Leture-03

Energy Conversion

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Table of Content
3. Hydro Power Plant
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Output Power of HP
3.3. Factors Determining Potential of HP
3.4. Plant Factor
3.5. Classification of HPP
3.6. Dis/Advantages of HPP

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Introduction

Introduction
 The power from the natural cycle:
Solar heat sea water evaporation rainfall rivers sea
 Well-established technology.
Accounts for 20% of global electricity production. By far, it is the largest
source of renewable energy
• Low operating costs, minimal impact on the atmosphere, quick
response to sudden changes in electricity demand, long plant life
• High capital cost, long payback period, serious social and
environmental issues to be considered for new hydroelectric schemes

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 The world's largest hydroelectric dams as of 2019, based on
generating capacity

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1. Introduction

 Some examples of world’s largest Hydroelectric plants are

given on the table above.
 The largest hydropower plant in Ethiopia is GERD with
generation capacity of 6000 MW; therefore it becomes 10th
largest.

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1. Introduction

 Ethiopia has a tremendous amount of hydro power. In rank,

It is 14 with a rough estimation of 132TWh.

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Cont…
No. Project CAP MW Energy GWH

9 TEKEZE 300 960

10 GIG II 420 1680

11 BELES 460 1860

12 WIND 120 450

13 GIBE III 1870 6400

14 GERD 6000 -------

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 1. Introduction
 Basic hydropower plant parts

Transformer

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 1. Introduction
 Basic hydropower plant parts with their efficiency

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 2. Output Power of HP
 The amount of energy available in a stored water is the product of the
weight times the height that the water falls
E = W = mgh, m = ρv
E = ρvgh [Joules]
Where: m = mass of water
ρ = density of water = 1000 kg/m3
v = volume of water m3
h = height of water fall (m)
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.806 m/s2
 Then the out power
 P = dE/dt = d(ρvgh)/dt = ρgh(dv)/dt=ρghQ watts
Where: Q = dv/dt water flow rate m3/s
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 2. Output Power of HP
 But, practically, there are no. of factors that decrease the total
potential of HP. So,
 Practically, P=ρghdQη
where, hd is the net head
η is the total efficiency

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 3.Factors Determining Potential of HP

 P (kW) = ρgQHdȠ
 The factors which affects the effective potential of
hydropower are the following
1. Head and head losses
2. Flow rate
3. System losses
4. Component inefficiencies

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 3.Factors Determining Potential of HP

Head and head loss

 Head is one of the factors which have great influence on the
system capacity.
 In any real system water losses its some energy because of
frictional drag and turbulence as it flows in channels and
through pipes and the effective head will be less than actual
head.
 These flow losses vary from system to system: in some cases
the effective head can be less than 75% of actual head, in
others it can be greater than 95%.

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 3.Factors Determining Potential of HP

 Gross head of a hydropower facility is the difference between

headwater elevation and tail water elevation. With the use of
survey instrument, gross head can be determined systematically
and accurately
 Maximum Head (Hmax) - above which the excess water
spilled after impounding during or after a heavy rainy season
with possible flood.
 Minimum head (Hmin) - below which the reservoir should
ideally be not allowed to be drawn down , and water contents
in a given reservoir is said to have been lowered down so a
dead storage state.
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 3.Factors Determining Potential of HP

 Design head (Hd) - which is used the actual in water capacity

calculation for a given HEPP, which can also be referred to as
the effective head , which in turn equal to the gross head minus
hydraulic losses before entrance to the turbine and outlet losses.

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 3.Factors Determining Potential of HP

Flow rate
 Flow rate is another very important factor which can influence
system capacity.
 Design flow is the maximum flow for which your hydro system is
designed. It will likely be less than the maximum flow of the stream
(especially during the rainy season), more than the minimum flow,
during dry season If a system is to be independent of any other
energy or utility backup, the design flow should be the flow that is
available 95 percent of the time or more.
 But, a stand-alone system such as a micro- hydropower system
should be designed according to the flow that is available year-
round; this is usually the flow during the dry season.
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 3.Factors Determining Potential of HP

 Reserved flow: it is the minimum flow required to avoid

aquatic life damage in the water stream.
System losses
 When electricity is transported along a transmission system,
the losses occur. As a result, what comes out of the system at
the consumer is less than what is input into the system at the
generation site.
Component inefficiency
 Component losses include losses in: penstock, turbine
generator step up & down transformer losses transmission
losses.
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 4. Plant Factor

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4. Plant Factor

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 4. Plant Factor

Example
For a 100-MW HEPP with a design head of 300m, and plant factor of 0.6,
determine:
i. Electrical energy generated in one year
ii. an approximate value of the theoretical energy stored in a year in the
reservoir of the HEPP for conversion into useful energy with ηTot =0.82
iii. The depth of water in the reservoir changes from season with floods
(Hmax) and a dry season (Hmin). If the water head is kept constant by ΔQ,
find the approximate surface area of the reservoir. Hint: Hd = 0.78Hmax
and Hmin = 0.61Hmax.

