Hydropower

Thamer Mohamed , in Distributed Renewable Energies for Off-Grid Communities (Second Edition), 2021

10.7 Impact of climate change on hydropower generation

Hydropower, which is the dominant component of renewable energy, is also under the threat of climate change. Climate change has a large impact on water resources and thus on hydropower. Hydropower generation is closely linked to the regional hydrological conditions of a watershed and reacts sensitively to seasonal changes in water quantity. This shows that the impact of climate change is different in various regions. The impact of climate change on hydropower generation can be quantified by modeling. Based on different modeling results, the impact of climate change on selected hydropower projects in Europe, South East Asia, and North America are demonstrated in this section.

The development of hydroelectric power generation in the Upper Danube basin was modeled by Franziska et al. (2011) for two future decades: 2021–30 and 2051–60. By considering 16 climate scenarios, the modeling results show a slight to severe decline in hydroelectric power generation. In general, with these climate trends, mean annual hydroelectric power generation will decline to a range of 17–18   TWh in 2021–30 and a range of 15–17   TWh in 2051–60.

Hydropower is a valuable renewable energy resource in India and helps to meet increasing energy demands. The crucial role of climate change in hydropower production in India was studied by using Multimodel (Ali et al., 2018). Modeling results showed that according to the future climate, projected hydropower production will increase up to +25%.

Hydropower is an important renewable energy source in China, but it is sensitive to climate change because the changing climate may alter hydrological conditions (e.g., river flow and reservoir storage). Future changes and associated uncertainties in China's GHP and developed hydropower potential (DHP) were projected using simulation models by Xingcai et al. (2016). Modeling results showed that the projected annual GHP will change by −1.7% to 2% in the near future (2020–50) and will increase by 3–6% in the late 21st century (2070–99). The projected annual DHP will change by −2.2% to −5.4% (0.7–1.7% of total installed hydropower capacity [IHC]) and −1.3% to −4% (0.4–1.3% of total IHC) for 2020–50 and 2070–99, respectively.

The results of the modeling chain conducted by Vinod (2019) on the Steephill Falls hydroelectric project, constructed on Magpie River, Northern Ontario, Canada, showed that annual hydropower generation is not considerably affected by climate change, but there is a significant seasonal redistribution of energy production. Changes in hydropower revenues compared with the current level for the four seasons (winter, spring, summer, and autumn) are estimated to be 21.1%, 18.4%, −13.4%, and −15.9%, respectively, for midcentury and 23.1%, 19.5%, −20.1%, and −22.9%, respectively, for end-century scenarios. To reduce the vulnerability of hydropower systems to climate change and consequently mitigate the impacts, it will be profitable to adapt suitable measures such as providing additional live storage by optimizing reservoir operations, which also reduces the vulnerability of the system to climate change by 24%. The seasonal alteration in energy production will require modifications in power purchase and sharing agreements with buyers.

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Hydropower

Ånund Killingtveit , in Managing Global Warming, 2019

Abstract

Hydropower is a very important source of renewable electricity, with a share of 16%–17% of the total world electricity generation. Hydropower is by far the largest source of renewable electricity, in 2016 with more than twice the contribution from all other renewables combined. In addition to the energy supply, hydropower can offer many very important services to the power grid, helping to maintain system stability and security of supply by providing frequency regulation, voltage support, contingency reserves, load following, and black start service. Hydropower also has an increasingly important role for grid-scale energy storage, balancing services for other intermittent renewables like wind and solar power and water management services by reservoirs, like flood control, water supply, irrigation, and transport. There is still a large potential for further development since <   25% of technical potential has been utilized. Hydropower is very cost competitive compared to other renewables, and also compared to thermal power, a very high energy-payback ratio and very low greenhouse gas emissions. The remaining large potential combined with high energy payback, low cost, and low greenhouse gas emissions leads to predictions by many different studies that hydropower will increase from current value of 4100   TWh per year by a factor of 2 or more by 2050.

