Chapter Six

6. Introduction hydropower

Academic year 2020/21, Debebe Muleta

Semester- Summer Hydraulic Engineering
(MSc)
 Introduction
Hydroelectric power, is a form of hydropower (the use of energy

released by water falling, flowing downhill, moving tidally, or

moving in some other way) to produce electricity.

Most hydroelectric power is currently generated from water flowing

downhill.

Hydroelectric power is usually generated at dams or other places

where water descends from a height.

Hydroelectricity is a renewable energy source, since the water that

flows in rivers has come from precipitation such as rain or snow, and
tides are driven by the rotation of the earth
There are many energy sources among which Hydroelectric
power is the one
Ethiopian Energy Resources

Sources: EEPCO
 Advantages and Disadvantage of Hydropower
Advantages
has a continuous' source of Disadvantage
energy  It is capital intensive
doesn't consume the water. & therefore rate of
Running cost of hydropower plant return is low.
is very low  The gestation period
Hydropower plants can be is long
brought in to operation in few  dependent on
minutes natural flow of
Efficiency of hydropower system streams
is very high (90-95%)
Hydropower development
provides secondary benefit.
 Summary of Hydropower status in Ethiopia
Currently there are two different power supply systems,
 The Interconnected System (ICS), which is mainly supplied
from hydropower plants,
The Self-Contained System (SCS), which consists of mini
hydropower plants and a number of isolated diesel generating
units that are widely spread over the country.
Ethiopia is ranked number 64th when all hydropower capacity
is calculated.
When completed, the Grand Renaissance Dam (6.0GW) and
be the largest hydropower plant in Africa.
2013 capacity data
 Pure Hydro: 1.89 GW
 Pumped Hydro: 0.00 GW
 Total Capacity: 1.89 GW
Gilgel Gibe I
 Place: Oromia region, Ethiopia.
 Year: 1995 – 2003
 Project Description: Hydroelectric power plant ( IP = 200 MW ) including rock
fill dam, underground power house and auxiliary works.
 Main Features: Rock fill Dam with bituminous upstream facing ( H = 40 m, L =
1600 m, Embankment volume V = 2.5 Mm3 , bituminous face A = 105.000 m2
);
 Spillway ( L = 48m, Design flow Q = 2250 m3/s, Gates : flap 12x 8.5 m );
 Power Tunnel ( L = 8.8 km, D = 5.5 m );
 Surge Shaft ( H = 110 m, D = 14 m );
 Underground Power House ( 83x22,5x41 m , Francis turbines IP = 3x66,7 MW).
Gibe II (Ethiopia)
Place: Oromia region, Ethiopia.
Year: 2003 – 2010
Project Description:
Gibe II is the second stage of the Gibe-Omo hydroelectric cascade
which includes upstream Gilgel Gibe HPP, in operation, and
downstream Gibe III (under completion), Gibe IV and Gibe V (both
planned).
Main Features:
Gravity Dam ( H = 49 m, Crest L = 140 m, Crest Elev. = 1,439 m a.s.l. );
Power Tunnels ( L = 26 km, D = 6 m );
Penstocks ( No 2, L = 1.2 km, average D = 2.4 m );
Surge Shaft ( H = 94.5 m, D = 18 m );
Power House ( Outdoor type, Pelton turbines IP = 4x105 MW ).
Gibe III
Place: Oromia region, Ethiopia.
Year: 2005 – under cons.
Project Description: Gibe III is the third stage of the Gibe-
Omo hydroelectric cascade which includes upstream Gilgel
Gibe and Gibe II (operating) and downstream Gibe IV and
Gibe V (planned).
Main Features:
RCC Gravity Dam ( H = 235 m, crest L = 620 m, reservoir V =
14,700 Mm3 );
Spillway (gates 12x17.5 m, Q = 10,600 m3/sec );
Power Waterways (L = 1.0 km, average D = 11 m );
River Diversions Tunnels ( L = 1.1 km, average D = 14 m );
River Diversion Tunnel ( L = 1.1 km, average D = 7 m );
Cofferdam ( H = 50 m, L = 205 m , rockfill with impermeable
membrane );
Power House ( outdoor type, Francis turbines IP = 10x187
MW );
Beles
 Multi-purpose power plant
 Place: Lake Tana, Ethiopia
 Year: 2005 – 2011
Beles is a multi-purpose project on Lake Tana, Ethiopia, including
hydropower plant and irrigation works.
Use of the Lake Tana as a reservoir (total storage capacity = 32,270
Mm3 )
Headrace tunnel, L = 11 km, D = 8 m
Surge shaft, L = 91 m, D = 18 m
Penstock shaft, L = 286 m, D = 6.5 m
Underground power house, Francis turbines, IP = 4x115 MW, E =
1720 Gwh/year
3 weirs for irrigation purposes
GERD
Place: Benishangull Gumuz National Regional State, Addis

