UNIT IV - RENEWABLE ENERGY POWER PLANTS

HYDEL POWER PLANTS (9) Number of Units.

Essential elements (10) Overall Cost.

1. Catchment area. Classification of Hydro-Plant

2. Reservoir. In hydro-plants, water is collected

3. Dam and intake house.
4. Inlet water way.
5. Power house.
6. Tail race or outlet water way
SELECTION OF TURBINE
The major problem confronting the
engineering is to select the type of turbine
which will give maximum economy. The
hydraulic prime-mover is always selected to
match the specific conditions under which it
has to operate and attain maximum possible
efficiency. The choice of a suitable hydraulic
prime-mover depends upon various
considerations for the given head and
discharge at a particular site of the power
plant. The type of the turbine can be
determined if the head available, power to
be developed and speed at which it has to
run are known to the engineer beforehand.
The following factors have the
bearing on the selection of the right type of
hydraulic turbine.
(1) Rotational Speed.
(2) Specific Speed.
(3) Maximum Efficiency.
(4) Part Load Efficiency.
(5) Head.
(6) Type of Water.
(7) Runaway Speed.
(8) Cavitation.
behind the dam. This reservoir of water may
be classified as either storage or pondage
according to the amount of water flow
regulation they can exert. The function of
the storage is to impound excess river flow
during the rainy season to supplement the
low rates of flow during dry seasons. They
can meet the demand of load fluctuations
for six months or even for a year. Pondage
involves in storing water during low loads so
that this water can be utilized for carrying
the peak loads during the week. They can
meet the hourly or weekly fluctuations of
load demand. With poundage, the water
level always fluctuates during operations It
rises at the time of storing water, falls at the
time ‘off drawing water, remains constant
when the load is constant.
The hydro-power plants can be
classified as below:
l. Storage plant
(a) High head plants
(b) Low head plants
(c) Medium head plants.
2. Run-of-river power plants
(a) With poundage
(b) Without poundage.
3. Pumped storage power Plants.
Storage Plants
These plants are usually base load
plants. The hydro-plants cannot be
classified directly on the basis of head alone
as there is no clear line of demarcation
between a high head and a medium head or
between medium head and low head. The
power plant can be classified on the basis of
head roughly in the following manner:
(a) High head plants. About 100 m and
above.
(b) Medium head plants. About 30 to 500 m.
(c) Low head plants. Up to about 50 m.
High Head Plants.
The water is taken from the reservoir
through tunnels which distribute the water to
penstock through which the water is
conveyed to the turbines. Alternately, the
water from the reservoir can be taken to a
smaller storage known as a forebay, by
mans of tunnels.
Low Head Power Plants.
These power plants are also known as
Canal power plants. Such aplant is shown in
Fig.
A dam is built on the river and the water is
diverted into a canal which conveys the
water into a forebay from where the water is
allowed to flow through turbines. After this,
the water is again discharged into the river
through a tail race. At the mouth of the
canal, head gates are fitted to control the
flow in the canal.
Medium Head Plants.
If the head of water available is more than
50 m., then the water from the fore bay is
conveyed to the turbines through pen-
stocks. Such a plant will then be named as
a medium head plant. In these plants, the
river water is usually tapped off to a fore bay
on one bank of the river as in the case of a
low head plant. From the fore bay, the water
is then led to the turbines through
penstocks. Such a layout is shown in Fig.
GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS Dry Steam Power Plants
Geothermal power is generated by
mining the earth's heat. In areas with high
temperature ground water at shallow depths,
wells are drilled into natural fractures in
basement rock or into permeable sedimentary
rocks. Hot water or steam flows up through the
wells either by pumping or through boiling
(flashing) flow.

Dry steam geothermal power plant

Steam plants use hydrothermal fluids

that are primarily steam. The steam goes
Extraction of petro geothermal energy through hot dry rock directly to a turbine, which drives a generator
(HRD)
that produces electricity.
There are three geothermal power plant
technologies being used to convert
Flash Steam Power Plants
hydrothermal fluids to electricity. The conversion
technologies are

 Dry steam,

 Flash

 Binary cycle

The type of conversion used depends on the

state of the fluid (whether steam or water) and
its temperature.

