Feasibility Study Of Hydro Power Plant
A pre-feasibility study is carried out to determine whether the site is worth further investigation. This study could involve visiting a site to measure head and flow rate, or it could simply be a map study.
If the site looks promising, the next step is to carry out a full-scale, detailed feasibility study. Information collected by this study should be of the highest quality and should be accurate enough to permit a full technical design of the project without a further visit.
A feasibility study includes a site survey and investigation, a hydrological assessment, an environmental assessment, the project design, a detailed cost estimate and the final report. The depth of study will depend largely on the size and complexity of the system.
For a small system such as a battery-based system, the feasibility study can be less rigorous than for a larger system. Carrying out a feasibility study is highly technical.
Unless you have a strong background and experience in the area, it is best left to professional consultants or energy experts. Such expertise may be expensive, but the project could become much more expensive without professional help.
If a consultant prevents only one serious mistake in the project, that person will have earned his or
her fee many times over. If you are going to call a consultant or manufacturer, make sure that you
have at least a rough estimate of the head (vertical drop), length of pipe needed for the head and an
approximate flow rate of your micro-hydropower site.
These are the first things that you will be asked. The feasibility study should answer as many of the following questions as possible:
• How much head is available?
• How long does the canal/pipeline have to be in order to reach the head?
• What are the minimum and maximum flow rates, and when do these occur?
• How much power can be generated with the available flow rates?
• Who owns the land?
• Where are the nearest electricity power lines?
• What would the environmental effects of installing a micro-hydropower system be?
• What is the approval process to install the micro-hydropower system?
• What financial incentives are available that encourage renewable energy, and how can you apply for them?
• How much will it cost to develop the microhydropower system?
Finding answers to as many questions as possible will enable you to identify any major problems before you invest a lot of time and money in the project.
During the feasibility study, all relevant technical and non-technical information needs to be collected. This includes the location of the intake, forebay tank and powerhouse; the length of the diversion canal/pipeline; the penstock; and the transmission/distribution network.
The feasibility report should contain detailed technical information.
Design of the system includes civil works, the penstock, generating equipment and an estimate for the total cost of the system. It is helpful to keep in mind that the cost per kilowatt increases for low-head systems, low-flow systems and for systems where a great deal of civil works components need to be constructed.
Showing posts with label Hydropower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hydropower. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
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
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
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
WHAT IS HYDRO POWER? HYDRO POWER BASIC INFORMATION AND TUTORIALS
Hydropower is produced when kinetic energy in flowing water is converted into electricity. Hydropower has been a significant source of electrical energy in the United States since the early 1900s when manufacturers recognized and harnessed its tremendous potential to develop and build entire industries.
Traditionally, hydropower has been a low-cost, reliable energy source. It utilizes a renewable fuel (water) that can be sustained indefinitely, and is free of fossil fuel emissions. And because hydroelectric generators are especially suited for providing peaking power, hydropower complements thermal generation and improves overall power production efficiency.
Hydroelectricity presently constitutes approximately 10 percent of the United States’ energy supply, which is enough to meet the needs of 28.3 million consumers.
Mankind has used the energy of falling water for many centuries, at first in mechanical form and since the late 19th century by further conversion to electrical energy. Historically, hydropower was developed on a small scale to serve localities in the vicinity of the plants.
With the expansion and increasing load transfer capability of transmission networks, power generation was concentrated in increasingly larger units and to benefit from the economies resulting from development on a larger scale.
In order to convert this potential to applicable electric energy, water flow should be led to and drive a hydraulic turbine, transforming hydroenergy into mechanical energy, the latter again drives a connected generator transforming the mechanical energy into electric energy.
As hydroenergy exploitation and its utilization are completed at the same time. I.e. the exploitation of first energy source and the conversion of secondary energy source occur simultaneously, unlike the coal power generation which should have two orders; first order is exploitation of fuel, second order is generation, so hydropower has the advantages over thermal power generation.
Traditionally, hydropower has been a low-cost, reliable energy source. It utilizes a renewable fuel (water) that can be sustained indefinitely, and is free of fossil fuel emissions. And because hydroelectric generators are especially suited for providing peaking power, hydropower complements thermal generation and improves overall power production efficiency.
Hydroelectricity presently constitutes approximately 10 percent of the United States’ energy supply, which is enough to meet the needs of 28.3 million consumers.
Mankind has used the energy of falling water for many centuries, at first in mechanical form and since the late 19th century by further conversion to electrical energy. Historically, hydropower was developed on a small scale to serve localities in the vicinity of the plants.
With the expansion and increasing load transfer capability of transmission networks, power generation was concentrated in increasingly larger units and to benefit from the economies resulting from development on a larger scale.
In order to convert this potential to applicable electric energy, water flow should be led to and drive a hydraulic turbine, transforming hydroenergy into mechanical energy, the latter again drives a connected generator transforming the mechanical energy into electric energy.
As hydroenergy exploitation and its utilization are completed at the same time. I.e. the exploitation of first energy source and the conversion of secondary energy source occur simultaneously, unlike the coal power generation which should have two orders; first order is exploitation of fuel, second order is generation, so hydropower has the advantages over thermal power generation.
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