Ababa, Ethiopia.

Year: 2010 – in progress

Hydroelectric power plant ( IP = 6,000 MW ).

Reservoir (Catchment Area = 172,250 km2, Total Storage =

63,000 Mm3);

Main dam ( Gravity RCC type, H = 155 m, Crest Length = 1780

m, Crest Elev. = 645 m a.s.l.);

Saddle dam ( Rockfill dam with Bituminous Core, H = 45 m,

Crest Length = 4,800 m);

Spillway (gates 14x15.5 m, Q = 10,500 m3/sec );

Power Waterways ( Penstocks, L = 180 m, Average

Diameter = 8.5 m );

Diversions culverts ( L =210 m, Average Diameter = 8

m );

Power house ( Outdoor, Francis Turbines, IP = 6,000

MW );

River Bridge ( Total Length =260 m, Width = 10 m,

Piers No 6, Max Span Length = 72 m ).

Hydropower engineering refers to

the technology involved in

converting the pressure energy
and kinetic energy of water into
more easily used electrical energy

The prime mover in the case of

 It is necessary to create a
hydropower is a water wheel or
head at a point of the
hydraulic turbine which
stream and to convey the
transforms the energy of the water
water through the head
into mechanical energy.
to the turbines.
The necessary head can be
created in different ways of
which two have been practically
accepted.
Building a dam across a
stream to hold back water and
release it through a channel,
conduit or a tunnel
Divert part of the stream by
creating a low-head
diversion structure like
barrage.
 Classification of hydropower

The hydroelectric power plants are classified

in various ways
a) Hydraulic characteristics
b) Total head of water in the reservoir
c) Plant capacity and
d) Load characteristic
a) Classification based on the hydraulic
characteristics

These are:

i. Run-of-river schemes

ii. Storage schemes

iii. Pumped-Storage schemes

iv. Tidal power development schemes

i. Run-of-river schemes;

 These are hydropower plants that utilize the stream flow as it comes,

without any storage being provided

Generally, these plants would be feasible only on such streams which

have a minimum dry weather flow of such magnitude which makes it

possible to generate electricity throughout the year.

Run-of-river plants may also be provided with some storage.

During off-peak hours of electricity demand, as in the night, some of

the units may be closed and the water conserved in the storage

space, which is again released during peak hours for power

generation.
 ii. Storage schemes
Water is supplied from large storage reservoir that have
been developed by constructing dams across rivers.
Generally, the excess flow of the river during rainy
seasons would be stored in the reservoir to be released
gradually during periods of lean flow.

Naturally, the assured flow for

hydropower generation is more

certain for the storage schemes

than the run-of-river schemes.

iii. Pumped-Storage schemes
 During times of peak load, water is drawn from the
head-water pond to run the reversible turbine-pump
units in the turbine mode and the water released gets
collected in the tail-water pond.
iii. Tidal power development schemes
These are hydropower plants which utilize the rise in

water level of the sea due to a tide

During high tide, the water from the sea-side starts

rising, and the turbines start generating power as the

water flows into the bay.

