Kwame Nkrumah University of

Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

EE 367 – POWER GENERATION

AND SUPPLY

P. Asigri
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering
January 2023
 Learning Objectives
By the end of the unit, the students will be able to:
1. explain the basic principles and operation of
thermal power plants
2. Understand the operation of hydropower plants
3. Gain basic knowledge in nuclear plants

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2
CONVENTIONAL ENERGY SYSTEMS

 A conventional power plant is a power station used in

the generation of electrical energy from coal, oil, or
natural gas, usually through the generation of steam.
 The generator is usually a synchronous machine having
a small number of pole and running at high speeds.

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 CONVENTIONAL ENERGY SYSTEMS

 The overall efficiency of energy conversion from fuel to

electrical energy is greatly influenced by the efficiency of the
turbine and condenser.
 Typical overall efficiency ranges from 30% to 40%.

 The main features of these conventional plants are their low

capital cost per kilowatt installed as compared to other plants
and virtually no limit on their size.

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CONVENTIONAL ENERGY SYSTEMS
Conventional power plants include thermal power plants, nuclear
power plants and hydro power plants.
Coal is usually crushed to fine dust and burnt. Oil and gas can be
burnt directly.
The burnt fuel is used to heat water to make steam.

The steam turns a turbine and the turbine turns a generator to

produce electrical power

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 Thermal Power Plant
Thermal generating plants are designed and constructed to convert
energy from fuel (coal, oil, gas) into electric power.
The actual conversion is accomplished by a turbine-driven
generator.
Thermal generating plants may differ but the nature of the product
never changes. The plant will always produce electric energy.
The things that may change are the fuel used (coal, oil, or gas) and
environmental requirements.

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 Thermal Power Plant
Many plants that were originally designed for coal were later
converted to oil, converted back to coal, and then converted
to gas.
Environmental requirements have changed, which has
required the construction of air and water emissions control
systems.
Plant electrical systems should be designed to allow for
further growth.
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 Thermal Power Plants in Ghana
Plant Installed Capacity Fuel Type Year
(MW) Installed

Takoradi VRA TAPCO 330 Gas/LCO 1997

( T1)
Takoradi International 340 Gas/LCO 2001
Company Ltd , TICO (T2)
Tema Thermal 1 Plant 110 Gas/LCO 2009
(TT1PP)
Tema Thermal 2 Plant 80 Gas 2010
(TT2PP)
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 Thermal Power Plants in Ghana
Kpone Thermal Power 220 Gas/Diesel 2016
Station (KTPS)
VRA-Ameri Power Project 250 Gas/LCO 2015
Sunon Asorgli Power 200 Gas/LCO 2007
(Ghana. Ltd) 1
Sunon Asorgli Power 360 Gas/LCO 2014
(Ghana. Ltd) 2
Karpowership Ghana 470 Gas/LCO 2014
Company Limited

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 Principle of Operation
Using the Thermodynamic Cycles

The steam (Rankine) cycle

gas turbine (Brayton) cycle

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 Rankine Cycle
In the Rankine cycle, steam is created in a boiler, and part of
the enthalpy of the high-pressure superheated steam is
converted to shaft work in a steam turbine that drives an
electric generator.
 Boilers in the steam cycle are fairly tolerant to fuel quality
and are capable of being fueled even by low-quality coal or
waste fuels.

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 Rankine Cycle
 It involves two isentropic and
two isobaric processes.
 1-2: Isentropic compression.
Saturated liquid enters the
pump at state 1 and is
pumped from low pressure
to the pressure required by
the boiler

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 Rankine Cycle
 2-3: Isobaric heat addition. The saturated
water in the boiler at the required pressure
is heated up by an external heat source and
leaves as superheated vapour.
 3-4: Isentropic expansion. The superheated
vapour expands in the turbine which is used
to drive a generator to produce power.
 4-1: Isobaric heat rejection. The vapour is
condensed to saturated liquid in the
condenser
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 Brayton Cycle
In the Brayton cycle, high-pressure and high-temperature
gaseous combustion products enter directly a gas turbine,
where part of their enthalpy is converted to shaft work.
The gas turbine drives a compressor and the electric power
generator.
Because of the direct entry of the combustion products into
the turbine, the gas turbine cycle is highly sensitive to the
quality of fuel and is restricted to the use of natural gas or
distillate fuel oil
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Brayton Cycle

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 Types of Thermal Power Plants
Thermal power plants include
steam turbine (steam-cycle system),
gas turbine (combustion turbine system)
combined cycle system
internal combustion system

