CLASSIFICATION OF HYDRO POWER PLANTS

1) Classification Based On Hydraulic Features

a)Conventional Hydra Power Plants: these plants can utilize the
normally available hydraulic energy of the flowing water of rivers

b) Pumped Storage Plants: such plants can utilize the concept of

recycling the same water by using pumping selectivity
c)Tidal Power Plants:we use tidal energy of sea water
d)Depression Power Plants: this is rare type of hydro power
plants.here the hydro power is generated by diverting an ample source
of water into a natural topographical depression which provides
operational head for the plant
2)Classification Based On Operation
a)Base load plant
b)Peak load plant
3) Classification Based On Palnt Capacity
a) Micro hydel plants <5 MW
b) Medium capacity plants 5 to 100 MW
c) high capcity plants 101 MW to 1000 MW
d) Super plants above 1000 MW
4)Classification Based On Operation
a)Base load plant
b)Peak load plant
5) Classification Based On Plant Capacity
a) Micro hydel plants <5 MW
b) Medium capacity plants 5 to 100 MW
c) high capacity plants 101 MW to 1000 MW
d) Super plants above 1000 MW
6) Classification Based On Head
a) Low head plants less than 15 m
b) Medium head plants 15m -70 m
c) High head plants 71 m -250 m
d) Very head head plants >250 m
7) Classification Based On Constructional Features
a) Run of river plants
b) Valley dam plant
c) Diversion canal plant
d) High head diversion plants

RUN-OF RIVER PLANTS

The power house is located along the main course of river
These plants have no large reservoir
Water was not diverted materially away from the reservoir.
Construction of big reservoirs alters the flow conditions materially
upstream and downstream and changes the run-of-river characteristics
The run-of-river plants will certainly have small pools of reservoirs to
provide the necessary pondage in order to balance day-to-day
fluctuations
Run-of-river plants are generally low head plants. Occasionally they
may be also medium head plants.
Such plants are more popular in Europe and all major rivers have a
series of such plants along their course

VALLEY DAM PLANTS

The dominant feature of valley dam plant is a dam in the river which
creates a storage reservoir that develops the necessary head for
power house.
The power house located right at the toe of the dam.

The water flows through penstocks embedded in the dam to power

house and join main river course directly at the outlet of power
house

The valley dam plants are of medium to high heads

The artificial head created will depend on the height of the dam

If the spillway is in the central portion of the dam, then the power
house may be located on one of the banks or as twin power houses,
one on each bank

In sometimes, the spillway is provided in the adjacent saddle gorge in

which case the power house can be located in central portion of river

Occasionally the power house is situated not immediately at the toe

of dam but at some distance downstream. Such arrangement is
costlier than the normal dam power house together arragement.

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It can adopt only when special advantages like achieving extra head
due to sloping topography etc have.

This arrangement needs longer conveyance penstocks and result in

consequent additional pipe friction losses

With the power house at the immediate vicinity of the dam, the
foundation of both can be planned as a single unit which is more
economical

In valley dam plants, it is always not possible to locate the power

house at the toe of dam.

For instance if gorge is narrow, there may not be enough space both
for spillway and power house. In such cases power house may be
constructed in excavated portions of the flanks of gorge or
underground

DIVERSION CANAL PLANTS

The distinguishing feature of the diversion canal plants is that the

waters of river diverted away from the main channel through a
diversion canal referred as a power canal.

A power house is provided at a suitable point along stretch of the

canal

After the water flows through the power house it is conveyed back to
the parent river

Diversion canal plants are generally for low or medium head plants.

Like run-of-river plants they do not have any storage reservoir.

The power house requirements of poundage are met through a pool

called “forbay” located just before the power house

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The development of head in diversion canal plant can be achieved by
the following ways

i) the head may be available due to the made of flatter bed slope
compared to river

ii) Some times river has a natural fall, thus providing the natural head
for a diversion canal type of plant

iii) Diversion canals plants can sometimes be planned by diverting

water from a higher level river to another lower level river through a
diversion canal and a power house

iv) A canal plant can be located on irrigation canal, serving power

production as a secondary objective.

Weir may be provided at the location of A in fig so as to create some

additional head

Layouts of Diversion canal plants::

The power house may be located along the canal at different places
with respect the length of the canal.

i)The upstream power station layout

ii)The intermediate power station layout

iii)The downstream power station layout

Upstream power station layout, the power house is located at the
entrance of the diversion canal so that there is no intake structure
(i.e no head race) but only a tail race canal

The intermediate layout consists of the power house located at

about the middle of the length of the canal. It contains both
upstream (head race) and downstream (tail race) of the power
house.
In downstream arrangement the power house is located at the end
of diversion canal and as such there is only head race available and
no tail race limb of the canal

HIGH HEAD DIVERSION PLANTS

The main distinguishing feature of such plants is the development of

high head resulting from the diversion of water.

There are two ways in which this could be achieved

i)The water of the river can be diverted through a system of channels

and tunnels to another neighboring river or basin which is at a much
lower level than parent river

Ii) the water from river could be diverted along the tunnel from
upstream point of the river to a downstream point of the same river
The high head diversion canal plants is almost similar to low head
diversion plants. The main difference is it contains elaborate
conveyance System

There is major storage provided on the parent river and which feeds
into the diversion system

If the length of the pleasure tunnel is considerable, a surge tank may

be provided upstream of the power station which will smoothens the
fluctuations of flow demand

The purpose was served in the canal plants by the forbay

A tunnel development is more use full if it is backed by ample

storage and high head.

The level fluctuations of reservoir do not materially change the

magnitude head and power output can be adjusted by the controlled
flow release from the reservoir

This advantage is not achieved in valley dam plants, in which power

house is built downstream face of the dam very near to it. Under
such cases change in the reservoir level also change the head
proportionally

PUMPED STORAGE POWER PLANTS

Pumped storage power plants are a special type of power plants

which works as ordinary conventional hydro power stations for part
of time.

The specialty of the plants when such plants are not producing
power they can be used as pumping stations which pump water from
the tail race side to the high level reservoir. At such times these
power stations utilize power available from elsewhere to run the
pumping units

The working of these power stations is distinguished as the

generating phase and pumping phase

In generating phase the turbines and generators are in operation and

produce electrical power and in pumping phase pumps and motors
are in operation

During generating phase water flows from high level into power
house and hence to the tail race side in pumping phase it is vice
versa

The fundamental arrangement consists of two pools one at high level

and the other at the low level with the power house occupying an
intermediate position

The water passages are from the higher level pool to power house
and from the power house to the lower level pool. From lower level
pool to higher level pool
Water in either direction depends on the generating or the pumping
phase

It is very ingenious method of conserving the limited water resource

on one hand and balancing the load on the distribution system on
the other hand

Advantages of pumped storage power plants

i) As compared to other peaking units pumped storage power plants

have relatively low capital cost

ii) It can pick up the load rapidly in a matter of minutes

iii) Such power stations are readily adaptable to

To automation as well as remote control

iv) Pumped storage power plants allows great deal of flexibility in

operational schedule of the system

v) Power required for pumping is available at cheaper rate(slack

hours rate) where power produced by the plant can be sold at prime
rate(peak hour rate)

Types of pumped storage power plants

i) Both the reservoirs on a single river in a tandem chain manner

ii) Two reservoirs on two separate rivers close to each other and
flowing in different elevations

iii) Higher level reservoir an artificially constructed pool with the help
of dykes all around on a high level plateau or on a levelled hill top
and the lower level reservoir on natural river

iv) The lower level reservoir is a natural lake while the higher
reservoir is artificial