Hydroelectric Power

ECH4506
Hydroelectric Technology

Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Mohd Razif Harun

Hydroelectric Power
• Hydro means "water". So, hydropower is "water
power" and hydroelectric power is electricity
generated using water power. Potential energy
(or the "stored" energy in a reservoir) becomes
kinetic (or moving energy). This is changed to
mechanical energy in a power plant, which is
then turned into electrical energy. Hydroelectric
power is a renewable resource.
Hydropower 1700’s ~ Early 1800’s
— For more than a century, the technology for using
falling water to create hydroelectricity has existed.

— Greeks and Romans used hydropower to power mills

to grind corn

— The evolution of the modern hydropower turbine began

in the mid-1700s when a French hydraulic and military
engineer, Bernard Forest de Bélidor wrote Architecture
Hydraulique.
— In this four volume work, he described the
working of a vertical-axis versus a horizontal-axis
machine.

— Hydro-electric power stations use the energy from falling

water to make electricity.

— Running water is a very powerful source of energy.

— For hundreds of years it has been used to drive

machinery, grind flour, and saw lumber.
Harnessing Water Power
Late 1800’s — Michigan's Grand Rapids
Electric Light and Power
Company.

— Niagara Falls, New York.

— Fox River in Appleton,

Wisconsin
— During the 1700s and 1800s, water turbine
development continued.

— In 1880, a brush arc light dynamo driven

by a water turbine was used to provide
theatre and storefront lighting in Grand
Rapids, Michigan; and in 1881, a brush
dynamo connected to a turbine in a flour
mill provided street lighting at Niagara
Falls, New York.
— These two projects used direct-current
technology.

— Alternating current is used today. That

breakthrough came when the electric
generator was coupled to the turbine
which resulted in the world’s first
hydroelectric plant located in Appleton,
Wisconsin, in 1882.
Mid-1900’s
— Industrial age

— New technology

— Better Construction

— Bigger Budgets
• By the mid 1900s, hydroelectric power accounted
for more than 40 percent of the United States'
supply of electricity.

• During the industrial revolution the need for

energy was provided by the increasing number of
dams, which supplied the production lines,
businesses and homes.
— At the peak utility hydropower provided 75% of
the total US energy requirement.

— In the later half of that century as the country

energy demand grew hydropower was replaced
and energy needs were more and more being
meet by fossil fuels and nuclear.
 Currently
— 1/10 of electricity, US.
— 20% World electricity
— With the increase in development of other forms
of electric power generation, hydropower's
percentage has slowly declined and today
provides around 10% of the United States'
electricity.
— But current Dams account for 19% of electricity
generated worldwide, and 24 countries generate
more than 90 percent of their power from dams.
— There are 45,000 large dams in the world, most
built in the 1970s. China and India contain half
the world's dams.
Benefits of Hydroelectric Power
— Clean and renewable source of energy in replace of
inefficient and environmentally unsound practices in
rural communities.
— Although limited it provides a source of jobs and
economic opportunities.
— Large potential market, especially within rural
communities
— Can range from small scale to large scale schemes and
utilize a variety of water resources, such as dams, loch
and run-of-river projects.
Benefits of Hydroelectric Power
— Once the dam is built,the energy is very cheap
— Water ‘energy’ can be stored above the dam
— Much more reliable than other renewables
— No waste or pollution produced
— “Switch off and onable”
— Reservoirs are multi-purpose amenities – leisure;
irrigation; flood control and wetland habitats
Drawbacks of Hydroelectric Power
— Sites are usually remote and therefore limited in terms of
their ability to attract visitors.
— Limited on-going income and employment
opportunities.
— Large/costly start-up costs.
— Can generate disputes over location in relation to
protected land areas, especially for aboriginal people.
— Exploitation of local people in rural areas, power being
sent to most urban and economically advantaged areas.
— Disruption of habitats and species within water systems.
Drawbacks of Hydroelectric Power
— Dams are very expensive
— Dams cause environmental upheaval upstream
and downstream
— Urban areas are running out of suitable sites
— Siltation reduces life expectancy
— Pumped storage requires available ‘baseline’ power
and is not renewable
 What are the parts of a Hydroelectric Power
Plant?
1. Dam: controls the flow of water and
creates a reservoir of water above for
energy use when needed
2. Intake and Penstock-pull water into the
area where turbine is located
3. Turbine-spins as water passes through
4. Generator-generates electricity using
mechanical energy of the spinning turbine
5. Transformer-transforms electrical energy
for passage through the power lines
6. Reservoir-holds the water
How Hydropower Works
— Hydropower is using water to power machinery
or make electricity.

— Water constantly moves through a vast global

cycle, evaporating from lakes and oceans,
forming clouds, precipitating as rain or snow,
then flowing back down to the ocean.
— The energy of this water cycle, which is driven
by the sun, can be tapped to produce electricity
or for mechanical tasks like grinding grain.

— Hydropower uses a fuel—water—that is not

reduced or used up in the process.