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 Steam Turbine

 Link: Principle of operation

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Gas Turbine (Combustion-Turbine)

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Internal Combustion System (Diesel
Generator)

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 Combined Cycle Power Plant
The combined cycle system consists of 2 stages.
The first stage is the gas turbine and the second stage is
the steam turbine.
The fuel used is oil and natural gas.
Examples of combined cycle plants in Ghana are VRA
Ameri, VRA TAPCO, Takoradi TICO, Kpone thermal and
Sunon Asorgli 1 & 2.
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Combined Cycle Power Plant

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 Advantages of Thermal Plants
Thermal power station has less initial cost as compared to hydro-
electric generating station and Renewabled
It requires less space as compared to the hydroelectric power
station.
The fuel cost is less when coal is used.

Hung amount of power can be generated by Thermal Power Plant.

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 Disadvantages of Thermal Plants
 The running cost of thermal power station is more as compared to
hydro power station.
 It pollutes the atmosphere due to the production of large amounts of
smoke and fumes. Apart from CO2, other harmful gases like NOx and
SOx are also generated leading to Acid Rain.
 The maintenance cost is more.
 Land requirement is more for storage of coal and ash.

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Some Thermal Power Plants in Ghana
Sunon Asogli

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Some Thermal Power Plants in Ghana
Kar Powership

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Some Thermal Power Plants in Ghana
Kpong Thermal Power Plant

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 Nuclear Power Plant
A nuclear power plant is a type of power plant that uses the
process of nuclear fission or fusion to generate electricity.
They do this by using nuclear reactors in combination with
the Rankine cycle, where the heat generated by the reactor
converts water into steam, which spins a turbine and a
generator.

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 Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear power provides the world with around 11% of its total
electricity, with the largest producers being the United States and
France.
As of December 2020, 94 nuclear reactors were operating at 56
nuclear power plants in the US.
Nuclear power plants have supplied about 20% of total annual U.S.
electricity since 1990

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 Nuclear Power Plant
 Apart from the source of heat, nuclear power plants are very similar
to coal-fired power plants.

 However, they require different safety measures since the use of

nuclear fuel has vastly different properties from coal or other fossil
fuels.

 They get their thermal power from splitting the nuclei of atoms in
their reactor core, with uranium being the dominant choice of fuel
in the world today.
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Reactions in the Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear fission
Nuclear fusion

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 Nuclear Fission Reaction
 In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart to form smaller atoms,
releasing energy.

 Fission takes place inside the reactor of a nuclear power plant, which
contains uranium fuel.

 The heat produced during nuclear fission in the reactor core is used
to boil water into steam, which turns the blades of a steam turbine

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 Nuclear Fission Reaction

about 200 MeV

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 Nuclear Fusion Reaction
 The energy-producing mechanism in a fusion reactor is the joining
together of two light atomic nuclei.

 When two nuclei fuse, a small amount of mass is converted into a

large amount of energy.

 Energy (E) and mass (m) are related through Einstein’s relation,
E = mc2.
 The use of nuclear fusion reactions for electricity generation
remains more theoretical
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 Nuclear Reactions
 Example 2.1. A fuel bundle of natural uranium dioxide has a
mass of 22.2kg when first inserted into a heavy-water
reactor. If it releases an average of 372.5kW of thermal
energy during its 19-month stay in the reactor, calculate the:
 a) total amount of heat (in J) released
 b) reduction in weight (in g) of the bundle, due to the energy
released

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 Nuclear Reactions
Solution 2.1
(a) The average power released is .
Total time in second is
Total amount of heat released,

(b)Using the Einstein energy equation

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 Components of a Nuclear Reactor
Fuel
 Uranium is the basic fuel.
 Usually, pellets of uranium
oxide (UO2) are arranged in
tubes to form fuel rods.
 The rods are arranged into
fuel assemblies (or bundles),
in the reactor

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 Components of a Nuclear Reactor
Moderator
 It is the material in the core which slows down the neutrons
released from fission so that they cause more fission.
 It is usually Light water but may be heavy water or graphite.
 If graphite or heavy water is used as the moderator, it is possible
to run a power reactor on natural instead of enriched uranium.
 Light water absorbs neutrons as well as slowing them, it is less
efficient as a moderator than heavy water or graphite

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 Components of a Nuclear Reactor
Control Rods
These are made with neutron-absorbing material
such as cadmium, hafnium or boron.
They are inserted or withdrawn from the core to
control the rate of reaction, or to halt it.
In some PWR reactors, special control rods are used
to enable the core to sustain power efficiency

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 Components of a Nuclear Reactor
Coolant
 It is a fluid circulating through the core to transfer the heat from it.
 In light water reactors, the water moderator functions also as the
primary coolant.
 Except in BWRs, there is a secondary coolant circuit where the
water becomes steam.
 A PWR has two to four primary coolant loops with pumps, driven
either by steam or electricity

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 Components of a Nuclear Reactor
Pressure vessel or pressure tubes
 It is usually a robust steel vessel containing the reactor core and
moderator/coolant.
 It may also be a series of tubes holding the fuel and conveying the coolant
through the surrounding moderator.

