HYDROPOWER PLANT

INTRODUCTION
• Hydropower is the most often used. It is one of the oldest sources of energy and was
used thousands of years ago to turn a paddle wheel for purposes such as grinding grain.
Because the source of hydropower is water, hydroelectric power plants must be located
on a water source. Therefore, it wasn’t until the technology to transmit electricity over
long distances was developed that hydropower became widely used.
• Mechanical energy is derived by directing, harnessing, or channeling moving water. The
amount of available energy in moving water is determined by its flow or fall. Swiftly
flowing water in a big river, carries a great deal of energy in its flow. So, too, with water
descending rapidly from a very high point, like from a dam. 
• Some people regard hydropower as the ideal fuel for electricity generation because,
unlike the nonrenewable fuels used to generate electricity, it is almost free, there are no
waste products, and hydropower does not pollute the water or the air. However, it is
criticized because it does change the environment by affecting natural habitats. 
 PRINCIPLE OF HYDROPOWER
• The principle of hydropower is that the potential
energy of the water stored at great heights in the
dam is converted in to kinetic energy by allowing
the water to flow at high speed. Then the kinetic
energy of flowing water used to generate
electricity.
• In hydroelectric power station, the flowing water is
stopped in high altitude rivers by constructing
dams and is stored in huge reservoir behind the
dam. The water stored possessed very large
amount of potential energy. Then the water is
allowed to fall through pipes on the blades of big
water called turbines. These turbines are
connected to electric generators.
• when the shaft of the turbines rotates, the
generator coil also rotates rapidly and produce
electricity.
 WORKING:
• Hydroelectric power plant utilizes the potential
energy of water for the generation of electrical
energy.
•  In a hydro power plant, water head is created by
building a dam across a river or lake. A stream of
water with a high pressure is allowed to flow
through penstocks which carry the water to the
turbine.
• The water turbine changes the kinetic energy of
the falling water into mechanical energy at the
turbine shaft.
• It consists of a wheel fitted with elliptical buckets
along its periphery. The whole pressure of water
is converted into kinetic energy in a nozzle and
the velocity of the jet spins the wheel.
• The turbine drives the Generator coupled with it
and converts mechanical energy into electrical
energy.
 ADVANTAGES:
• Once a dam is constructed, electricity can be produced at a constant rate.
• If electricity is not needed, the sluice gates can be shut, stopping electricity
generation. The water can be saved for use another time when electricity demand is
high.
• Dams are designed to last many decades and so can contribute to the generation of
electricity for many years / decades.
• The lake that forms behind the dam can be used for water sports and leisure /
pleasure activities. Often large dams become tourist attractions in their own right.
• The lake's water can be used for irrigation purposes.
• The build up of water in the lake means that energy can be stored until needed, when
the water is released to produce electricity.
• When in use, electricity produced by dam systems do not produce green house gases.
They do not pollute the atmosphere.
 DISADVANTAGES:
•  Dams are extremely expensive to build and must be built to a very high standard.
• The high cost of dam construction means that they must operate for many decades to become profitable.
• The flooding of large areas of land means that the natural environment is destroyed.
• People living in villages and towns that are in the valley to be flooded, must move out. This means that
they lose their farms and businesses. In some countries, people are forcibly removed so that hydro-power
schemes can go ahead.
• The building of large dams can cause serious geological damage. For example, the building of the Hoover
Dam in the USA triggered a number of earth quakes and has depressed the earth’s surface at its location.
• Although modern planning and design of dams is good, in the past old dams have been known to be
breached (the dam gives under the weight of water in the lake). This has led to deaths and flooding.
• Dams built blocking the progress of a river in one country usually means that the water supply from the
same river in the following country is out of their control. This can lead to serious problems between
neighbouring countries.
• Building a large dam alters the natural water table level. For example, the building of the Aswan Dam in
Egypt has altered the level of the water table. This is slowly leading to damage of many of its ancient
monuments as salts and destructive minerals are deposited in the stone work from ‘rising damp’ caused
by the changing water table level.
Name of Location of Installed capacity Rate of Percentage
Hydropower Hydropower energy contribution with
plant plant generation respect to total power
(every year) demand of India( total
energy: 1,547 TWh)

Sardar Navagam, 6 x 200 MW Francis, 5 x 1 000 MWh 0.064%

Sarovar Dam Kevadiya 50 MW Kaplan
Colony, India turbine(total
1,450 MW)
Bhakra Nangal 5 x 108 MW, 5 x 157 1500MWh 0.096%
Nangal Dam Township, MW Francis
Himachal turbine(total 1325 MW)
Pradesh, India
Tehri dam  Tehri, 1,000 MW Francis  2,400 MWh 0.155%
Uttarakhand,  turbine
India
Koyna Koyna River,  4 x 250 MW Francis 1960MW 0.12%
Hydroelectric Maharashtra  turbine(total 1000MW)
Project
Nathpa Dam Himachal 6 × 250 MW Francis 1600MWh 0.10%
Pradesh, India turbine (total
1500MW)