Liquid dominated single – flash steam system

 Hydrothermal fluids above 360°F
(182°C) can be used in flash plants to make
electricity. Fluid is sprayed into a tank held at a
much lower pressure than the fluid, causing
some of the fluid to rapidly vaporize, or "flash."
The vapor then drives a turbine, which drives a
generator. If any liquid remains in the tank, it
can be flashed again in a second tank to extract
even more energy.

Binary-Cycle Power Plants

Schematic of binary cycle geothermal power plant

lower boiling point than water pass through a

heat exchanger. Heat from the geothermal fluid
causes the secondary fluid to flash to vapor,
which then drives the turbines.

Advantages of Geothermal Energy

1. Significant Cost Saving : Geothermal energy

generally involves low running costs since it
saves 80% costs over fossil fuels and no fuel is
used to generate the power. Since, no fuel is
require so costs for purchasing, transporting and
cleaning up plants is quite low.
Most geothermal areas contain
2. Reduce Reliance on Fossil Fuels:
moderate-temperature water (below 400°F).
Dependence on fossil fuels decreases with the
Energy is extracted from these fluids in binary- increase in the use of geothermal energy. With
cycle power plants. Hot geothermal fluid and a the sky-rocketing prices of oil, many countries
secondary (hence, "binary") fluid with a much are pushing companies to adopt these clean
sources of energy. Burning of fossil fuels
releases greenhouse gases which are
responsible for global warming.
3. No Pollution: This is one of the main
advantages of using geothermal energy since it
does not create any pollution and help in
creating clean environment. Being the
renewable source of energy, geothermal energy
has helped in reducing global warming and
pollution. Moreover, Geothermal systems does
not create any pollution as it releases some
gases from deep within the earth which are not
very harmful to the environment
4. Direct Use: Since ancient times, people
having been using this source of energy for
taking bath, heating homes, preparing food and
today this is also used for direct heating of
homes and offices. This makes geothermal
energy cheaper and affordable. Although the
initial investment is quite steep but in the long
run with huge cost saving it proves quite useful
5. Job Creation and Economic Benefits:
Government of various countries is investing
hugely in creation of geothermal energy which
on other hand has created more jobs for the
local people.
Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy
1. Not Widespread Source of Energy: Since this
type of energy is not widely used therefore the
unavailability of equipment, staff, infrastructure,
and training pose hindrance to the installation of
geothermal plants across the globe. Not enough
skilled manpower and availability of suitable
build location pose serious problem in adopting
geothermal energy globally.
2. High Installation Costs: To get geothermal
energy, requires installation of power plants, to
get steam from deep within the earth and this
require huge one time investment and require
hiring a certified installer and skilled staff needs
to be recruited and relocated to plant location.
3. Can Run Out Of Steam : Geothermal sites
can run out of steam over a period of time due
to drop in temperature or if too much water is
injected to cool the rocks and this may result
huge loss for the companies which have
invested heavily in these plants. Due to this
factor, companies have to do extensive initial
research before setting up the plant.
OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY
CONVERSION
Ocean thermal energy conversion
(OTEC) uses the temperature difference
between cooler deep and warmer shallow or
surface ocean waters to run a heat engine and
produce useful work, usually in the form of
electricity. OTEC is a base load electricity
generation system, i.e. 24hrs/day all year long.
However, the temperature differential is small
and this impacts the economic feasibility of
ocean thermal energy for electricity generation.
Cycle types
Cold seawater is an integral part of each
of the three types of OTEC systems: closed-
cycle, open-cycle, and hybrid. To operate, the
cold seawater must be brought to the surface.
The primary approaches are active pumping and
desalination. Desalinating seawater near the
sea floor lowers its density, which causes it to
rise to the surface
The alternative to costly pipes to bring
condensing cold water to the surface is to pump
vaporized low boiling point fluid into the depths
to be condensed, thus reducing pumping
volumes and reducing technical and
environmental problems and lowering costs.
Closed cycle OTEC
Closed-cycle systems use fluid with a low boiling
point, such as ammonia (having a boiling point
around -33 °C at atmospheric pressure), to
power a turbine to generate electricity. Warm
surface seawater is pumped through a heat
exchanger to vaporize the fluid. The expanding
vapor turns the turbo-generator. Cold water,
pumped through a second heat exchanger,
condenses the vapor into a liquid, which is then
recycled through the system.
Open cycle OTEC
attraction of sea water by the moon. Tides
contain large amount of potential energy which
is used for power generation. When the water is
above the mean sea level, it is called flood tide.
When water level is below the mean level it is
called ebb tide.

