Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Decision Support System For Micro-Hydro
Decision Support System For Micro-Hydro
Yves Secretan
INRS–ETE, 490, Rue de la Couronne, Québec – QC, G1K 9A9, Canada
One of the main obstacles to the socio-economic development of the Brazilian Amazon is the lack
of electric energy in the numerous small isolated communities of the region that hampers value-
added agricultural production, revenue growth and creation of jobs. One way to solve this problem
is by setting up micro-hydro power (MHP) plants under a sustainable development perspective. This
paper presents a decision support system (DSS) that analyzes this solution. The system considers
the hydrological, topographical, geotechnical, environmental, energy, economic and social aspects
of the target site. A detailed analysis is made of the hydrological model that employs a rainfall
run-off model for small catchment analysis; the energy planning favors a two-turbine method to
determine the maximum energy production during demand peaks, and the economic aspects show
that the costs of energy generated by MHP plants are comparable to those from rural grid systems
and lower than those from from diesel generators. Thus, the use of the hydro-power resources of
the small catchments of Amazonia combined with the minimization of the environmental impacts
caused by MHP not only fulfills the energy demand of the small communities of region, but is also
viable economically along with job creation and revenue generation, and it supports the perspective
of sustainable development.
Key-words: Amazon region; sustainable development; small isolated communities; micro-hydro
power plant; decision support system
the fuel to be transported by air. the social aspects, topography, small catchment hydrology,
Generally, the Amazon region’s rural areas and water- energy and economic aspects, and scheme planning. The
side regions depend on the electric power produced by last two branches are presented in a low perspective,
generators run on diesel [Blanco et al., 2000], which is a which allows for a more detailed analysis of their neces-
non-renewable source. Fuel is expensive and transporting sary decision-making tasks.
it is sometimes more expensive than the fuel itself [Dos 2.1. Micro-hydro power and sustainable development
Reis and Silveira, 2000]. Among the renewable energy sources normally used,
The existing problem of power generation and the lack MHP is the most desirable for meeting the purposes con-
of value-added primary production in the remote regions sidered in this paper.
of the Amazon region can be solved through renewable It is a less expensive option compared to the new tech-
energy projects. This paper addresses the establishment of nologies such as biofuel, biomass and solar energy. MHP
micro-hydro power plants in the Amazon under a sustain- is a mature technology; moreover, it is a much more con-
able development perspective. centrated energy resource than solar photovoltaic and
wind energy.
2. The proposed methodology Generally, setting up MHP plants in rural areas of de-
MHP addresses the needs of specific energy for areas veloping countries can offer considerable benefits to the
where small rivers forming small catchments have a communities served, particularly where careful planning
strong seasonally varying flow, like in the Amazon region identifies income-generating uses for the power. The in-
[Amarante Mesquita et al., 1999]. The DSS scheme uses come generated can be used for economic and social de-
a rainfall run-off model [Blanco et al., 2005] adapted to velopment of such areas [Harvey et al., 1993; Paish,
the region’s small catchment areas. The model is em- 2002].
ployed mainly to determine the flow-duration curves The environmental impact related to these areas in-
(FDCs) that are very important for the MHP energy pro- cludes flooding, reduced oxygenation of the water, up-
duction project. Furthermore, low-head installations with stream sedimentation of weirs, erosion of the turbine’s
run-of-river schemes are the most suitable for these re- draft tubes located immediately downstream, and electri-
gions due to their flat topography. cal machinery noise. These effects will be minimized be-
Figure 1 presents a high perspective of the DSS for cause of the size of the plant and appropriate design
setting up MHP plants, considering sustainable develop- techniques [Paish, 2002]. In relation to the impact related
ment aspects. This paper analyzes certain branches of the to flooding, Bezerra [2007] noticed that the maximum
DSS, such as: community commitment that summarizes area flooded for a MHP of 50 kW, called CGH Irmã
Dorothy, to be set up in the community of Vila Sucupira, the committee’s task is to reconcile the water uses of the
Anapú, Pará state, is approximately equal to 3,000 m2. local population. This reconciliation must ensure the pres-
This is equivalent to the area of a square with a side of ervation of all water use. It will also have to train the
55 m. staff on how to operate and maintain the plants after the
Thus, the end-product is a potentially economic renew- demonstration phase is over because too many projects
able energy source with smaller environmental impacts have started out as a demonstration, but failed once that
than the impacts of the current technology, which, in this phase has been completed [Fulford et al., 2000]. The lack
case, is diesel generation. The most significant emisisions of trained employees is sometimes the reason for failure
from diesel generators are CO2, contributing to the green- of the system for a longer period of time, because of the
house effect and therefore to global warming, and par- large distances among the villages and cities of Amazonia,
ticulate matter, which is hazardous to health when inhaled. where qualified labor forces can be found.
