HYDROPOWER

FIZA AHMAD
 Hydrologic cycle and hydropower
• The hydrologic cycle involves the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-
Atmosphere system. At its core, the water cycle is the motion of the water from
the ground to the atmosphere and back again.
• Hydropower comes from flowing water which is component of hydrologic cycle.
Working principle of Hydro power plant
Potential energy Kinetic energy Hydraulic turbine

Electric power Electric generator Mechanical work

Power produced by hydroelectric power plant
P=ρgQHηhηmηg Watt
This is the formula to calculate power generated by Hydroelectric
power plant
ρ= density of water generally it is 1000kg/m3 for water
g= gravitational acceleration
Q= Discharge of water/ flow rate of water(m3/sec)
H=Net head available(m)
Net Head: perpendicular distance between level of water reservoir and
turbine is called net head
• ηh= Hydraulic efficiency, generally for hydropower plant it is 90%
• ηm =Mechanical efficiency, generally for hydro power plant it is 80%
• ηg= Generator efficiency which is approximately 90%
If we divide P by 1000 to convert watt to kilo watt and multiply it with
time we will get energy in kilo watt hour unit if we take time in hours.
So
E= ρgQHηhηmηg t KWh
Site selection of hydro power plant
Factors for site selection of Hydro power
plant
1. Availability of water: Main fuel of this plant is water. So, such plant
should be located near river, canal etc. where sufficient water is
available all the time. The maximum and minimum quantity of
water available throughout the year is also considered.
2. Availability of water head: in order to generate power it is
necessary that a large quantity of water at sufficient head should be
available. Water head is directly related to the cost of generation of
electric power. If effective head is increased, water storage has to
be reduced as well as capital cost of power plant is reduced.
3. Water storage capacity: since there is a wide variation in rainfall
during the year, therefore it is necessary to store water for continuous
generation of power. So storage of water in a suitable reservoir or dam
has to be placed by a careful geological study of the area. In short dam
should be located across the river to get continuous water supply
throughout the year specially in a dry season.
4. Type of land: The land to be selected for the site should be rocky to
withstand the stresses transmitted from the dam structure as well as the
thrust of the water when the reservoir is full.
5. Cost of land: Hydro electric needs huge space. therefore land cost must
be cheap so that overall cost of the plant is reduced.
6. Transportation facilities: Good transportation facilities must be
available to hydropower plant, so that necessary equipment could reach
there easily.
7. Distance from the load center:
Power plant should be set up near the load center. This will reduce the
cost of maintenance of transmission line.
If it is located away from the load center, more transmission line is
required to supply power to the desired location also line losses will
increase as distance increases.
8. Environmental effect:
Hydro projects submerge large area and many villages. So
environmental effect should also be considered.
Parts of hydropower plant
• Catchment area:
it is area behind dam across which
dam has been constructed.
• Reservoir:
it is used to store water during
rainy season and supply it during
dry season.
• Dam:
It is used to increase height of water level
• Trash rack:
it is used to prevent entry of debris which
might damage blades and runner of
turbine.
• Surge tank:
It is small reservoir which provide better
regulation of water flow and safe guard
against water hammer effect. It is
installed along the penstock(between
turbine and reservoir). It is also used to
serve as a supply tank for increased load
conditions and storage tank in case of
low load condition.
• Fore bay:
It is small water reservoir at the end
of water passage from the reservoir
and before the water is fed to the
penstock.
It is temporary regulating reservoir. It
is used in low head and run off river
plant where surge tank is not used.
• Penstock:
it is used to carry water under the
pressure from the large reservoir to
turbine.
• Spillway:
To discharge major floods without
damage to the dam, it is considered
as safety valve.
Turbine:
It is hydraulic machine which
converts hydraulic energy
(potential/kinetic) into mechanical
power by dynamic action of water
flowing over the blades
• Power house:
It is building that includes the water
turbine, generator, transformer and
control room. •
• Draft tube:
It is connected to the outlet of the
turbine. It is used to discharge water
from exit of turbine to tail race. It is
essential part of reaction turbine.
• Tailrace:
It refers to the downstream level of
water discharged from turbine.
• Generator:
it is a machine used to convert
mechanical energy of turbine into
electrical energy.
• Step up transformer:
It convert the AC current into high
voltage current suitable for
transmission. It is a transformer that
step up the voltage from the primary
winding to secondary winding while
keeping the power same.
Classification of hydro power plant
Availability of head
Low head(20m)
• The amount of power and therefore
energy that we can generate is
proportional to the head and flow.
• Head is the change in water levels
between the hydro intake and the hydro
discharge point. It is vertical height
measured in meters.
• Francis, Kaplan or propeller turbines are
used for this type of hydro electric
power plant.
• These power plant do not require dam
to retain water to create hydraulic head,
the head is only few meters.
Medium head
• Head: 30- 300m
• Uses Francis turbine
• Power capacity: 25-100 MW
• Fore bay provided at the
beginning of the penstock as
reservoir.
• Water is carried in open canals
from main reservoir to fore bay
then to powerhouse through
penstock.
High head
• Head: more than 300m.
• Pelton wheel turbine is used.
• Power capacity more than 100MW.
• A dam is constructed in such a way
that maximum water level is
formed.
• A pressure tunnel is constructed
which is connected to the valve
house. Water is coming from the
reservoir to valve house via this
pressure tunnel.
Quantity of water available
1. Run off river plant without
pondage
• When a river flows through a hilly
area, the flowing water is directly
fed to turbines without storing it.
• It doesn’t store water it uses water
as it comes.
• It uses water only when available.
• Generating capacity primarily
depend upon the rate of flow of
water.
2. Run off river with pondage
• The reservoir allows to store water
during off peak hour and use it during
peak hours of the same day.
• Most run off river plants will have a
dam across the full width of the river
in order to utilize all the river’s water
for electricity generation.
• Such installations will have a small
reservoir behind the dam but since
flooding is minimal they can be
considered as run-off-river.
• It is more useful than a plant without
pondage.
Storage type
• The water is stored during rainy
season and supplied during dry
season.
• In this type of plant water is
stored behind the dam and
water is available throughout the
year even in dry season. This
type of power plant is very
efficient and it is used both
during base and peak load
period as per requirements.
Pump storage plant
• Water after passing through the turbine is
pumped back from the tailrace to the
headrace during off peak period.
• It work like a battery, storing the electricity
generated by other power sources like
solar, wind and nuclear for later use.
• This electrical energy is used by pumping
water from lower reservoir to upper
reservoir.
• In short, when demand for electricity is low
a pumped storage facility stores the energy
by pumping water from lower to upper
reservoir. During periods of high electrical
demand the water is released back to the
lower reservoir for generating electricity.
Mini and micro plant
• In mini plant, head is up to 20m
whereas in micro plant head is up to
5m.
• A micro hydro power plant has a
capacity of up to 100 KW. A mini or
micro hydro power plant can produce
electricity enough for a home, farm, or
village.
• Mini hydropower plants:
100KW to 2MW
• Micro hydro power plants:
10KW to 100KW
Base load plant
• A base load plant is a power station that
usually provides a continuous supply of
electricity throughout the year with
some minimum power generation
requirements.
• Base load power plants will only be
turned off during periodic maintenance,
upgrading, overhaul or service.
1. Such load is on base portion of the
load curve.
2. In this type of plants load is almost
constant.
3. Load factor is high.
Peak load plant
• It generate power during peak
load hours only.
• Peak load is the daily fluctuation
of electricity usage. It is usually