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 4. Plant Factor

Solution
Given
P = 100MW, PF = 0.6, Hd = 300m
i. E = P * time of operation in one year
E = P * 8760 * PF
= 100MW * 8760 * 0.6 h
= 525.6GWh
ii. Pactual = Ptheoretical * Ƞtotal
=> Pthoretical = Pactual/ Ƞtotal
=> Ethoretical = Eactual/ Ƞtotal =525.6/0.82 = 641GWh
iii. ∆E = ρ∆VgHd
= ρ∆HAgHd
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4. Plant Factor

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4. Plant Factor

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 5. Classification of HPP
 Based on available Head
i. Low-head
ii. Medium-head
iii. High-head
 Based on Generating capacity
i. Micro-hydro
ii. Small-scale hydro
iii. Large-scale hydro
Impoundment type
i. Dam of a reservoir
ii. Diversion and Canal type
iii. Run-of-the River type
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iv. Pumped Storage type
 5. Classification of HPP
Low-head
 “Low head" hydroelectric plants are power plants which generally
utilize heads up to 10 meters power plants of this type may utilize
a low dam or weir to channel water, or no dam and simply use the
"run of the river”; so may require significant water discharge in
order to produce a useful amount of power.
 “Run of the river” generating stations
cannot store water, thus their electric
output varies with seasonal flows of water.

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 5. Classification of HPP
Medium-head
 Medium-head (10 meters - 100 meters)
 HPP consist of a large dam in a mountainous area which creates a
huge reservoir.
 Another type of medium-head
facility is a pumped storage
plant.
.

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 5. Classification of HPP
High-head
 High-head hydro power plants have an elevation difference of
at least 100 meters between the turbines and the water surface.
 Generating stations of this
type are found in the mountains
areas, and high-speed turbines
are used.

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 5. Classification of HPP
Based on generating capacity

Type of HPP Power rating

Pico-HPP 0.25-1KW
Micro-HPP 1-100KW
Mini-HPP 0.1MW-1MW
Small scale-HPP 1-10MW
Medium scale- HPP 10-100MW
Medium large-HPP 100-300MW
Large scale-HPP >300MW
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 5. Classification of HPP
Based on impoundment type:
Run-of-river type: A dam with a short penstock (supply pipe) directs the
water to the turbines, using the natural flow of the river power stations of this
type are built on rivers with a consistent and steady flow of water and have
little or no reservoir capacity for storage.
Diversion and Canal type: The water is diverted from the natural channel into
a canal or a long penstock, thus hanging the flow of the water in the stream for
a considerable distance
Pumped Storage Type: When the demand for electricity is low, pumped
storage facility stores energy by pumping water from a lower reservoir to an
upper reservoir. During periods of high Electrical demand, the water is released
back to the lower reservoir to generate electricity

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Diversion and Canal type : typical mini hydro diversion type

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 6. Dis/Advantages of HPP
Advantages
 It utilizes a renewable energy source as “fuel” (water)
 High reliability
 Non polluting, utilizes indigenous resource

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 6. Dis/Advantages of HPP
Disadvantages
 One disadvantage of hydroelectric power is that we can’t
control quickly and readily vary the amount of power
generated, depending on the load presented with in range of
micro-seconds. Therefore. They are suitable only for base-
load.
 It requires large initial investments
 It requires long transmission lines
 Social and environmental impacts

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 6. Dis/Advantages of HPP
Social & environment impact
 Population displacement
 Loss of social networks and changing way of living
 Dams can facilitate development of diseases
 Blockage of fish passage both upstream and downstream
 Storing water in reservoir may reduce the final flow as a result
of evaporation
 Possible dam failure

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 7. Types of turbines

 Turbines are of two types:

– Reaction turbines, where the turbine is totally
embedded in the fluid and powered from the pressure
drop across the device
– Impulse turbines, where the flow hits the turbine as a
jet in an open environment, with the power deriving
from the kinetic energy of the flow.

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Cont..

Table 12: Classification of micro hydro turbines and their selection

according to head, flow rate and power output for small hydro power
plant
Classification Turbine name Head range (m) Power output(kw)

Impulse Pelton 50-1000 0.2-3 50-15,000

Turgo 30-200 0.5-3 20-5000

Cross flow 2-50 0.01-2 0.1-600

Reaction Kaplan 3-40 3-20 50-5000

Propeller 3-40 3-20 50-500

Francis radial-flow 40-200 1-20 500-15000

Francis-mixed-flow 10-40 0.7-10 100-5000

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Cont.….

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Cont…

 Selection of generator size and type

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