HYDROELECTRIC POWER

GENERATION
1. In combination with electric generator to
produce electrical power started around 1880
in Ireland
2. In our country, the hydroelectric power
generation was initiated in 1897, with a run
off river scheme near Darjeeling.
3. The first major hydroelectric power
development is the Sivasamudram scheme in
Karnataka state. In general, the hydroelectric
power generation has become important next
to thermal power generation
Site Selection & Location Of Hydroelectric Plant
1. Quantity of water available.
2. Quantity of water that could be stored and the
method of storage.
3. Available water head before and after construction
of the storage facility.
4. Underground water movement - which affects the
stability of ground slopes and dictates the amount
and type of grouting, required preventing leakage.
5. Topography of the earth surface at the proposed
location, which influences transportation facilities.
6. Narrow outlet (of the water stream) from the water
basin, which may require a dam of less volume.
 Site Selection & Location Of Hydroelectric Plant
7. Foundation rock strong enough to withstand the
stresses transmitted by the dam structure and the
thrust of the water when the reservoir is full.
8. Rock that provides the foundation for the dam should
be reasonably impervious, should not change in
volume or crush or dissolve in water (i.e., it should be
stable under all conditions).
9. Free from earthquake damage.
10.Free from mineral deposits of harmful nature and
submerged vegetation and algae. Less possibility of
sediment collection.
11.Possibility to preserve important historic, cultural and
natural aspects of the site without getting submerged
in the reservoir water.
12.Distance from load centre.
13.Access to site for men and material.
 A typical hydroelectric power
plant consists of the following
• Catchments Area
• Run Off
• Reservoir
• Dam
• Trash Rack
• Forebay
• Penstock
• Hydraulic Turbines
• Generator
• Draft Tube
• Surge – Tank
• Spill Way
• Tail Race
 Run Off:
• A portion of the rain that falls upon the drainage basin of a stream
gets evaporated directly by the sun.
• Vegetation and growing crops consume another larger portion of the
rainfall.
• Some water percolates into the ground.
• The portion of the rainfall that flows through the catchment area on
the surface of the earth is known as run off.
• The unit of run off in cum/sec, the following factors affect run off:
– Rainfall pattern.
– Character of the catchment area.
– Shape and size of the catchment area.
– Vegetation.
– Geology of the area.
– Weather conditions.
 Hydro Graph
• The hydro graph is a graph showing discharge
(i.e. run off) of flowing water with respect to time,
for a specified period.
• The time base may be hour, day, week or month.
• The discharge may be m3/sec,
• The discharges hydrographs are called flood or
run off hydrograph. From the hydro graph, the
following details can be obtained.
 Hydro Graph, the following details
can be obtained
• Runoff at any instant during the rainfall period.
• Total volume of water flow upto any instant,
which corresponds to the area under the hydro
graph upto that instant.
• Mean annual run off or mean run off for each
month.
• Maximum and minimum run off for the year or
for each month.
• Maximum rate of run off during the floods, and
duration of floods, and the frequency of the
flood.
 Flow Duration Curve
• The flow duration curve is made with
magnitudes of run off as ordinates against
corresponding percents of time as
abscissa.
• Sometime, the magnitude on the ordinate
is the potential power contained in the
stream flow.
• Then the curve is known as power
duration curve
 Mass Curve
• The mass curve is the graph of the cumulative values of the
water quantity (run off) against time.
• A mass curve is an integral curve of the hydrograph, and
expresses the area under the hydro graph from one time to
another.
• The mass curve can be expressed mathematically as ,
where V is the volume of run off and Qt is the discharge in
m3/sec as a function of time.
• The abscissa of each point on the mass curve represents
the total time from the beginning of the period and the
ordinate of each point represents the total quantity or water
available during this time.
• The slope at any point on the mass curve represents the
inflow rate at that instant.
• The mass curve will always have a positive slope but of a
greater or less degree depending upon the variations in the
quantity of inflow water available.
• The negative inclination of the mass curve will show that the
amount of water flowing into the' reservoir is less than the
 Storage
• Storage for water must be provided at the power
station site, by constructing a dam,
• Major portion of the natural water flow is to be
used
• The water can be stored during off peak periods
and this stored water can be used during peak
periods
• Storage collects the natural flow of the stream
during low load conditions and supplies the
water with a uniform rate if the load is constant.
• Effective storage is the accumulated water after
adjusting the evaporation and other losses.
 Pondage
• When the power station is far away from the main
storage, a small storage called pondage is usually
provided near the powerhouse
• This small storage meets the fluctuating demand
during small periods, say 24 hours.
• In actual practice, the pondage capacity depends
upon the nature of the load curve and load factor.
• The required capacity of the pondage varies inversely
with the load factor.
• A 100% load factor requires no pondage, whereas low
load factor requires considerable amount of pondage.
 Classification & Types Of
Hydroelectric Plants
Based on their hydraulic characteristics
1. Run off river plants.
2. Storage plants.
3. Pumped storage plants
Depending on the head at which water is
available
• High head plants.
• Low head plants.
• Medium head plants.
• Very low head installations
 Advantages
• Fuel cost is practically nil.
• Cost of operation and maintenance is low.
• Can be started arid stopped in matter of minutes.
• Comparatively has longer life.
• Simple in concept and self contained in operation.
• Higher efficiency over a considerable load range.
• Also provides other benefit like reoveation fishery
etc. irrigation and flood control arrangements.
• In a net work of power generation systems, can be
used to meet peak load demands.
• Little or no environment pollution is caused. 10.
Running and maintenance costs are very low.
 Main Disadvantages
• Establishment, construction and
commissioning take much longer time.
(Justation Period)
• Initial cost is much higher.
• Cannot be located anywhere at will.
• Location at remote places requires long
transmission system.
• Power generation will vary with inflow and
availability of water
• Socio economic problems