The economic and social development and the low en- In order for the project to be affordable, the committees
vironmental impact related to MHP represent the three must request financing from the government in order to
inseparable pillars of sustainable development of the Jo- purchase micro-turbines from one of the rural power sup-
hannesburg declaration, confirming that MHP can serve ply programs. In Brazil, a federal program, called Luz
as an energy source for sustainable development. para Todos (Light for Everybody) [MME, 2005], has been
2.2. Community commitment established to fund such projects.
The following-up of power generation related projects, Thus, the participation of the community is fundamen-
through renewable sources for isolated regions, can only tal to the success of the project, especially because the
be ensured with the commitment of the community power demand of these small communities is the reason
[Ramachandra et al., 2004]. In this work, the community for the project.
must play a central role in the decision-making process 2.3. The hydrology of small catchment areas
of the projects (Figure 1), especially since they are de- In the Amazon region, hydroelectric power production has
veloped around the community, also assisting the sustain- been developed mainly in large basins, i.e., only in gauged
able development of the region. Moreover, the central role basins, those with long histories of stream flows. This
of the community also helps to ensure the management data is used to estimate floods, in terms of risk and in
of the project after the set-up phase. terms of recurrence times for flood frequency analysis.
Community commitment starts with power demand This information is crucial in projecting hydraulic struc-
analyses. Local knowledge can aid in guiding the choice tures (dams, weirs, spillways, etc.). The stream flows are
of the most feasible power supply project. Thus, the com- also used to plot the flow-duration curve (FDC) that de-
munity is necessary throughout all the project’s feasibility termines design flow for a hydroelectric power plant.
phases. The community also takes part in the other However, hydrological data measurement is expensive be-
phases: construction, operation and maintenance [Harvey cause of the region’s size. Road access is difficult and
et al., 1993]. During the feasibility phase the community fieldwork is often difficult, too. For these reasons, count-
defines the end-use of electricity, participates in choosing less small catchments in the region still haven’t been
the sites to be exploited and also helps determine the most gauged, hampering the analysis of power supply potential
adequate way to extend transmission lines. The commu- for small isolated communities [Amarante Mesquita et al.,
nity can contribute by hiring local workers for the civil 1999].
construction and for the hydraulic structures of the plants However, rainfall data in the Amazon region is more
(powerhouse, weir-dam, etc.) to lower costs, thus reducing readily available. Hence, Blanco et al. [2005] have devel-
transport and logging expenses. Because of all the com- oped a hydrological rainfall run-off model to simulate
munity skills used throughout the project, it is necessary FDC in hydro-power production. The model is based on
to organize, for example, a small catchment committee. a linear and time-invariant system (input-output). The im-
It will be responsible for reaching all the participants in pulse response of the system is calculated from the cross-
the community: municipalities, local churches, farmers, spectral analysis between the rainfall and run-off series.
small entrepreneurs, and finally, the community in gen- A sensitivity analysis of the model to the sample size is
eral. The indigenous populations of the community, if any carried out to determine the shortest data period, but that
are present, must also be represented. This representative still allows for good model performance. This analysis
character of the committee is critical to ensure that the shows that it takes 18 months of rainfall and run-off re-
cultural variety and patterns of the Amazonian population cords to simulate FDCs. Figure 2 shows the measured and
are respected. It must explain to the community that the predicted run-off series, and Figure 3 shows the measured
project will generate profits by providing jobs and reve- and predicted FDC, for a small catchment in the Amazon
nue. This information is used to motivate the local popu- region using the model in [Blanco et al., 2005].