As the sea water starts falling during low tide the water

from the basin flows back to the sea which can also be
used to generate power provided another set of
turbines in the opposite direction are installed.
,
b) Classification based on the available
water head on turbine
i. Low head plants < 15m
ii. Medium head plants 15-50m
iii. High head plants 50-250m
iv. Very high head plants > 250m
c) Classification based on the plant
capacity
1. Micro Hydro-electric plants
 A micro Hydro-electric plant has the capacity less than 5 MW.
2. Medium capacity plants
 A medium capacity plant has the capacity between 5MW and 100
MW.
3. High capacity plants
 A plant having a capacity between 101 MW and 1000
MW is usually classified as a high capacity plant.
4. Super hydro plants
 A super hydro plant has a capacity greater than 1000
MW
d) Classification based on the load characteristic
Base load plants
 A base load power plant is a power station that
usually provides a continuous supply of
electricity throughout the year with some
minimum power generation requirement.

 Intermediate load- Intermediate load is that portion

of the load between the base load and the peaking
portion of the load.
d) Classification based on the load characteristic
Peak load plants

 These plants are mainly used during the

peak load. Run-off river plants with poundage

can be used as peak-load plants. Reservoir
plants with enough storage behind the dam
can be used either as base load or as peak
load plants as required.
layout of hydroelectric power plant
 26

Components of Hydropower Plant

• Reservoir, Head pond or River Intake
• Dam/Weir
• Spillway
• Intake
• Power waterways /conveyance
• Surge shaft/forbay
• Penstock
• Powerhouse
• Tailrace
 Power Waterways
Power Waterways can be a combination of the following:
Open canal either lined or unlined
Closed conduit
Tunnel lined or unlined
Surge Tanks
A Surge tank is a small reservoir or tank in which
the water level rises or falls due to sudden
changes in pressure
Purpose of surge tank:
To serve as a supply tank to the turbine when the water in the

pipe is accelerated during increased load conditions and as a storage

tank when the water is decelerating during reduced load conditions

To reduce the distance between the free water surface in the dam

and the turbine, thereby reducing the water hammer effect on

penstock and also protect the upstream tunnel from high pressure

rise.
Water-hammer
• Water Hammer is a pressure surge or wave that
occurs when there is a sudden momentum change of
a fluid (the motion of a fluid is abruptly forced to stop
or change direction) within an enclosed space (Water
Hammer). This commonly occurs in pipelines when a
valve is closed suddenly at the end of a pipeline
where the velocity of the fluid is high. The pressure
wave created will propagate within the pipeline.
Penstock
Penstock is a closed pipe of steel or concrete for supplying
water under pressure to the turbine.
Inlet valve :
Water from the penstock flows to the turbine through the inlet
valve. The valve may be partially closed or open thereby regulating
the pressure of water flowing to the turbine.
Hydraulic turbine(Prime mover)
The hydraulic turbine converts the energy of water
into mechanical energy. The mechanical
energy(rotation) available on the turbine shaft is
coupled to the shaft of an electric generator and
electricity is produced. The water after performing
the work on turbine blades is discharged through the
draft tube.
 The prime movers which are in common use are Pelton
wheel, Francis turbine and Kaplan turbine.
Draft tube
It is connected to the outlet of the turbine.
It allows the turbine to be placed above the tail water
level.
Tail water level or Tail race
Tail water level is the water level after the discharge

from the turbine. The discharged water is sent to the

river, thus the level of the river is the tail water level.
Power House & Equipments:-
In the scheme of hydropower the role of power house is
to protect the electromechanical equipment that convert
the potential energy of water into electricity.
Following are the equipments of power plant:
The powerhouse is composed of substructure and
superstructure
The substructure is defined by the type of unit which is in
turn defined by the head.
There are two basic type of power house
• Surface power house
• Subsurface power house

