Hydroelectric Power

FALALIMPA | GALLARDO | LIBUTLIBUT

5CHE-A
Definition
• Electricity produced from generators driven by
turbines that convert the potential energy into
mechanical energy
•Compared to other sources of energy: one of the
cheapest, non-Carbon Emitting, non-Polluting
History
Has been used to produce electricity for over 135 years
◦ China: Han Dynasty -- Trip hammers powered by the vertical-set
water wheel were used in early paper-making
◦ Richard Arkwright: Cromford Mill (1771) to spin cotton and set up one
of the world’s first factory systems, hydropower was the energy
source he used
History
Key developments in hydropower technology: Turbines
◦ 1827, French engineer Benoit Fourneyron : Fourneyron reaction
turbine
◦ 1849, British–American engineer James Francis: Francis turbine
◦ 1913, Austrian professor Viktor Kaplan: Kaplan turbine
History
◦ 1878: World’s first hydroelectric project in Northumberland,
England
◦ 1891: Germany: first three-phase hydro-electric system
◦ 1895: Australia: first publicly owned plant in the Southern
Hemisphere
◦ 1895: The world’s largest hydroelectric development: the Edward
Dean Adams Power Plant
Uses
◦ Electricity
◦ Energy Storage - The main use of Pumped Hydro Storage is for
Grid Energy Storage. Electric Utilities are the main customers of
this Technology using Pumped Hydro Storage for:
◦ Load Balancing
◦ Accommodation of Intermittent Sources of Energy
◦ Reducing Capital Investments
Uses
Industry – for some industrial applications such as driving the
bellows in small blast furnaces and for extraction of metal
ores in a method known as hushing.
Agriculture -- for producing flour from grain and was also
used for sawing timber and stone, raised water into irrigation
canals
II.
How Hydroelectricity
Works?
Working principle
•The energy of falling water is captured to generate
electricity
•A turbine converts the kinetic energy of falling water
into mechanical energy
•A generator converts the mechanical energy from the
turbine into electrical energy
Working principle
Parts of a Hydroelectric Plant
•Dam – raises the water level of the river to create falling water
•Turbine – the falling water pushes against the blades of the turbine
for it to spin
•Generator – converts the mechanical energy from the turbine to
electrical energy
•Transmission Lines – conducts the electricity generated by the
hydropower plant to many homes and other infrastructures
Amount of Energy Produced
Two factors dictate the amount of energy produced:

1. How Far the Water Falls. The distance that the water falls depends
on the size of the dam. The higher the dam, the farther the water
falls and the more power it has

2. Amount of Water Falling. The amount of water available depends

on the amount of water flowing down the river. Bigger rivers have
more flowing water and can produce more energy
III.
Types of Hydroelectric
Power Plant
 Classification of Hydropower plants

Facility Hydrological Transmission

Capacity Head Purpose
Types relation system

Single
Large High Run-of-River Single Isolated
Purpose

Multi Connected to
Medium Medium Reservoirs Cascade
Purpose grid

Small Low In-stream

Pumped
Mini
storage

Micro

Pico
 Classification according to Capacities

Large Medium Small Mini Micro Pico

• > 100 • 25-100 • 1-25 • 100 • 5-100 • < 5 KW
MW MW MW KW – KW
1MW
 Classification according to head
LOW HEAD

• This type of plant is used when the available water head is less than 30 meters

• Low head types of hydroelectric power plants cannot store water and can only produced
electricity when sufficient flow of water is available

• In some cases, there is no storage or reservoir at all and only the stream of the water in the
river is being used to generate electricity

https://www.brighthub.com/environment/renewable-energy/articles/7827.aspx
Low Head
 Classification according to head
MEDIUM HEAD

• This type of plant is used when the available water head is at the range of 30
m to 300 m

• Located mostly at mountainous region where river flows at high altitude

• Larger reservoirs

https://www.brighthub.com/environment/renewable-energy/articles/7827.aspx
Medium Head
 Classification according to head
HIGH HEAD

• This type of plant is used when the available water head is at the range of 300
m up to 1000 m

• A head of 200m/250m is considered as the limit between medium and high

head power stations

https://www.brighthub.com/environment/renewable-energy/articles/7827.aspx
High Head
 Classification according to Purpose
SINGLE PURPOSE
• The sole purpose of the plant is to produce electricity alone

Multi Purpose

• When the water used for the powerplant have other means such as irrigation, flood control,
fisheries, etc.
 Classification According to Facilities
Run-of-river hydropower :

- A Hydropower plant that utilizes the water stream from a river

through a canal or penstock to generate electricity

- This kind of facility is used in areas where there is little or no

storage facilities.

https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Run-of-the-river_hydroelectricity
 Classification According to Facilities
Storage hydropower :

- Also called an impoundment facility, 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.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/types-hydropower-plants
 Classification According to Facilities
Pumped storage hydropower :

- Stores electricity generated by other power sources like solar, wind,

and nuclear for later use. It stores energy by pumping water uphill
to a reservoir at higher elevation from a second reservoir at a lower
elevation

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

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

https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/types-hydropower-plants
 Classification According to Facilities
Offshore hydropower :

- A less established but growing group of technologies that use

tidal currents or the power of waves to generate electricity from
seawater

https://www.hydropower.org/types-of-hydropower
 Classification According to Hydrological Relation
Single stage :

- When the run off from a single hydropower plant is diverted

back into river or for any other purpose other than power
generation, the setup is known as Single Stage

Cascade system:

- When two or more hydropower plants are used in series such

that the runoff discharge of one hydro power plant is used as
intake discharge of the second hydro power plant such a
system is known as cascade hydropower plant
Classification According to Transmission System
Isolated:

-Whenever a hydropower plant is set up in a remote area in

order to meet the local demands then such a hydropower plant is
known as isolated system

Connected to grid:

- Whenever the hydropower plant is set up to meet the demands of

areas which are at a fair distance from the plant, then the
transmission of power takes through the grid system. Such a setup
is referred to as connected to grid
Advantages
•Renewable energy source
•Promotes guaranteed energy and price stability
•Helps fight climate changes
•Improves the air we breathe
Disadvantages
•Cost of Building is Expensive
•Causes Environmental Damage
•May Cause Droughts
•Shortage of Water Supply
•Floods in Lower Areas
Innovations
 Innovation of the M Turbine

The M turbine is an action turbine, thus a hydraulic

turbine that exploits the kinetic energy of a water jet

It can be employed in sites with heads less than 3 m and

flow rates less than 3 cubic meter per second.

M turbine represents a suitable alternative to common

action turbines in the micro hydropower plants

https://www.prescouter.com/2017/06/m-turbine-innovation-hydropower/
 Turning your sewage system into a renewable
energy

An Israeli company called Leviathan has created a water

turbine that can be enclosed in a pipe. When water passes
through the turbine, it produces electricity. The device is
called the Benkatina Hydroelectric Turbine

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/10-hydropower-innovations9.htm
 Harnessing energy from toilet flushes and
shower

South Korean researchers, from Seoul

National University experimented on
using a transducer that harnesses
flowing water to generate small
amounts of renewable energy

https://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/blogs/let-if-flow-powering-appliances-with-just-the-flush-of-a
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