lation into participating in all of the project’s phases. The The hydrology of the region is characterized by two
committee also has to form the teams to work on the con- seasons: the first, between January and June, the flood
struction of the MHP plant. season; the second between July and December, the low
The committee is responsible for determining the water water season (Figure 2). Fortunately, the floods coincide
uses of the community that lives on the small catchment. with the primary production peak, helping to plan out the
If conflicts occur in the feasibility phase of the project, MHP scheme, since more power generation is required
Figure 2. Hydrograms measured and predicted for a small catchment in the Amazon region
Figure 3. FDC measured and predicted in a small catchment area in the Amazon region
during this period. model is the same as in [Blanco et al., 2005], but in this
In the literature there is a significant number of studies case, the sensitivity analysis is carried out to determine
[Littlewood, 2003; Ouarda et al., 2001; Seibert, 1999] rec- the shortest run-off period that still yields a good perform-
ommending the transferability of hydrological data of ance. This analysis shows that it takes 12 months of run-
gauged sites to ungauged ones. Blanco et al. [2007; 2008] off records to simulate FDCs by transferability.
have developed the transferability of their rainfall run-off Flow data necessary for model application (18 months)
model to simulate FDCs for hydropower production. The or transferability application (12 months) can be estimated
Figure 7. Flow-duration curve and power generated by the scheme with two turbines
Table 1. Costs and annual energy generation of schemes with 40 kW ing to periods of operation presented in Table 1. The in-
and depreciation parameters stallation costs are considered for MHP only, with the hy-
pothesis of a charge factor equal to 100 %, otherwise the
Micro-hydro power
UEC for MHP would be increased. Thus, the cost of a
Number of turbines 1 (40 kW) 2 (30 and 10 kW) kWh generated by MHP plants is lower than the cost of
Cost of the investment ($) 200,000
a kWh produced by a diesel generator, i.e., 0.19 $/kWh.
This cost was calculated using the data presented by Da
Cost of installation ($/kW) 5,000 Cruz [2000] and by considerating a diesel generator of 40
Unit energy cost ($/kWh) 0.18 0.12 kW with the price in the Brazilian market in 2005.
Thus, if it were necessary to produce 40 kW in the long
Annual energy generation (MWh) 172.80 259.20
term, the choice would be to buy energy from the rural
Continuous energy time (%) 50 100 grid ($ 0.09/kWh) [ANEEL, 2005]. If the grid does not
exist and it is necessary to meet the demand of 40 kW
Period of operation (months) 6 12
during the peak period (January-June), the choice would
be to produce this power from a scheme with two turbines
per installed kW between $ 1,136 and $ 5,630. because of the lower cost ($ 0.12/kWh) continuing its pro-
The cost of installation Ci per kW produced is estimated duction after the peak until the end of the year, but on a
by smaller scale, while the plant with one turbine
Ci = Estimated project cost/Installed power (3) ($ 0.18/kWh) only operates for 6 months. Additionally,
Within the framework of a comparative economic analysis the two-turbine scheme has an annual energy generation
between MHP plants, diesel generators and rural grids, it and a fixed percentage energy time bigger than those of
is necessary to determine the unit energy costs of the the one-turbine scheme (Table 1). The unit energy prices
schemes that are shown in the following case-study. ($/kWh) for both schemes are used in Figure 8, which
2.5.1. Case-study summarizes the branch of DSS for energy and economic
The following example shows the application of the eco- aspects, plus planning of run-of-river schemes.
nomic aspects to the SC site. The design head (7 m) is Analysis of energy and economic aspects supports the
the same used when considering the energy aspects (Sec- perspective of sustainable development from the proposed
tion 2.4), to determine the power when considering one approach. It can be applied to the Amazon region’s un-
or two turbines. gauged small catchment areas by using the hydrological
Bezerra [2007] also evaluated the investment cost for aspects, also presented in this paper.
