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2. Hydropower resource
2.1. Hydrological cycle
The hydrological cycle describes the continuous circulation of water, see
Figure 5. In general, water from the oceans and water bodies on land are
evaporated by the suns energy. The steam that is produced are transported
up into the atmosphere and condensed into clouds which is carried to di↵erent
parts of the Earth. Water that precipitates falls down onto land as rainfall
and produces rivers and streams, travelling from high elevated places to those
of lower ones and eventually find its way back to the sea.
The actual process however is a complex one that involves water being
transferred by various other means such as transpiration, interception, infil-
tration, subterranean percolation, overland flow, surface runo↵ etc. Although
the total amount of water within the cycle remains constant, its distribution
among the various processes is continually changing.

Figure 5: Hydrologic cycle (source Todd, 1959).

2.2. Resource assessment

Hydroelectric generation depends on falling or flowing water. Hence, the
study of any potential hydropower scheme must consider the availability of
an adequate water supply.

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The available resource can be roughly approximated using the volume of

water collected as rainfall, h, usually measured in millimetres (mm), precip-
itated over a catchment area, A, via:

V = hA. (29)

Thus, the mass of the water catchment can be determined from the relation:

m = ⇢V. (30)

While some of it seeps into the soil as groundwater, some evaporates and some
remains as surface runo↵, the proportion of available surface flow depends not
only on the rainfall itself but also on its distribution and pattern throughout
the year.
To determined the potential of a hydropower site, the amount of power
that can be obtained from the flowing water is measured. This involves
finding out two things:
(i) Head – The available head, H0 , is part of the overall energy (cf. Bernoulli’s
equation) which is available for conversion in the turbine. This is usu-
ally between 60% and 90% of the total energy.
(ii) Flow – The flow rate, Q, is constrained by meteorology, catchment area
and soil characteristics. Water provided for flow is originally given by
the amount of rainfall. To quantity of water falling or flowing, the
available flow from a particular stream or river has to be measured.
If no existing data can be obtained, this can be determined in several
ways:
• Blocking the river to divert the flow to a measuring container. The
rate at which the container fills is the flow rate;
• Measure the velocities at a number of points along the river or
stream since the velocity both across the flow and vertically through
it is not constant. The measured values are then integrated to ob-
tain the flow profile. Multiplying it with the cross-sectional area
gives the flow rate;
• The use of a weir allows the stream of water flowing through a
notch to be gauged. With the aid of established accurate formulae
for calculating flow rate, a simple linear measurement of the di↵er-
ence in level between the upstream water surface and the bottom
of the notch is sufficient to quantify the discharge.

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Note that the potential of a hydropower site depends on annual rainfall.

Having a clear idea of the percentage of available water resource allows us to
predict the available power generation. However, this may fluctuate due to
the amount of rainfall received throughout the year. Therefore, depending
on the requirements, the degree of fluctuation can be smoothed out with the
use of a reservoir, that is either be:
• Natural reservoirs;
• Consructed reservoirs.

2.3. Hydraulic power

Hydropower tries to tap into this vast amount of resource available in
the flow of water. The objective of a hydropower scheme is to convert the
potential energy of a mass of water or that of a flowing stream with a certain
fall, termed head, into electrical energy at the lower end of the system where
a powerhouse is located.
The head is commonly created in two di↵erent ways:
(i) Build a reservoir, or dam, to hold back water and release it through a
channel, conduit or a tunnel to make full use of its potential energy,
mgH. The release of this potential energy of water falling at a mass
flow rate of dm
dt
or ⇢Q produces hydraulic power given by:
PH = ⇢gHQ, (31)
where H denotes the head that is available in meters [m], given by the
remaining pressure to get power after its dynamic head and losses have
been deducted; Q is the flow rate of the system [m3 /s].
(ii) Divert part of a stream of flowing water by creating a low-head diversion
structure like a barrage to exploit the kinetic energy in the flowing
stream. The power generated can be quantified via:
1
P0 = ⇢AU 3 . (32)
2
The efficiency of a hydropower system, which describes the proportion of
the available head that is converted to work or electricity, can be determined
by dividing the output power that is generated, P , by the available hydraulic
power, PH :
P
⌘= . (33)
PH

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2.4. Head loss due to friction

By applying the principle of mass conservation to a control volume be-
tween two sections of a pipe and assuming that the flow is incompressible
and steady, the head loss due to friction can be determined using the Darcy’s
equation, given by:
✓ ◆ 2
L U
HF = 4f (34)
D 2g
where f is the friction or Fanning factor (a dimensionless number), L the
length of the pipe, D the pipe diameter, U the average velocity and G the
gravitational constant. The value of f is determined using the Moody dia-
gram, as shown in Figure 6.
Note that the Fanning friction factor is 4 times smaller than the Darcy-
Weisbach factor and care should be taken to identify the correct factor re-
gardless of the source of the chart or formula. A clear indication is to observe
the value of f when the flow is laminar (when f = 16/Re, the Fanning friction
factor is used).