Working of Tidal power generation:

The arrangement of this system is shown in

image. The ocean tides rise and fall and water
can be stored during the rise period and it can
be discharged during fall. A dam is constructed
separating the tidal basin from the sea and a
difference in water level is obtained between the
basin and sea.

Open-cycle OTEC uses warm surface water

directly to make electricity. The warm seawater
is first pumped into a low-pressure container,
which causes it to boil. In some schemes, the
expanding steam drives a low-pressure turbine
attached to an electrical generator. The steam,
which has left its salt and other contaminants in
the low-pressure container, is pure fresh water.
It is condensed into a liquid by exposure to cold
temperatures from deep-ocean water. This
method produces desalinized fresh water,
suitable for drinking water, irrigation or
aquaculture.
During high tide period, water flows from the sea
Hybrid cycle OTEC into the tidal basin through the water turbine.
The height of tide is above the tidal basin.
A hybrid cycle combines the features of Hence the turbine unit operates and generates
the closed- and open-cycle systems. In a hybrid, power, as it is directly coupled to a generator.
warm seawater enters a vacuum chamber and
is flash-evaporated, similar to the open-cycle
evaporation process. The steam vaporizes the
ammonia working fluid of a closed-cycle loop on
the other side of an ammonia vaporizer. The
vaporized fluid then drives a turbine to produce
electricity. The steam condenses within the heat
exchanger and provides desalinated water.

TIDEL POWER PLANTS

Principle of Tidal power generation:

Tide or wave is periodic rise and fall of

During low tide period, water flows from tidal
water level of the sea. Tides occur due to the
basin to sea, as the water level in the basin is
more than that of the tide in the sea. During this
period also, the flowing water rotates the turbine
and generates power.
The generation of power stops only when sea
level and the tidal basin level are equal. For the
generation of power economically using this
source of energy requires some minimum tide
height and suitable site. Kislaya power plants in
France are the only examples of this type of
power plant.
Advantages of tidal power plants
1. It is free from pollution as it does not use
any fuel.
2. It is superior to hydro-power plant as it is
totally independent of rain.
3. It improves the possibility of fish farming
in the tidal basins and it can provide
recreational facilities to visitors and
holiday makers.
Disadvantages of tidal power plants:
1. Tidal power plants can be developed
only if natural sites are available on the
bay.
2. As the sites are available on the bays
which are always far away from load
centers, the power generated has to be
transmitted to long distances. This
increases the transmission cost and
transmission losses.
3. The supply of power is not continuous as
it depends upon the timing of tides.
4. The navigation is obstructed.
5. Utilization of tidal energy on small scale
is not economical.
PUMPED STORAGE POWER
PLANTS
These plants supply the peak load for
the base load power plants and pump all or
a portion of their own water supply. The
usual construction would be a tail water
pond and a head water pond connected
through a penstock. The generating
pumping plant is at the lower end. During off
peak hours, some of the surplus electric
energy being generated by the base load
plant, is utilized to pump the water from tail
water pond into the head water pond and
this energy will be stored there.
During times of peak load, this energy will be
released by allowing the water to flow from the
head water pond through the water turbine of
the pumped storage plant. These plants can be
used with hydro, steam and i.e. engine plants.
This plant is nothing but a hydraulic accumulator
system and is shown in Fig.
These plants can have either vertical shaft
arrangement or horizontal shaft arrangement. In
the older plants, there were separate motor
driven pumps and turbine driven generators.
The improvement was the pump and turbine on
the same shaft with the electrical element acting
as either generator or motor. The latest design
is to use a Francis turbine which is just the
reverse of centrifugal pump. When the water
flows through it from the head water pond it will
act as a turbine and rotate the generator. When
rotated in the reverse direction by means of an
electric motor, it will act as a pump to shunt the
water from the tail water pond to the head water
pond. The efficiency of such a plant is never 100
per cent. Some water may evaporate from the
head water pond resulting in the reduction in the
stored energy or there might be run off through
the soil.
WIND ENERGY
All renewable energy (except tidal and
geothermal power), ultimately comes from the
sun. The earth receives 1.74 x 10 17 watts of
power (per hour) from the sun. About one or 2
percent of this energy is converted to wind
energy (which is about 50-100 times more than
the energy converted to biomass by all plants on
earth. Differential heating of the earth’s surface and gearbox of these turbines are to be placed
and atmosphere induces vertical and horizontal over the tower which makes its design more
air currents that are affected by the earth’s complex and expensive.
rotation and contours of the land à WIND. Winds
are influenced by the ground surface at altitudes Based on the direction of receiving the
up to 100 meters. wind, the two and three bladed HAWTs can be
also classified as upwind and down wind
Wind is slowed by the surface roughness and
turbines as shown in Fig.
obstacles. When dealing with wind energy, we
are concerned with surface winds. A wind
turbine obtains its power input by converting the
force of the wind into torque (turning force)
acting on the rotor blades. The amount of
energy which the wind transfers to the rotor
depends on the density of the air, the rotor area,
and the wind speed.