1. Valve 6. Protection System

2. Turbine 7. DC emergency Supply
3. Generator 8. Power and current
4. Control System transformer
5. Condenser
 Estimation of Water Power Potential
Basic Definitions
The gross head, 𝐻𝑜, at a
hydroelectric plant is the
difference in water level
between the reservoir
behind the dam and the
water level in the tail race.
The effective or net head, 𝐻
, is the head available for
energy production after the
deduction of losses in the
conveying system of the
plant.
The water falling from a
high level source drives
turbines, which in turn drive
generators that produce the
electricity.
The hydraulic power is given by:

 Where 𝜂 is the plant efficiency

𝑄 is the flow rate (in 𝑚3𝑠−1) under a head of 𝐻 (m).
 The hydraulic efficiency of the plant is the ratio of
net head to gross head (i.e. i.e. 𝐻1/𝐻𝑜)
 The overall efficiency is equal to the hydraulic
efficiency times the efficiency of turbine and
generator.
 The installed capacity of a hydro plant is the
maximum power which can be developed by the
generators at normal head with full flow.
The unit of electrical power is the kilowatt
The unit of electrical energy, defined as the power delivered
per unit time, is the kilowatt-hour (kW h)
Primary, or ‘firm’, power : is the power which is always
available, corresponds to the minimum stream flow without
consideration of storage.
Secondary, or surplus, power is the remainder and is not
available all the time
Technically Available Power
Hydropower potential is commonly divided into three:
Theoretical
 The gross theoretical potential is the sum of the potential of all natural flows from

the largest rivers to the smallest rivulets, regardless of the inevitable losses and
unfeasible sites.
Technical

 From technical point of view, extremely low

heads (less than around 0.5m), head losses in

water ways, efficiency losses in the hydraulic and
electrical machines, are considered as infeasible.
Technically Available Power
 Hence, the technically usable hydro potential is substantially less than the
theoretical value.
Economic

Economic potential is only that part of the potential of

more favorable sites which can be regarded as economic

compared to alternative sources of power like oil and coal.

Economically feasible potential, therefore, would change

with time, being dependent upon the cost of alternate power

sources.
The upper value of net power capable of being
developed technically is computed from the potential
waterpower by introducing reduction factors to account
for losses in conveyance & in energy conversion.
The EEPCo puts the factor to be about 0.75 to 0.80.
Thus 𝑃𝑚 = (0.75 𝑡𝑜 0.8)𝛾𝑄𝑚𝐻
Where 𝑄𝑚 is arithmetic mean discharge.
Power Demand
Demand for electrical power varies from hour to hour during the
day, from day to day, and from year to year.
The power demand is defined as the total load which consumers
choose, at any instant, to connect to the supplying power system.
The system should have enough capacity to meet the expected
demand, in addition to unexpected breakdowns and maintenance
shutdowns.
A daily load curve for a typical domestic area is shown below.
 Load is the demand for electricity which can be expressed
in terms of energy demand (average power demand) or
capacity demand (peak power demand).
 Base load is the minimum load of a power system in a
specific period of time.
 Peak load is the maximum load in a specific period; the
peaking portion of the load is usually defined as the load
that occurs at the peak demand hours, which is about 8
hours a day.
 Load factor is the ratio of average power demand to
peak power demand for a specific period that can be
computed on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis.

 Load factor - gives an idea of degree of utilization of

capacity.
 Thus an annual load factor of say 0.4 indicates that the
machines are producing only 40% of their yearly
maximum demand.
 A single station connected to an industrial plant may
have a load factor of for example 80%.
 In a country where the supply is distributed through a
national grid system for a diversity of uses, the annual
load factor may be of the order of 40%.
 Low load factors represent a degree of inefficiency, as
sufficient capacity in the form of generating machinery is
installed to meet the peak demand while, on average, a
considerable part of this machinery is standing idle.
 Thermal plants are more efficient to run at full load and
hence are suitable for generating continuously near
capacity to carry the base load.
 Hydroelectric plants are therefore very suitable for
meeting variations in load with little waste of power.
Capacity factor (net capacity factor )
is the ratio of its actual output over a
period of time, to its potential output if
it were possible for it to operate at
full nameplate capacity indefinitely.