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Hydropower

Paul Breeze , in Power Generation Technologies (Second Edition), 2014

Hydropower capacity grew strongly during the 20th century and until late in that century it was the only significant renewable source of electrical power. According to the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) Global Status Report for 2013 1 total global hydropower capacity at the end of 2012 was 990 GW excluding pumped storage hydropower capacity. This is an increase of 115 GW compared to the estimate of global capacity from the World Energy Council for the end of 2008 of 875 GW, as shown in Table 8.1. According to the International Hydropower Association, global capacity includes at least 11,000 power stations and 27,000 generating units. REN21 put total global electricity generation from hydropower in 2012 at 3700 TWh, around 15.5% of total global electricity generation, which stood at 22,500 TWh in 2012 according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

Table 8.1. Regional Installed Hydropower Capacity

Installed Hydropower Capacity (GW) Percentage of Global Total
Asia 307 35%
Europe 221 25%
North America 168 19%
South America 132 15%
Africa 22 3%
Oceania 14 2%
Middle East 11 1%
Total 875 100%

Source: World Energy Council.

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Hydropower

Nasir El Bassam , ... Marcia Lawton Schlichting , in Distributed Renewable Energies for Off-Grid Communities, 2013

10.1 Hydroelectricity

Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power, hydroelectricity or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which is then harnessed for useful purposes. For thousands of years, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as watermills, sawmills, textile mills, dock cranes, and domestic elevators. In the last century, the term began to be associated with the modern development of hydro-electric power. This energy can be transmitted considerable distance between where it is created to where it is consumed (Figure 10.1).

Figure 10.1. A conventional dammed-hydro facility (Hydroelectric Dam) is the most common type of hydroelectric power generation.

 (Tennessee Valley Authority [TVA] 2005).

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower, the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of global electricity consumption, and 3,427 terawatt-hours of electricity production in 2010, which continues the same rapid rate of increase experienced between 2003 and 2009.

Hydropower is produced in 150 countries (Figure 10.2) , with the Asia-Pacific region generating 32 percent of global hydropower in 2010. China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with 721 terawatt-hours of production in 2010, representing around 17 percent of domestic electricity use. There are now three hydroelectricity plants larger than 10 GW: the Three Gorges Dam in China, Itaipu Dam in Brazil, and Guri Dam in Venezuela (Worldwatch Institute (January 2012). "Use and Capacity of Global Hydropower Increases").

Figure 10.2. Outflow during a test at the hydropower plant at the Hoover Dam, located on the Nevada-Arizona border.

 (Photo courtesy U.S. Bureau of Reclamation).

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Hydropower

Paul Breeze , in Power Generation Technologies (Third Edition), 2019

Abstract

Hydropower is one of the oldest sources of mechanical power and the largest source of renewable electricity generation in use. Global capacity is around 1300   GW. Hydropower is site-specific and so each project will be unique. Hydropower plants are classified according to their size into micro, mini, small and large hydropower. In terms of generating the capacity the large plants are the most important. These can be either dam and reservoir plants or run-of-river stations. The latter are the easiest to construct and least disruptive, but the former stores energy and is therefore much more flexible in the way it can be used. Energy is taken from hydropower plants through turbines and a number of designs such as Pelton, Francis and Propeller turbine exist to exploit different head heights of water. Most hydropower developments have environmental effects which must be taken into account before construction.

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Hydropower

Tiia Sahrakorpi , ... Mamdouh El Haj Assad , in Design and Performance Optimization of Renewable Energy Systems, 2021

12.2.4 Small hydropower components

Small hydropower is a promising renewable energy source, but it has a high installation cost value and can adversely impact local wildlife. Often these plants are installed in locations with flow-of-river potential. There is no international consensus on how to define small hydropower, but in this chapter we define small hydropower as less than 10   MWh [18]. The design of the small hydropower plant must be flexible and durable, as it has to be able to cope with seasonal weather fluctuations. These plants divert the river's streamflow (up to 95% of mean annual discharge) through a pipe and/or tunnel leading to the hydropower system (turbines), and then return the water back to the river downstream [8].

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Hydropower

Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani , in Energy Policy in Iran, 1981

DEVELOPED RESOURCES

Iran's developed hydropower capacity currently totals some 1,804 MWe (see table 7.1). The largest single concentration is in the 1,000 MWe Karun Dam (formerly known as the Reza Shah Kabir Dam). The balance is distributed among another large plant–the 520 MWe Dez Dam–and some smaller irrigation and water supply projects.