The kinetic energy of a moving body is

proportional to its mass (or weight). The kinetic
energy in the wind thus depends on the density
of the air, i.e. its mass per unit of volume. In
other words, the "heavier" the air, the more
energy is received by the turbine.
Types of Wind Turbines
There are various classifications of WTs
(Wind Turbines). The classification depending
on the amount of the generated power is as
follows:
 small (< 25 kW)
 medium (25-100 kW),
 large (100-1000 kW)
 very large (>1000 kW)
Wind turbines are classified also depending on
their rotation direction
 Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT)
 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT)
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs)
HAWTs have low cut-in wind speed
values and they can easily be furled. (Cut-in
velocity is the wind velocity value at which the
wind turbine starts to produce power.) In
general, they show relatively high power
coefficient (See below). However, the generator
For the upwind turbines, which are the most
common, as the wind stream passes the rotor
first, they do not have the problem of tower
shadow. However, yaw mechanism is essential
for such designs to keep the rotor always facing
the wind. For the downwind rotors, as the rotors
are placed at the lee side of the tower, there
may be uneven loading on the blades as it
passes through the shadow of the tower. On the
other hand, downwind machines are more
flexible and may not require a yaw mechanism.
Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs)
VAWTs are classified as drag and lift lift
devices based on their operating principles.
Darrieus turbine illustrated on the right in Fig is a
lift turbine, since the shaft torque results
primarily from lift on the blades. Savonios
turbine on the other hand is drag type VAWT,
since drag of the wind on the cups generates
the torque on the axis.
Lift and drag are the components of the
force perpendicular and parallel to the direction
of the relative wind respectively. It is easy to
show theoretically that it is much more efficient
to use lift rather than drag when extracting
power from the wind.
  More space should be needed for wind
power generation.

PRODUCTION OF BIO GAS

Introduction

Choosing a right biogas digester is a very

important while constructing a biogas plant.
From the standpoint of fluid dynamics and
structural strength, an egg-shaped vessel is
about the best possible solution. This type
of construction, however, is comparatively
expensive; therefore, its use is usually
restricted to large-scale sewage treatment
plants. The Chinese fixed-dome designs are
of similar shape, but less expensive. The
hemispherical CAMARTEC design is
optimized in structural strength, but does not
make optimal use of the excavation
required.