CGH Irmã Dorothy. In this case, the cost was estimated
as $ 200,000. This MHP is very similar to the site ana- 3. Conclusion
lyzed in the present work. Moreover, the cost of two tur- This study presents a decision support system (DSS) for
bines with 10 and 30 kW is equivalent to the price of one the installation of micro-hydro power (MHP) plants in the
turbine with 40 kW. The prices were provided by the Brazilian Amazon under a sustainable development per-
manufacturer LTCC of Montreal, Quebec, Canada [LTCC, spective. This system takes into account the electric power
2005]. Thus, the costs presented in Table 1 are comparable demand of the region’s small communities, their commit-
to the costs of the installations presented by Khennas and ment to the projects, and hydrological, energy and eco-
Barnett [2000] on the global scale. nomic aspects. Put together, they form the basis for the
In order to complete this analysis, it is necessary to project approval and the installation of MHP in the region.
consider the depreciation of the scheme’s investment costs Success in setting up MHP depends on the commitment
for the calculation of the unit energy costs. A missing item level of the local population. It begins with the energy
in this analysis is the cost of O&M (operation and main- demand and continues with feasibility, construction, op-
tenance) services. This item is very difficult to estimate eration and maintenance, which are required throughout
because it is necessary to know the prices of such services the project’s phases.
for MHP in the isolated Amazon regions. On the other Hydrological aspects are very relevant, especially be-
hand, for the MHP, this approach is favorable since local cause the sites are located in ungauged small catchment
population training is foreseen to perform these services. areas. Thus, stream flows are simulated with a rainfall
The annualized capital cost C (Equation 4) can be de- run-off model or with its transferability. These stream
termined by considering the present value (depreciation) flows are used to plot flow-duration curves that are nec-
of an annuity calculated on the costs of the investment essary to establish the design flows of the turbines that
(Table 1) of any scheme. equip the plants.
C = Cost of the investment/an (4) Analysis of the energy aspects has revealed that power
where an is the discount factor for annuities of C and n demand peak coincides with production peak. This coin-
is the number of years for which the present value of C cidence helps in the planning of the two-turbine method
is calculated. In this analysis, where the discount rate is schemes.
equal to 15 % and n is equal to 30 years (lifetime of the The case-study used for the analysis of the economic
project), a30 is equal to 6.566. Thus, the unit energy cost aspects has shown that micro-hydro power is a viable eco-
(UEC) ($/kWh) of every scheme can be calculated accord- nomic option for the isolated areas of the Amazon region.
References
Amarante Mesquita, A.L., Blanco, C.J.C., and Lobato, R.V., 1999. Levantamento do poten-
cial energético para a implantaçao de mini centrais hidrelétricas na regiao da Calha Norte,
Estado do Pará, Relatório Final do projeto FUNTEC 115-00/97, 55 pp.
ANA (Agência Nacional de Aguas), 2003. Hidroweb - Sistema de informaçoes hidrológicas,
http://hidroweb.ana.gov.br/.
ANEEL, 2005. Tarifas médias por classe de consumo regional e Brasil 2005,
http://www.aneel.gov.br/98.htm.
Balarim, C.R., Targa, L.A., and Sant’ana, R.F., 1998. “Estimativa de custo de implantaçao
de micro centrais hidrelétricas com potências de 20, 30, 50, 75 e 100 kW”, Energia na
agricultura, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 45-54.
Bezerra, F.V.V., 2007. Implantaçao de CGH’s na Amazônia - uma visao global com ênfase
nos aspectos hidrológicos, tecnológicos, ambientais e financeiros; master’s degree thesis,
UFPA (Federal University of Pará), Pará, Brazil.
Blanco, C.J.C., Gouveia, M.S.A.V., and Amarante Mesquita, A.L., 2000. “Analisis hidrodi-
namico de rotores axiales para uso de la energia cinetica de rios”, Informacion Tecnológica,
Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 73-78.
Blanco, C.J.C., Secretan, Y., Favre, A.C., and Slivitzky, M., 2005. “Modèle pluie-débit pour
la simulation de courbes de débits classés sur des petits bassins non jaugés de l’Amazonie”,
Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, No. 32, pp. 803-811.
Blanco, C.J.C., Secretan, Y., and Favre, A.C., 2007. “Análise, aplicaçao e transposiçao de
um modelo chuva-vazao para simulaçao de curvas de permanência de pequenas bacias
da Amazônia”, Revista Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 205-216.
