HYDROPOWER PLANTS

1. What is hydropower?
Hydropower or water power is power derived from the energy of falling water
or running water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes.
2. When was the first commercial hydropower plant built?
The first commercial hydroelectric power plant was built at Niagara Falls in
1879.
3. Which are the 6 types of Hydropower plants (slide 12)? Explain
how each one works.
Conventional hydroelectric, referring to hydroelectric dams.
Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity, which captures the kinetic energy in rivers
or streams, without a large reservoir and sometimes without the use of dams.
Small hydro projects are 10 megawatts or less and often have no artificial
reservoirs.
Micro hydro projects provide a few kilowatts to a few hundred kilowatts to
isolated homes, villages, or small industries.
Conduit hydroelectricity projects utilize water which has already been
diverted for use elsewhere; in a municipal water system, for example.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity stores water pumped uphill into reservoirs
during periods of low demand to be released for generation when demand is
high or system generation is low.
4. Name and locate the parts of a small/micro hydroelectric power
plant (slide 14).

5. Name each of the terms of the following formula, which

determines the power available in a stream of water:
=

= power (J/s or watts)

= turbine efficiency
= density of water (kg/m)
= acceleration of gravity (9.81 m/s)
= head (m). For still water, this is the difference in height between the
inlet and outlet surfaces. Moving water has an additional component
added to account for the kinetic energy of the flow. The total head
equals the pressure head plus velocity head.
= flow rate (m/s)
6. Name and locate the parts of a hydroelectric power plant.
(Slides 23 and 24).

7. Which are the 2 main types of hydro turbines?

Impulse turbines
Reaction turbines

8. Write the name of the different models of hydro turbines. (slide

27)

9. What is the selection criteria for hydro turbine selection?

The type of hydropower turbine selected for a project is based on the height of
standing waterreferred to as "head"and the flow, at the site.
Other deciding factors include how deep the turbine must be set, efficiency,
and cost.
10.
Fill in the following application requirements table for
hydro turbines. Use LOW, MID or HIGH accordingly.
Hydro Turbine

Head

Flow

Francis

Mid

Mid

Kaplan

Low

High

Pelton

High

Low