Types of Small-Scale Digesters

 Fixed Dome Biogas Plants

 Floating Drum Plants
 Low-Cost Polyethylene Tube
Advantages Digester
 Balloon Plants
 Wind is renewable source of energy.  Horizontal Plants
 There is no need of using fuel for wind  Earth-pit Plants
energy conversion system.  Ferro-cement Plants
 There is no need of transportation facility.
 It is pollution free. Fixed-dome Biogas Plants
 The maintenance cost of wind energy
conversion system is less for low power Raw Materials Required
generation Forms of biomass listed below may be used
along with water:

Disadvantages  Animal dung

 The availability of wind energy is
fluctuating in nature.
 The auxiliary storage devices such as
battery must be provided for wind energy
conversion system because of the
fluctuation of the wind in nature.
 Wind energy conversion systems are
noisy.
 Poultry wastes
 Plant wastes ( Husk, grass, weeds
etc.)
 Human excreta
 Industrial wastes(Saw dust, wastes
from food processing industries)
 Domestic wastes (Vegetable peels,
waste food materials)
 Principle
Biogas is produced as a result of anaerobic
fermentation of biomass in the presence of
water.
Construction
The biogas plant is a brick and cement
structure having the following five sections:
 Mixing tank present above the ground level
 Inlet chamber: The mixing tank opens
underground into a sloping inlet chamber
 Digester: The inlet chamber opens from
below into the digester which is a huge tank
with a dome like ceiling. The ceiling of the
digester has an outlet with a valve for the
supply of biogas
 Outlet chamber: The digester opens from
below into an outlet chamber
 Overflow tank: The outlet chamber opens
from the top into a small over flow tank
Working
 The various forms of biomass are mixed
with an equal quantity of water in the
mixing tank. This forms the slurry
 The slurry is fed into the digester through
the inlet chamber. The temperature of the
slurry must be maintained around 35 oC.
Any drop in temperature will reduce the
anaerobic activity and hence the yield of
biogas
 When the digester is partially filled with the
slurry, the introduction of slurry is stopped
and the plant is left unused for about two
months
 During these two months, anaerobic
bacteria present in the slurry decompose
or ferment the biomass in the presence of
water
 As a result of anaerobic fermentation,
biogas is formed, which starts collecting in
the dome of the digester
 As more and more biogas starts collecting,
the pressure exerted by the biogas forces
the spent slurry into the outlet chamber
 From the outlet chamber, the spent slurry
overflows into the overflow tank
 The spent slurry is manually removed from
the overflow tank and used as manure for
plants
 The gas valve connected to a system of
pipelines is opened when a supply of
biogas is required
 To obtain a continuous supply of biogas, a
functioning plant can be fed continuously
with the prepared slurry
Advantages of Fixed Dome Type of
Biogas Plant
 Requires only locally and easily available
materials for construction
 Inexpensive
 Easy to construct
 Due to the above reasons, this plant is
also called the Janata Gobar gas plant.
Advantages of Biogas as a Fuel
 As domestic fuel
 For street lighting
 For generation of electricity
 High calorific value
 Clean and excellent fuel containing upto
75% methane
 No residue produced
 No smoke produced
 Non – polluting
 The slurry is periodically removed and
used as excellent manure which is rich in
nitrogen and phosphorous
 Economical
 Can be supplied through pipe lines
 Burns readily - has a convenient ignition
temperature Uses of Biogas
Floating Drum Biogas Plants
The year of 1956, Jashu Bhai J Patel from
India designed the first floating drum biogas
plant, popularly called Gobar gas plant.
Floating-drum plants consist of an
underground digester (cylindrical or dome-
shaped) and a moving gas-holder. The gas-
holder floats either directly on the
fermentation slurry or in a water jacket of its
own. The gas is collected in the gas drum,
which rises or moves down, according to the
amount of gas stored. The gas drum is
prevented from tilting by a guiding frame.
When biogas is produced, the drum moves
up adn when it is consumed, the drum goes
down.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Engines

Immobile alkaline electrolyte fuel cells use

an electrolyte that consists of a thick paste
retained by capillary forces within a porous
support matrix such as asbestos. The paste
itself provides gas seals at the cell edges.
Product water evaporates into the source
hydrogen gas stream at the anode from
which it is subsequently condensed. The
waste heat is removed by way of a
circulating coolant. Alkaline fuel cells
operate at about 150 to 430 ºF (65 to 220
ºC) and a pressure of about 15 psig (1 bar).