2.5. Hydropower schemes

Hydropower schemes are normally classified by their hydraulic character-
istics. The power generated from a hydropower scheme is proportional to
the flow and to its head. According to the head, hydropower schemes may
be classified into three categories:
• High head: 100 m and above;
• Medium head: 30 - 100 m;
• Low head: 2 - 30 m.
A somewhat ad-hoc way to classify hydropower scheme according to power
output is given below:
• Large: 50 MW and above;
• Small: 1 to 50 MW;
• Mini: 100 to 1000 kW;
• Micro: 5 to 100 kW;
• Pico: 5 kW and less.
These ranges are not rigid but are merely means of grading the sites.

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Figure 6: Moody diagram (Massey, 1997).

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2.6. Types of hydropower schemes

The types of hydropower scheme can be broadly categorised as:
(i) Large hydropower;
(ii) Run-of-the-river;
(iii) River current turbines;
(iv) Pumped storage.

2.6.1. Large schemes

A large hydropower scheme requires a large reservoir or dam to store wa-
ter which has to be constructed across rivers. The accumulated water is then
channeled through a turbine to generate power. Since a large hydropower
scheme stores a large amount of water, it can be released gradually during
periods of lean flow and helps overcome fluctuations in rainfall. It also as-
sures consistent flow for hydropower generation and may be used to help
manage water usage resource and provide opportunities to local industries
(for e.g. sports). Nonetheless, the construction of a large hydropower scheme
may have a large environmental impact.

2.6.2. Run-of-the-river schemes

Run-of-the-river schemes make use of the water provided by a river to gen-
erate electricity with the use of a turbine. The run-of-the-river hydropower
scheme diverts only part of the flow from a river, sometimes with the use
of a small weir or dam, into a holding bay to allow sediments to drop out
before channelling the flow through the turbines and exits back into the river
further downstream. It has a much smaller generating capacity than large
hydropower schemes but is much more economical to build, manage and
run. However, if the river dries up and the flow falls below a predetermined
amount that is below the technical flow of the turbine, electric generation
ceases.

2.6.3. River current turbine schemes

These are hydropower schemes that exploits the kinetic energy of water
flow streams. Power is generated by using submerged or partially submerged
turbines mounted either on the riverbed or suspended from floating structures
(they look like underwater wind turbines) to harness energy from flowing
water. Because hydro kinetic power generation relies simply on the extraction
of energy from the natural velocity of water, these power systems can be

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placed in strategic locations in deep strong flowing rivers or immediately

downstream from an existing conventional hydropower plant where energy
remaining in the water current exiting from the turbines in the dam can be
reused. The deployment of river current turbines usually requires minimal
infrastructure and has minimal environmental impact.

2.6.4. Pumped storage

The pumped storage scheme utilises the storage capacity of two reservoirs
located at di↵erent elevation levels. It makes use of water flow from the
reservoir at higher potential energy to the lower one to generate electricity.
At times of low demand, or when electricity is cheap (for e.g. during the
night) water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper one. This
water is then released to run the turbine-pump unit to create power at a
time when the demand is high or when additional power is required during
peak periods.

2.7. Hydropower potential

Hydropower potential depends on its definition. These can be:

• 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. In this context,
it is defined as the potential energy of all waters within a region or
area regardless of physical, technical and economic limits on usage. In
reality, the theoretical potential that is converted into useful energy is
usually small;

• Technical – describes the usable or feasible hydro potential that are

quantified by omit sites with extremely low heads (about less than
0.5m), head losses in water ways, efficiency losses in the hydraulic and
electrical machines. It describes the energy capacity that is actually
usable when technical, infrastructural, ecological and other condtions
are taken into consideration;

• Economic – is the part of the potential of more favourable sites which

can be regarded as economic compared to alternative sources of power
like oil and coal. Economically feasible potential therefore will change
with time and dependent on the cost of alternative power sources.

