IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL SITE FOR RUN OF RIVER HYDRO POWER PLANT BASIC INFORMATION AND TUTORIALS

How to Identify a Potential Site For Hydro Power Plant?

The best geographical areas for micro-hydropower systems are those where there are steep rivers,
streams, creeks or springs flowing year-round, such as in hilly areas with high year-round rainfall.

There is micro-hydropower potential in almost all of Canada’s provinces and territories, although most potential is in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Quebec. To assess the suitability of a site for a microhydropower system, a pre-feasibility study should be made.

This involves surveying the site to determine the water-flow rate and the head through which the water can fall.

The best place to start is your nearest stream, or you can refer to topographical maps and hydrological records of the area you are considering. If you are new to the area, local residents are the best source of information on the nature of the stream, flow variations during the year and any abnormal flows in the past.

This will give an overall picture of annual river flow fluctuations over the seasons. If possible, flow data should be gathered over a period of at least one full year, although two to five years is ideal.

Your local utility may also have an inventory listing of potential micro-hydropower sites in your area.
A site survey is carried out for promising sites in order to gather information that is detailed enough to make power calculations and start design work.

How to Measure Potential Power and Energy

The first step is to determine the hydro potential of water flowing from the river or stream. You will
need to know the flow rate of the water and the head through which the water can fall, as defined in the following:

• The flow rate is the quantity of water flowing past a point at a given time. Typical units used for flow rate are cubic metres per second (m3/s), litres per second (lps), gallons per minute (gpm) and cubic feet per minute (cfm).

• The head is the vertical height in metres (m) or feet (ft.) from the level where the water enters the intake pipe (penstock) to the level where the water leaves the turbine housing