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 Components of a Nuclear Reactor

Containment
It is the structure around the reactor and associated
steam generator that is designed to protect it from
outside intrusion and to protect those outside from the
effects of radiation in case of any serious malfunction
inside.
It is typically a metre-thick concrete and steel structure

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 Merits of Nuclear Power Plants
 Nuclear power costs about the same as coal, so it's not
expensive to make.
 Produces huge amounts of energy from small amounts of fuel.
 It is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in
one single plant.
 Operating cost is low after construction.
 Nuclear power is reliable

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 Demerits of Nuclear Power Plants
 High initial cost.
 Waste is highly radioactive that must be stored safely for
10,000-240,000 years: it must be sealed up and buried for
many years to allow the radioactivity to die away.
 Not 100% safe.
 It is not renewable

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Existing Nuclear Power Plants
4 x 1,300MW Nuclear power plant in Cattenom, France

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Existing Nuclear Power Plants
2 x 1,215MW McGuire Nuclear Plant, US

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 Hydroelectric (Hydro) Power Plant
Hydroelectric power generation involves
the storage of a hydraulic fluid (water)
The conversion of the hydraulic (potential) energy of
the fluid into mechanical (kinetic) energy in a
hydraulic turbine
The conversion of the mechanical energy to electrical
energy in an electric generator.

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 Hydroelectric (Hydro) Power Plant

The continuous availability of water throughout the year

is necessary for the proper operation of a hydroelectric
power station.
Generally, hydro-power schemes are multi-purpose, that
is, they are used not only for power generation but also
for irrigation, domestic water supply, etc.

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 Hydroelectric (Hydro) Power Plant
 The power produced at a hydropower plant is a function of the
head, the flow rate and the efficiency of the plant.
 The governor maintains the speed of rotation and therefore the
frequency of the generator constant.
 When the load increases the governor increases the amount of
water flowing through the turbine to match generation with
demand.

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 Choice of Site for Hydro-Electric Plants
Factors to consider
Sufficient quantity of water at a reasonable head.
The site should allow for strong foundations with minimum cost.
No possibility of leakage of water.
The water reservoir to be constructed must have a large catchment area
so that that a large amount of water can be collected in it.
The selected site must be easily accessible.
There should be a possibility of stream diversion during the
construction period.
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 The Water Power Equation
 Water is allowed to fall through a height (called the head).
 The water falling through this head gains kinetic energy which it
then imparts to the blades of hydraulic turbines.
 Power = The rate of change of potential energy
with time
𝒎𝒙𝒈𝒙𝒉
𝑷= , 𝒎=   𝒙 𝒗
𝒔

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 The Water Power Equation

P = gqh

h: available head in (m)

q: discharge or flow rate in (m3 /s) through the turbine
g: acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/s 2
: density of water (in 1000 kg/ m3)
: total efficiency of the plant
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 The Water Power Equation
Example 2.2
A large hydropower station has a head of 324m and an
average flow of 1370 m3/s. The reservoir is composed of a
series of lakes covering an area of 6400 km2. Calculate:
a) available hydropower
b) number of days this power could be sustained if the level
of the impounded water were allowed to drop to 1m
(assume no evaporation or precipitation, and neglect water
brought in by surrounding rivers and streams)
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 The Water Power Equation
Solution 2.2

a) The available hydro power is

𝑷=𝟗.𝟖 𝒒 𝜼𝒉=𝟗.𝟖×𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐱 𝟏𝟑𝟕𝟎 ×𝟏×𝟑𝟐𝟒=𝟒𝟑𝟓𝟎 𝑴𝑾
b) A drop of 1m in the water level corresponds to volume
of water. With the flow rate 1370 m3/s, the time for all this
water to flow through the turbines is

𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝟔
𝒕= =𝟒 . 𝟔𝟕 𝐱 𝟏𝟎 𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝟏𝟐𝟗𝟖 𝒉 𝒐𝒓 𝟓𝟒 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔
𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆

