Hydroelectric power plants

Load on a power system is not fixed but it varies over a wide range with type. The variation of load (in
kW or MW) with time (in Hrs) will therefore in form of a curve and is referred to a load curve. If it is
drawn for the entire day, it is referred to as daily load curve. It is obvious that this load curve will not
be exactly same even for two consecutive days and thus classified broadly into two types, i.e., the
summer load curve and the winter load curve. It is also to be noted that the load curve will also vary
according to the region (urban or rural) as well. A typical example of daily load curve for industrial and
residential load and summer and winter load curve is given in Figure 1. The following information can
be obtained from any load curve:
a. Maximum power requirement & hence the installed capacity of the plant (or plants)
b. Total energy generated in a given time period (equal to the area under the curve over the period)
c. Load factor of the system (ratio of the area under the load curve of the total area of the rectangle
in which it is contained)

a b
Figure 1. Load curve: (a) For industrial and residential load, and (b) Summer and winter load curve
NOTE: The load curve can be useful to decide the operating schedules of the power station, i.e., the
sequence in which the different generating stations should run
It is therefore obvious that the power generation must also be varied according to the load requirements
so as to maintain the power balance. From the previous discussion, it is clear that in case of the thermal
power plant, it is difficult to vary the generation quickly so as to meet the load requirements. In other
words, it can be said that the inertia of thermal generating station is high. This implies that, there should
be some low inertia power plant (like hydro, pumped hydro etc.) working in conjunction with the high
inertia power plants to meet the varying load requirements. The area under any load curve can be
divided into the following three categories:
a. Base load: It a certain demand need to be supplied throughout the day and is often supplied by
the abundant power generation source (coal and nuclear based power plants, available
renewable energy sources etc.)
b. Intermediate load: It occurs during a smaller time duration where the load is above the base
level
c. Peak load: It is the range of maximum load which will be encountered by the system for the
least time duration.
NOTE: In context of Indian power system, coal based power plants are commonly used as based load
along with the available renewable energy sources (PV, wind, etc.) and nuclear power plants. On the
other hand, hydroelectric (and pumped hydro) power plants are preferably used to meet the
intermediate and peak load requirements.

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Figure 2. Different categories of load

It is obvious that geographical location plays a key role in the installation of different power plants.
Coal power plants will be economical for the regions in the vicinity of the coal mines. Furthermore,
sufficient water availability is also a matter of concern for the installation of coal based power plants.
On the other hand, installation of hydroelectric power plants requires flow of water, some head i.e. level
difference and sufficient water availability throughout the year.

Hydroelectric power
In general, potential energy stored in the water is the basic principle behind the operation of
hydroelectric power plants. The water is stored in the reservoir and is allowed to pass through the
penstock in a controlled manner. The energy stored in the water is converted to the mechanical energy
(rotation of the shaft) by means of the nozzle-turbine set which is then converted to the electrical energy
by the alternator. If m be the mass of water (in kg) and h be the available head (in m), then energy can
be expressed mathematically as
E = mgh, g being the acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2

Figure 3. Components of a hydroelectric power plant and illustration of head

Since, power is the rate of change of energy and is the most convenient form. Therefore, hydroelectric
power can be given as:

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 Hydroelectric power plants
( ℎ)
= = = ℎ = ℎ × = ℎ

where.  = being the density of water  103 kg/m3 and Q = being the discharge (in m3/s)

The above expression describes the idealised situation. But in practice, the actual hydroelectric power
will be:

Pact = *ghQ, where  being the system efficiency

 Pact = *WhQ

where W = g being the weight per unit volume

If Hg be the gross head of any particular hydroelectric power plant, then the actual head will be slightly
less than the gross value as some head (say Hf) will get lost when the water will flow through the
penstock. Then the above expression becomes

Pact = *WQ* (Hg - Hf)

Apart from the components mentioned previously, there are few other components in any hydroelectric
power plant. The spillway is useful to protect the dam from damage when surplus water reaches the
reservoir (in case of excessive rain or flood). It will discharge the excess water and keep the water level
in the reservoir at its maximum safe level. The flow through the penstock is controlled by the valve
house which in turn controls the turbine output. If the turbine output is varied suddenly, there will have
sudden variation of the water passing through the penstock. Surge chamber mounted on a penstock is
useful for such cases which will ease up the pressure variation being developed in the penstock.

Figure 4. A practical hydroelectric power plant

Site selection parameters for hydroelectric power plants

Conditions to be taken into consideration while determining the suitability for installing a hydroelectric
power plants are as given below.
a. Quantity of water available
b. Quantity of water that can be stored economically
c. Utilizable head of the water
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 Hydroelectric power plants
d. Distance of site from the load centre
e. Site accessibility
f. Runoff due to seepage into pervious rocks (geological consideration)
g. Catchment area of the river i.e. how much water is received by the river for any particular
amount of rainfall (geological consideration)
As installation of any hydroelectric power plant involves lot of planning, it is important to investigate
the feasibility of any site. This is to be done in several stages as discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.
Stage 1: Reconnaissance study - It is the preliminary surveying or research which comprises of the
following.