Plant (Capacity) factor- is the ratio

of the average output of a plant for a
particular time period to its installed
capacity.
Head water level: is the highest possible
water level at the station intake in full
operation and with zero bypass flow.
Tail water level: is the energy head of the
water flowing out of the turbines.
Total (gross) head: Vertical distance
between head- and tail water.
Gross capacity: Maximum capacity if all
head losses, hydraulic and otherwise, are
considered zero. It is at any time:
P= QH
• Design flow (Design discharge); is the maximum throughput
through the turbines is the flow we design the turbines for,
when this flow is applied the power station runs on installed
capacity.
• The availability factor of a power plant is the amount of
time that it is able to produce electricity over a certain period,
divided by the amount of the time in the period
• demand factor is used to refer to the fractional amount of
some quantity being used relative to the maximum amount
that could be used by the same system. The demand factor
is always less than or equal to one. As the amount of
demand is a time dependent quantity so is the demand
factor.
• Diversity factor is the ratio of the sum of the individual
non-coincident maximum loads of various subdivisions of
the system to the maximum demand of the complete
system.
Produced energy is the actual energy production. Its
maximum power is the installed capacity.

Power is needed for a variety of purposes,

 Domestic
 commercial,
 industrial,
 municipal,
 agricultural,
 public transport etc
 The energy demand (local, regional, trans-regional) is
subject to considerable temporal fluctuations
 These variations could be from hour to hour within a
day, from day to day within a eek/month, from month
to month within a year, etc.

These seasonal fluctuations depend on:

Weather, season;
Vacation times;

Cyclical business activity.

 Daily fluctuations are due to:

Rhythm of work time and free time;

Weather;

Traffic
To cover the fluctuating energy demand, the following types of
power plants are interconnected to each others and work together:
• Base load power stations
• coal, oil
• nuclear and
• run-of-river scheme power stations
• Average load power stations
• Temporary gas and reservoir power stations
• Peak load power stations
• pumped storage and
• peak load hydro power stations
Types of turbine
Reaction turbine:
 energy is created by rate of change of momentum.
 The draft tube is an important element in the design of reaction
turbines since this is where head is recovered after flow exits from
the runner.
 The head lost at the draft tube exit is in the order of 0.3m.
 Low head and high specific speed/Q
• Fixed Blade Propeller
• Kaplan
• Francis
• Mixed Flow
 Impulse turbine
A Pelton unit is called an impulse turbine and energy is created by
the impact of the jet on the runner bucket. Consequently there is
no recovery of energy with impulse units and the draft tube is a
simpler design.
The physical size of the powerhouse is determined for low and
medium head plants by the turbine and for high head plants by the
generator
• High head and low specific speed/Q
• Pelton turbine
 Turbine
The water strikes and
turns the large blades of
a turbine, which is
attached to a generator
above it by way of a
shaft.
The most common type
of turbine for hydropower
plants is the Kaplan
Turbine, Francis Turbine,
and Pelton Turbine.
 Kaplan turbines
• Low head (from 70 meter
and down to 5 meter)
• Large flow rates
• The runner vanes can be
governed
• Good efficiency over a
vide range
 Francis turbines
• Heads between 15 and
700 m.
• Medium Flow Rates
• Good efficiency  = 0.96
for modern machines
59
 60

Pelton turbines
Large heads (from 100
meter to 1800 meter)
Relatively small flow
rate
Maximum of 6 nozzles
Good efficiency over a
vide range