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Components of Hydroelectric Plant

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 Components of Hydroelectric Plant

Trash Racks
Trash-racks are installed in the intake system of
hydroelectric power plants to prevent entrance of large
debris which can damage turbine parts and cause serious
problems in power plant operation.
Another main purpose of trash-rack is to prevent fish
species from entering the intake system

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 Components of Hydroelectric Plant
Gates and Valves
They control the rate of water flow entering the intake. Wicket
gates primarily control the quantity of water entering the
turbine runner, thereby controlling power output.
Turbines
Hydraulic turbine, a device which can convert the hydraulic
energy into the mechanical energy which again converted into
the electrical energy by coupling the shaft of turbine to the
generator.
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 Components of Hydroelectric Plant
Desilting Basin
 It is a basin formed by excavating and/or constructing an
embankment.
 It reduces the velocity of the flow through it thus allowing sediment
to settle out before the runoff is discharged.
Tunnel
 It is made by cutting through the mountains where canal or pipeline
cannot be used due to topography.
 Tunnels provide direct and short routes for the water passages.
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 Components of Hydroelectric Plant
Spill Ways
They provide for discharge of the surplus water from the storage
reservoir into the river on the down streamside of the dam.
Forebay
Water is distributed to various penstocks through the forebay.
It is also known as the head pond.
Water is temporarily stored in the forebay and it also acts as a surge
tank.
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 Components of Hydroelectric Plant
Penstocks
 They are closed pressure pipes made of reinforced concrete or
steel used to convey water to the turbines concrete or steel.
 Penstocks are usually not covered to facilitate easy
maintenance and repair.
Tail Race
 It is the passage for discharging the water leaving the turbine
into the river.

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 Components of Hydroelectric Plant
Surge Tanks
 They provide space for holding water during load rejection and
thereby preventing a sudden rise of pressure in the penstock
above normal.
 This sudden rise of pressure is known as water hammer.
 The surge tank also furnishes additional water required when
the load on the turbine suddenly increases.
 They are usually provided in the high head or medium head
plants with a long penstock
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Types of Hydro Power Plants
Most popular and conventional
classification is based on the head.
 Low head
 medium head
 high head

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 Low Head Hydro Power Plant
 The available water head is less than 30 m.
 The power plant may use a low dam or weir to
channel water, or no dam and simply use the
‘‘run of the river’’.
 No surge tank is required as the power house
is located near the dam itself.
 Since the head is low, huge amount of water is
required for a desired power output.

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 Medium Head Power Plant
 The working head is more than 30 m but
less than 300 m.
 A forebay provided at the beginning of
penstock serves as water reservoir.
 The forebay draws water from the main
reservoir through a canal or tunnel.
 The forebay serves as a surge tank.

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 High Head Hydro Power Plant
 The head of water is more than 300 m
 A pressure tunnel carries water from the
reservoir to a valve house which is at the
starting of the penstock.
 A surge tank is provided before the valve
house to reduce water hammering to the
penstock.
 The surge tank also stores some extra water
which is useful for meeting peak load.
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 Classification Hydro Plants based
on Quantity of Water Available
 Run-off river plants without pondage: The Plant does not have
storage or pondage to store water. It uses water as it comes.
 Run-off river plants with pondage: The pondage allows storage of
water during lean periods and use of this water during peak periods.
 Reservior Plants: Plants have fairly large reservoirs of water.
Reservoirs usually provide sufficient storage to carry over from wet
season to dry season. Plants can be utilized either as base load
plants or as peak load plants as required.

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 Classification Based on Plant
Capacity
Large-Hydro Plant: It has a capacity of more than 100
MW. They usually feed into a large electricity grid.
Medium-Hydro Plant: Its capacity is from 15 - 100 MW. It
is usually grid-connected.
Small-Hydro Plant: Its capacity is from 1 - 15 MW. It is
usually grid-connected.

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Classification Based on Plant Capacity
Mini-Hydro Plant: It is above 100 kW, below 1 MW. It is most
often grid-connected
Micro-Hydro Plant: It ranges from 5 kW up to 100 kW. It usually
provides power for small communities but many are now being
grid-connected.
Pico-Hydro Power Plant: It is from 300 watts up to 5kW. It is
usually stand-alone but some small systems have been
successfully grid-connected

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Types of Hydro Electric Turbines

 the Pelton turbine

 the Francis turbine
 The Kaplan turbine
The turbine used for a plant is determined
by the head and the quantity of water

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 Pelton Turbine
It is the turbine of choice when the head is high and the
flow rate is relatively low.
It is an impulse turbine; the runner is not immersed in
water but turns in air.
It is generally employed in hydro power plants where
the water head exceeds roughly 300 m.

