER PROJECTS

The two largest hydropower projects in the world are the 14 GW

Itaipu project in Brazil and the Three Gorges project in china
with 22.4 GW. These two projects alone produce 80 to 100
TWH/year (IPCC, 2011).
The Three Gorges dam in hubei,china has the world's largest
instantaneous generating capacity (22,500 MW).
Tehri dam in india on the Bhagirathi 2,400 MW(Current 1,000).

Photograph of Itaipu Dam (Paran River) located on the border between

Brazil and Paraguay

Photograph of Three Gorges Dam (Yangtze River, china)

Three Gorges Dam

Three Gorges Dam

Type: Concrete Gravity Dam
Cost: Official cost $25bn - actual cost
believed to be much higher
Work began: 1993
Due for completion: 2009
Power generation: 26 turbines on left and
right sides of dam. Six underground turbines
planned for 2010
Power capacity: 18,000 megawatts
Reservoir: 660km long, submerging 632 sq
km of land. When fully flooded, water will be
175m above sea level
Navigation: Two-way lock system became
operational in 2004. One-step ship elevator
due to open in 2009.

u
o
y
k
n
a
h
T