— Because the water cycle is an endless, constantly

recharging system, hydropower is considered a
renewable energy.
— Hydrologic cycle
— When flowing water is captured and turned into
electricity, it is called hydroelectric power or
hydropower.

— There are several types of hydroelectric facilities;

they are all powered by the kinetic energy of
flowing water as it moves downstream.

— Turbines and generators convert the energy into

electricity, which is then fed into the electrical
grid to be used in homes, businesses, and by
industry.
Types of Hydropower Plants

Hydropower
Technology

Pumped
Impoundment Diversion
Storage
Types of Hydropower Plants
There are three types of hydropower facilities:
i. Impoundment
ii. Diversion
iii. Pumped storage.
Some hydropower plants use dams and some do not.

— Many dams were built for other purposes and

hydropower was added later. In the United States,
there are about 80,000 dams of which only 2,400
produce power.
— The other dams are for recreation, stock/farm
ponds, flood control, water supply, and irrigation.

— Hydropower plants range in size from small

systems for a home or village to large projects
producing electricity for utilities.
 Type 1: Impoundment
— The most common type of hydroelectric power plant is
an impoundment facility.

— An impoundment facility, typically a large hydropower

system, uses a dam to store river water in a reservoir.

— Water released from the reservoir flows through a

turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator
to produce electricity.

— The water may be released either to meet changing

electricity needs or to maintain a constant reservoir
level.
An impoundment hydropower plant dams water in a reservoir.
Type 2: Diversion
A diversion, sometimes called run-off-river, facility
channels a portion of a river through a canal or
penstock. It may not require the use of a dam.

The Tazimina project in Alaska is an example of a diversion hydropower

plant. No dam was required.
Type 2: Diversion
Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a
type of hydroelectric generation
whereby the natural flow and
elevation drop of a river are used
to generate electricity. Power
stations of this type are built on
rivers with a consistent and steady
flow, either natural or through the
use of a large reservoir at the head
of the river which then can provide
a regulated steady flow for stations
down-river.

33
Type 2: Diversion (Brazil)
ü Uses river flow with
no storage
ü Productivity depends
on the river regime.
ü Considered as base
load plants

ü The flow is diverted

from the river to the
lined canal
Type 3: Pumped Storage
— Pumped-storage hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric power
generation used by some power plants for load balancing. The
method stores energy in the form of water, pumped from a lower
elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. Low-cost off-peak electric
power is used to run the pumps. During periods of high electrical
demand, the stored water is released through turbines.

— When the demand for electricity is low, a pumped storage facility

stores energy by pumping water from a lower reservoir to an upper
reservoir.

— During periods of high electrical demand, the water is released back

to the lower reservoir to generate electricity.
 Typically, the round-trip energy
efficiency of Pumped Storage
Hydroelectricity varies in practice
between 70% and 80%, with some
claiming up to 87.

The main disadvantage of PSH is the

specialist nature of the site required,
needing both geographical height and water
availability.

36
Type 3: Pumped Storage
— Energy control-
produce power on
demand

— 70-80% efficency

— Net electricity
consumers

— Can be PV and wind

powered
Sizes of Hydroelectric Power
Plants
— Large Hydropower
— Although definitions vary, large hydropower as
facilities that have a capacity of more than 30
megawatts.

— Small Hydropower
— Small hydropower as facilities that have a
capacity of 100 kilowatts to 30 megawatts.
 Large Hydro-systems
— Defined as greater
than 30 megawatts by
Department of Energy
— Hoover dam- (1300
MW)
— Largest in World
Venezuela (10,000MW)
— China- 18,600 MW
(2009)
Small Hydro-systems
— DOE 100kw – 30mw

— Industries, towns

— Thailand (9mw)

Could power several industries or a small town

— Micro Hydropower
— A micro hydropower plant has a capacity of up
to 100 kilowatts. A small or micro-hydroelectric
power system can produce enough electricity
for a home, farm, ranch, or village.
Micro-hydro system
— DOE 0-100 kw

— Farm, home, village

— Increasing in #’s
Today
Types of Hydropower Turbines
— There are two main types of hydro turbines:
impulse and reaction.

— The type of hydropower turbine selected for a

project is based on the height of standing
water—referred to as "head"—and the flow, or
volume of water, at the site. Other deciding
factors include how deep the turbine must be
set, efficiency, and cost.
Turbines: Reaction or Impulse
— Depends on: head, flow, and pressure
— Impulse- similar to water wheel (cupped Blades)
Spins in the air

— Reaction- used in large facilities

— (Blades similar to boat propeller) Submerged in
water
Impulse Turbine
— The impulse turbine generally uses the velocity
of the water to move the runner and discharges
to atmospheric pressure.

— The water stream hits each bucket on the

runner. There is no suction on the down side of
the turbine, and the water flows out the bottom
of the turbine housing after hitting the runner.