Blanco, C.J.C., Secretan, Y., and Favre, A.C., 2008. “Transférabilité d’un modèle pluie-débit
pour la simulation de courbes de débits classés sur des petits bassins non jaugés de
l’Amazonie”, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, accepted for publication.
Caviglia, J.L., and Kahn, J.R., 2001. “Diffusion of sustainable agriculture in the Brazilian
tropical rain forest: a discrete choice analysis”, Economic Development and Cultural Change,
Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 311-332.
Da Cruz, R.W.A., 2000. “Geraçao de eletricidade com turbina hidrocinética na Amazônia:
o caso da comunidade de Sao Sebastiao”, paper presented in Encontro de Energia no
Meio Rural, Campinas, Brazil, Proceedings available online at:
http://www.proceedings.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=MSC000000002200000
0200040&lng=en&nrm=abn, accessed on March 23, 2007.
DNAEE and Eletrobrás, 1985. Manual de Microcentrais Hidrelétricas, Brasília.
Dos Reis, L.B., and Silveira, S., 2000. Energia Elétrica para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável,
Editora da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo.
Eletrobrás, 2000. Diretrizes para projetos de implantaçao de pequenas centrais hidrelétricas,
Figure 8. Energy and economic aspects and scheme planning Rio de Janeiro.
Fulford, D.J., Mosley, P., and Gill, A., 2000. “Recommendations on the use of micro-hydro-
Furthermore, it is necessary to add the social benefits gen- electric power in rural development”, Journal of International Development, Vol. 12, pp.
975-983.
erated from the installation of the MHP, such as the so-
Harvey, A., Brown, A., Hettiarachi, P., and Inversin, A., 1993. Micro-hydro Design Manual
cio-economic development of the communities and – A Guide to Small-scale Waterpower Schemes, Intermediate Technology Publications, Lon-
environmental protection, and to reduce the environmental don.
impacts entailed by the benefits generated by the diesel Khennas, S., and Barnett, A., 2000. Best Practices for Sustainable Development of Micro
generators. If this balance is evaluated, it will increase Hydro Power in Developing Countries, Final synthesis report, Contract R7215, 105 pp.
the positive difference between the unit energy costs of Littlewood, I.G., 2003. “Improved unit hydrograph identification for seven Welsh rivers: im-
plication for estimating continuous streamflow at ungauged sites”, Hydrological Sciences
MHP and diesel generators. Journal, Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 743-762.
The production of electric power by MHP, as discussed LTCC, 2005, Développement énergétique integré, http://www.ltcchydro.com/index.html.
in this paper, is an example of sustainable development, MME, 2005, Programa luz para todos, http://www.mme.gov.br/luzparatodos.
care being taken to minimize the environmental impact. Ouarda, T.B.M.J., Girard, C., Cavadias, G.S., and Bobée, B., 2001. “Regional flood fre-
MHP is a renewable source of energy with viable costs quency estimation with canonical correlation analysis”, Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 254, pp.
to meet the demand for value-added primary production, 157-173.
also generating jobs and revenue, which can be used for Paish, O., 2002. “Small hydro power: technology and current status”, Renewable & Sus-
tainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 6, No. 6, pp. 537-556.
the economic and social development of isolated regions.
Penche, C., 1998. Layman’s Handbook on How to Develop a Small Hydro Site, Commission
Thus, the DSS developed under this approach can be used of the European Communities.
as a basis of analysis for installation of MHP plants in Ramachandra, T.V., Kamakshi, G., and Shruthi, B.V., 2004. “Bioresource status in Kar-
small communities in the Amazon region under a sustain- nataka”, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 1-47.
able development perspective. Seibert, J., 1999. “Regionalization of parameters for a conceptual rainfall-runoff model”,
Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 98, No. 9, pp. 279-293.
Acknowledgements
United Nations, 2002. Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development - Johan-
The authors wish to thank CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tec- nesburg, South Africa, 26 August-4 September 2002, United Nations, New York.
nológico) of the Brazilian Ministry for Science and Technology (reference number –