Advantages
  operate at low temperature
 have fast startup times (50% rated
power at ambient temperature)
 have high efficiency
 need little or no expensive platinum
catalyst
 have minimal corrosion
 have relative ease of operation
 have low weight and volume
Disadvantages
 The disadvantages are that they are
extremely intolerant to CO2 (about
350 ppm maximum) and somewhat
intolerant of CO. This is a serious
disadvantage and limits both the type
of oxidant and fuel that can be used
in an alkaline fuel cell. The oxidant
must be either pure oxygen or air that
has been scrubbed free of carbon
dioxide. The fuel must be pure
hydrogen due to the presence of
carbon oxides in reformate.
 have a liquid electrolyte, introducing
liquid handling problems
 require complex water management
 have a relatively short lifetime
Reaction
Alkaline fuel cells must operate using pure
hydrogen free of carbon oxides.
cathode. Combining the anode and cathode
reactions, the overall cell reactions are:
(1) H2 + 2OH–→ 2H2O + 2e–
(2) ½O2 + H2O + 2e–→ 2OH–
Thus, the fuel cell produces water that either
evaporates into the source hydrogen stream
(in an immobile system) or is flushed out of
the cells along with the electrolyte (in a
mobile system). This water must be
continually removed to facilitate further
reaction.
Solar Power Plants
Parabolic Trough
Parabolic trough-shaped mirror reflectors
are used to concentrate sunlight on to
thermally efficient receiver tubes placed in
the trough focal line. In these tubes a
thermal transfer fluid is circulated, such as
synthetic thermal oil. Heated to
approximately 400°C by the concentrated
sun’s rays, this oil is then pumped through a
series of heat exchangers to produce
superheated steam. The steam is converted
to electrical energy in a conventional steam
turbine generator, which can either be part
of a conventional steam cycle or integrated
into a combined steam and gas turbine
cycle.

The reactions at the anode are:

(1) H2 + 2K+ + 2OH–→2K + 2H2O

(2) 2K →2K+ + 2e–

The reactions at the cathode are:

(1) ½O2 + H2O →2OH

(2) 2OH + 2e– →2OH–

The OH– ion is drawn through the electrolyte

from the cathode to the anode by the
reactive attraction of hydrogen to oxygen,
while electrons are forced through an Parabolic Trough
external circuit from the anode to the
Central Receiver/Solar Tower
 A circular array of heliostats (large
individually-tracking mirrors) is used to
concentrate sunlight on to a central receiver
mounted at the top of a tower. A heat
transfer medium in this central receiver
absorbs the highly concentrated radiation
reflected by the heliostats and converts it
into thermal energy to be used for the
subsequent generation of superheated
steam for turbine operation. Heat transfer
media so far demonstrated include
water/steam, molten salts, liquid sodium and
air. If a gas or even air is pressurised in the
receiver, it can be used alternatively to drive
a gas turbine (instead of producing steam
for a steam turbine).
Central Receiver/Solar Tower
Parabolic Dish
A parabolic dish-shaped reflector is used to
concentrate sunlight on to a receiver located
at the focal point of the dish. This absorbs
energy reflected by the concentrators,
enabling fluid in the receiver to be heated to
approximately 750°C. This is then used to
generate electricity in a small engine, for
instance Stirling engine or a micro turbine,
attached to the receiver.
Parabolic Dish
Parabolic Dish Engines Technology
Status
Parabolic dish concentrators are
comparatively small units with a motor-
generator at the focal point of the reflector.
Overall size typically ranges from 5 to 15
meters in diameter and 5 to 50kW of power
output. Like all concentrating systems, they
can be additionally powered by natural gas
or biogas, providing firm capacity at any
time.
Parabolic Dish Engines Technology Status