 Average annual flow  Discharge available during the low

 Available head flow periods
Stage 2: Feasibility study - In this stage decision on investigation of the investment commitment is to
be made while considering the rainfall and water availability in the region. It is due to the fact that based
on the water availability, the decision on the power plant design (rating of turbine, size of reservoir
required, length of penstock etc.) is made which ultimately will lead to the investment requirement.
Stage 3: Definite plan study – It involves the complete planning of the entire system.

Classification of different hydroelectric power plant

Depending upon the water flow regulation, hydroelectric power plants can be any of the following three
types:
a. Run-of-river (without storage): A portion of the river water is allowed to flow downstream
through a penstock which is then used to drive the turbine and the water is allowed to flow to
the river again. Such a system is given in Figure 5 (a).
b. Run-of-river plants with small storage: An obstruction is developed in the upstream of the
river so that some water is stored in it. Then some water is allowed to flow downstream through
a penstock which is then used to drive the turbine. The water will then flow back to the river
and the system will be as given in Figure 5 (b).
c. Large storage type plants: As the name suggests, they are the traditional hydroelectric power
plants discussed so far where the entire river flow is obstructed to form the reservoir having
enormously high water storage capacity. Such a system will be as given in Figure 5 (c).
NOTE: Generally the first two types are meant for mini & micro-hydel plants whereas the last one
are the large hydroelectric power plants.
Depending upon the available head (and hence the type of turbine being employed), hydroelectric power
plants can be any of the following:
a. High head plants: It is generally suited for hilly terrain when the head is reasonably high.
Generally, the head will be more than 300m for such plants and impulse turbine is generally
employed in these plants.
b. Medium head plants: In such plants, head will vary typically between 30m - 300m and Francis
turbine will be used in these plants.
c. Low head plants: The head for such plants will be less than 30m and it will require reaction
turbine to operate.
d. Very low head (Tidal): It is a very special case where the head will not be more than 10m. In
such cases, bulb or tube turbine will be employed.

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a b

c
Figure 5. Classification of hydroelectric power plants according to water flow regulation

a b

c d

Figure 6. Different turbines used in hydroelectric power plants for different heads: (a) Impulse
turbine; (b) Francis turbine; (c) Reaction turbine, and (d) Bulb turbine

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Load factor of the plant

In general, load factor is defined as the ratio of average and peak load for a given time period. For a
power plant, it is defined as the ratio of average power generated by the plant to the maximum power
that could have been generated for a given time period. Mathematically, it can be therefore given as:

The above relation can be expressed in form of the energy supplied by the plant for a given period of
time by multiplying the numerator & denominator by time duration (T). Then the expression becomes:
×
= =
×
Therefore, load factor can be expressed as the ratio of average energy supplied for a given time period
to the energy that could have been supplied at maximum loading condition for the same time period.
Plant Load Factor is one of the important performance parameter of any power plant as higher will be
its value, more will be the revenue of the plant.
Since hydroelectric power plants can be operated both as base load & peak load generating station, it
becomes important the investigate the impact of operating the hydroelectric power plant as base & peak
load plant.
NOTE: In case of any base load plant, plant should be operated entire day and therefore the load
factor will be unity when it is operated at its rated value. On the other hand, load factor of any peak
load plant will be much less than unity even if it is operated at its rated value.
Example. A hydroelectric power plant is having sufficient water availability and water retention
capacity so that it can produce 500 million kWh/year. Determine the power generated by the plant if
the plant is to be designed as:
a. Base load plant b. Peak load plant with load factor 0.25
Solution
Emax = 500 million kWh
a. When operated as base load plant, load factor = 1
×
Therefore, Eav =Emax = 500 million kWh  Pav = = 57.08 × 10 = 57.08
×
.
b. When operated as peak load plant with load factor 0.25  Pav’ = = = 228.32
.

From the above example, it is clear that when the plant is designed to be operated as peak load plant,
its power rating increases. It implies that the size (as well as cost) of the turbine and diameter of the
penstock will increase & therefore increasing the investment cost.
NOTE: Although the investment cost is higher, most of the hydroelectric power plants are designed
to be operated as peak load plant. It is due to the fact that, for such case the plant can operate both
as base load plant and peak load plant depending upon the availability of the water. If abundant
water is available, it will operate as base load plant otherwise as peak load plant. This can be therefore
useful to reduce the coal consumption.

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