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Figure 7: A typical powerhouse for medium and high head schemes showing an location
of the penstock, draft tube and tailrace (source Penche, 1998).

2.8. Reservoirs and dams

Reservoirs and dams are fundamental structures in many hydropower
schemes. The dam is used to accumulate and store water and to develop a
head by increasing the level of the water surface necessary for energy gener-
ation. It can also be used to store excess water during high flow seasons for
later use to generate energy in dry seasons. The reservoir on the other hand
may be built for other reasons such as for irrigation, water supply or floor
regulation. The energy from the water stored in reservoirs can also be used
to generate energy as an additional benefit.

2.8.1. Penstock
A penstock, as shown in Figure 7, is used to direct water from the intake
from the reservoir or dam to the turbine inlet. It is usually long and made
from concrete or metal. As hydropower stations usually have a lifespan of
well over 100 years, choosing an appropriate penstock becomes important as
it has a direct e↵ect on the performance of the turbine and thus, the power
being generated. The design and selection of an appropriate penstock needs
to consider factors such as:
• Material – selected according to ground conditions, accessibility, weight,
jointing systems and cost;

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• Diameter – selected to reduce frictional losses to an acceptable level.

The larger the size, the more expensive it is;
• Wall thickness – selected to be able to resist the maximum internal
hydraulic pressure and transient surges;
while minimising cost and maximising the life of the structure.

Simple penstock sizing

Assuming that the available head, i.e. the di↵erence in level between
the intake and the turbine, is H0 , a penstock length, L, and is made from
concrete with a typical friction factor, for example f = 0.01, the diameter
of the penstock is can determine by making use of Darcy’s formula, given
in equation (34). If the frictional losses is to be kept to a fraction, x, of
the overall height, H0 , for example 10% or x = 0.1, i.e. HF = 0.1H0 , the
diameter of the penstock can be approximated using the following analysis:
From Darcy’s formula:
✓ ◆ 2
L U
HF = 4f .
D 2g
Substituting the velocity term for flow past a circular section:
Q 4Q
U= = ,
A ⇡D
into the equation above gives:
32 f L 2
HF = Q.
⇡ 2 g D5
Inserting the assumption that HF = xH0 , yields:
32 f L 2
xH0 = Q.
⇡ 2 g D5
Thus, rearranging the equation for the diameter of the penstock produces
the following expression:
✓ ◆1/5 ✓ ◆1/5
1 32f L 2
D= Q . (35)
x ⇡ 2 g H0
Replacing the value of x = 0.1 and f = 0.01 gives the required diameter
D ⇠ 0.5(L/H0 )0.2 Q0.4 .

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2.8.2. Draft tube

The draft tube or di↵user is the section of the pipe system that receives
the water from the turbine before the tailrace (see Figure 7). It is used in
reaction turbines to reduce the outlet velocity, thus the kinetic energy that is
remaining in the water after leaving the runner. It is particularly important
in high-speed turbines where water leaves the runner at very high speeds.

2.8.3. Tailrace
The tailrace is the section of the canal in which the water that passed
through the turbine is returned to the river or lake (see Figure 7). An impulse
turbines can have relatively high exit velocities, so the tailrace used is usually
designed to ensure that the powerhouse is not undermined. The design of
the tailrace should also ensure that during relatively high flow rates, water
in the tailrace does not rise so far that it interferes with the turbine runner.
With a reaction turbine, the level of water in the tailrace influences the
operation of the turbine, especially when cavitation occurs. The design of
the tailrace can be used to control or prevent the occurrence of cavitation
at the outlet of the turbine as pressure is lowest. The pressure at the outlet
can be increased if the dynamic head is kept low, therefore the reducing the
diameter of the tailrace. Cavitation can also be prevented if the pressure at
the outlet is increased by installing the turbine below the water level of the
outlet reservoir.

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Exercise
1. For a reservoir 250 m above the river bed, and an available flow rate of
75 m3 /s, calculate the diameter of the penstock for a single turbine and
for three turbines to keep the frictional losses to 10% of the elevation.
Assume that the penstock is 300 m long.

Calculate the dynamic head of the fluid in the penstock.

Assuming that the tailrace has a similar diameter but is only 40 m

long, and that minor losses add up to a total minor loss coefficient of,
K = 10, calculate the available head and the hydraulic power through
the turbine(s).

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