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 Francis Turbine
It is a reaction turbine.
It is the most commonly used turbine today. It is
used for heads of 37 – 490 m.
The flow rate is medium.
They are recommended for medium head plants but
can be used in low and high head plants

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 Kaplan Turbine

It is a reaction turbine.

It has adjustable blades.
Its invention allowed efficient power production in low-
head applications which were not possible with Francis
turbines.
It is used for heads of up to 61 m. The flow rate is large.

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 Types of Hydro Turbines

 Pelton (A) Francis(B) Kaplan (C)

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 Pumped Storage Schemes
 Pumped storage is the oldest kind of large-scale energy storage.
 Two reservoirs at different altitudes are required and when the water is
released from the upper reservoir to the lower reservoir, energy is created
by the downflow.
 The water is then pumped back to the upper reservoir with excess power
during lean period
 Pumped storage hydropower provides a dynamic response and offers
critical backup during periods of excess demand by maintaining grid
stability.

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 Pumped Storage Schemes
 However, pumped storage is a net user of power
 but when used in conjunction with other forms of renewable
generation to pump the water back up to the top of the
reservoir, it can help to resolve intermittency issues associated
with renewable technologies.

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 Hydro Power Plants in Ghana
Akosombo Generation Station
It was commissioned in 1965 and is managed by the Volta River
Authority (VRA).
The Akosombo plant has a capacity of 1020 MW consisting of six (6)
units (170 MW each).
The Akosombo Plant operates under normal conditions between 84.12m
max and 75.59m min of headwater elevation.
The generating voltage is 14.4kV and the generators run at a
synchronous speed of 115.4rpm.
The turbine used is the Francis turbine.
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Hydro Power Plants in Ghana
Akosombo Generation Station

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 Hydro Power Plants in Ghana
Kpong Power Plant
It was commissioned in 1982 and is also managed by VRA.
The Kpong plant comprises four turbine-generator nits with 40MW capacity
per unit making a total output of 160MW.
The normal water level for operation of the plant is between 17.70m max
and 14.50m min.
The available head is built up from the discharge from the Akosombo plant.
The generating voltage is about 13.8kV and the synchronous speed is 62.5
rpm. The turbine used is the propeller

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Hydro Power Plants in Ghana
Kpong Power Plant

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 Hydro Power Plants in Ghana
Bui Hydro Power Plant
 The Bui Generating Station, located on the Black Volta River,
which is the boundary between the Savannah and Bono
regions, was commissioned in 2013.
 It has an installed capacity of 404MW from four generating
units including three 133.33MW Francis Turbine Units and a
4MW Turbinette.
 The main components of the Project include a concrete gravity
dam, which had a maximum dam height of about 108m.
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Hydro Power Plants in Ghana
Bui Hydro Power Plant

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 Hydro Power Plants in Ghana
Tsatsadu Generating Station
 The BPA commissioned Ghana’s first micro-hydropower plant
known as the Tsatsadu Generating Station (TGS) under the
Ministry of Energy’s Renewable Energy initiative.
 The Plant, situated on the Tsatsadu Waterfalls in the Hohoe
District of the Volta Region, has a capacity of 45kW with the
possibility of adding another 40-60kW capacity turbine in the
future.

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 Hydro Power Plants in Ghana
Tsatsadu Generating Station
 The TGS, which is a run-of-river scheme, does not require the
formation of a reservoir.
 It consists of a concrete diversion weir, an intake structure,
diversion channel, a forebay, steel penstock, a powerhouse and
a transmission line and ties the electricity generated into the
local distribution grid

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Hydro Power Plants in Ghana
Tsatsadu Generating Station

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 Advantages of Hydro Power
 Once the dam is built, the energy is virtually free.
 No waste or pollution produced.
 Much more reliable than wind, solar or wave power.
 Hydro power plants can be started up and shut down at a
moment. The time from the instruction of startup to the
actual connection to the power network can be as short as 2
minutes.
 It is renewable.

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 Disadvantages of Hydro Power
Hydro requires dams which are very expensive to build.
Building a large dam will flood a very large area upstream and may
cause humans, flora and fauna to lose their natural habitat.
Finding a suitable site can be difficult because of its impact on
residents and the environment
Fish populations can be impacted if fish cannot migrate upstream to
spawning grounds or downstream to the ocean
Hydro power plants can be impacted by drought.
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End of Unit 2

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