— An impulse turbine is generally suitable for high

head, low flow applications.
Impulse-type Turbine
— High-head use-
(Vertical drop >
10m)
— High pressure (PSI)
— Types : Pelton wheel,
Cross Flow
Impulse-type Turbine
Breast shot wheel:
One type of traditional
Water wheel

Water wheels: source

Of power for the
Industrial revolution
Impulse-type Turbine: Overshot

More efficient than breast shot

Wheel. Some mills using
These wheels still in operation
In rural appalachia in 1950’s

Miller: Mrs. Aarendale

— Pelton
— A pelton wheel has one or more free jets
discharging water into an aerated space and
impinging on the buckets of a runner.

— Draft tubes are not required for impulse turbine

since the runner must be located above the
maximum tailwater to permit operation at
atmospheric pressure.
— Cross-Flow
— A cross-flow turbine is drum-shaped and uses an
elongated, rectangular-section nozzle directed
against curved vanes on a cylindrically shaped
runner.

— It resembles a "squirrel cage" blower. The cross-

flow turbine allows the water to flow through the
blades twice.
— The first pass is when the water flows from the
outside of the blades to the inside; the second
pass is from the inside back out.

— A guide vane at the entrance to the turbine

directs the flow to a limited portion of the runner.

— The cross-flow was developed to accommodate

larger water flows and lower heads than the
Pelton.
Reaction-type Turbine

— Low-head situations
(high flow/ low PSI)
Reaction Turbine
— A reaction turbine develops power from the
combined action of pressure and moving water.

— The runner is placed directly in the water stream

flowing over the blades rather than striking each
individually.

— Reaction turbines are generally used for sites

with lower head and higher flows than compared
with the impulse turbines.
Propeller
— A propeller turbine generally has a runner with
three to six blades in which the water contacts
all of the blades constantly. Picture a boat
propeller running in a pipe.

— Through the pipe, the pressure is constant; if it

isn't, the runner would be out of balance. The
pitch of the blades may be fixed or adjustable.
The major components besides the runner are a
scroll case, wicket gates, and a draft tube.
Propeller
There are several different types of propeller
turbines:
— Bulb turbine
— The turbine and generator are a
sealed unit placed directly in the
water stream.
— Straflo
— The generator is attached directly to
the perimeter of the turbine.
— Tube turbine
— The penstock bends just before or
after the runner, allowing a straight
line connection to the generator.
— Kaplan

— Both the blades and the wicket gates are

adjustable, allowing for a wider range of
operation.
— Kaplan hydropower turbine
Credit: GE Energy
— Francis

— A Francis turbine has a runner with fixed buckets

(vanes), usually nine or more. Water is
introduced just above the runner and all around
it and then falls through, causing it to spin.
Besides the runner, the other major components
are the scroll case, wicket gates, and draft tube.
— Francis hydropower turbine
Credit: GE Energy
Hydropower – Pros and Cons
— Current hydropower technology, while
essentially emission-free, can have
undesirable environmental effects, such as
fish injury and mortality from passage
through turbines, as well as detrimental
effects on the quality of downstream
water.
 Fish Passage
— Fish populations can be impacted if fish cannot
migrate upstream past impoundment dams to
spawning grounds or if they cannot migrate
downstream to the ocean.
— Upstream fish passage
— Fish ladders or elevators
— trucks
— Downstream fish passage
— aided by diverting fish from turbine intakes
using screens or racks or even underwater
lights and sounds, and by maintaining a
minimum spill flow past the turbine.
Fish Ladder
—
Water Quality and Flow
— Hydropower plants can cause low dissolved
oxygen levels in the water, a problem that is
harmful to riparian habitats and is addressed
using various aeration techniques.

— Maintaining minimum flows of water downstream

of a hydropower installation is also critical for the
survival of riparian habitats.
Environmentally Friendly Turbines
— Environmentally friendly turbines, also called
"fish friendly" turbines, aim to reduce fish
mortality when passing through the turbine,
while also increasing water quality by
maintaining dissolved oxygen concentrations.
Pros
— Control of floods and water flow

— Generate electric cleanly and is renewable

—
— Efficiency – Energy to Electricity at 90%
 Cons.
— Disrupt natural flow patterns of the stream
— Fertilization of flood plain
— Fish migration
— Sediment and stratification
— Decommissioning and Dam removal
— Hydro licensing / re-licensing
Hydropower in Malaysia
Although Malaysia has had the experience and expertise
in mini-hydro systems since the 1970s, these have not
been exploited for added advantage to the country. At
the same time data on mini-hydro potential sites, their
respective power potentials, etc. are not easily available
because rivers are under the jurisdiction of the state
authorities.
Hydropower in Malaysia
BAKUN DAM
Hydropower in Malaysia
A common issue in mini-hydro development is their
remote locations. Although the potential can be quite high,
feasible projects should be those within reasonable
distance of around 10 km or less from the nearest points of
interconnection.
References
— http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/gen-
info/water-power/wp-pump.asp
— http://www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/hydr
o_plant_types.html
— http://www.homepower.com/files/hp44-24.pdf
— http://library.thinkquest.org/20331/types/hydro/t
ypes.html