Table 7.1. Existing Hydropower Facilities

Plant/River Installed Capacity (MWe) Completion Date
Karun 1,000 1976
Dez 520 1962
Karaj 91 1961
Sefid Rud 88 1961
Zayandeh Rud 55 1970
Jaje Rud 22 1967
Aras 22 1970
Mahabad 6 1970
Total 1,804

Source: Iranian Ministry of Energy (1978).

Several hundred megawatts of additional installed hydropower capacity are expected to come on stream soon as plants already in advanced construction are completed, notably the 120 MWe Lar-Kalan-Lavarak Dam at Lar and the 30 MWe Jiroft Dam at Halilrud.

Before the revolution, the Iranian government had projected the growth of installed hydropower capacity to nearly 3,000 MWe by the early-1980s, but it is now doubtful whether this goal will be met because the ongoing political turmoil has caused a substantial slow-down of industrial projects.

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Hydroelectric Energy

Geoffrey P. Sims , in Renewable Energy, 1993

The paper discusses the nature of hydroelectric energy and how it is integrated into modern power systems. The role of tidal power and pumped storage schemes are mentioned briefly. The principal constraints to the wider development of hydropower are concerned with their effect on the environment, their high initial cost, and uncertainty over the future price of oil. These constraints are discussed, together with brief mention of how the challenge each represents is being countered. Representative recent technical advances, particularly in the civil engineering field, are described. The paper concludes with a brief account of some of the institutional problems encountered in promoting hydroelectric projects, particularly those where more than one country is involved.

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Hydropower

Cutler J. Cleveland , Christopher Morris , in Handbook of Energy: Chronologies, Top Ten Lists, and Word Clouds, 2014

Top Ten

Milestones in Water Power

1.

Earliest Evidence of the Use of Water Power (third century B.C.)

The writings of the Greek inventor Philo of Byzantium describe a number of devices, including both undershot and overshot vertical wheels, providing the earliest reliable evidence of the use of water power. By the first century A.D., its use would be known from Rome to China.

2.

Completion of Hydropower Dams at Toulouse (1177)

Mill owners at Toulouse in the twelfth century constructed three dams across the Garonne River; the largest—the Bazacle—was 1,300 ft (400 m) long. The dams housed 43 watermills. The complex provides an outstanding example of the high level of hydropower engineering in medieval Europe.

3.

Opening of the Hydraulic Complex at Marly, France (1684)

The most celebrated hydraulic plant of its era and perhaps the largest system of integrated machinery to date, this installation used 14 undershot vertical waterwheels to raise water 502 feet (163 m) for transportation via aqueduct to the palaces of Louis XIV at Versailles, Marly, and Trianon. The 36 ft (11 m) diameter wheels developed around 30–40 hp each and drove 221 pumps on three levels, using an elaborate system of cranks, connecting rods, rocking beams, and chains.

4.

First Sophisticated Mathematical Analysis of the Waterwheel (1704)

The French mathematician and engineer Antoine Parent carried out the first sophisticated mathematical analysis of waterwheels in motion, attempting to deduce both their maximum effect (what we would call efficiency) and optimum operating conditions. One of the earliest applications of calculus to an engineering problem, Parent's work would influence attempts to understand water power scientifically for well over a century.

5.

Smeaton's Model Experiments (1759)

British civil and mechanical engineer John Smeaton in 1759 published the results of extensive quantitative experiments on model overshot and undershot vertical wheels. Smeaton used a model wheel 2 feet (0.61 m) in diameter to test Parent's theoretical findings and to compare the efficiency of undershot and overshot wheels, unexpectedly discovering the latter to be twice as efficient as the former. His experiments would influence practical design until turbines replaced the traditional vertical wheel.

6.

Hewes Introduces the Iron Suspension Wheel (ca. 1810)

The British millwright Thomas C. Hewes erected the first all-iron, vertical waterwheel equipped with thin, wrought iron spokes, similar in design to a bicycle wheel. Hewes' suspension wheel was the culmination of efforts to substitute iron components for wood components on waterwheels. William Fairbairn would further perfect this wheel design in the 1820s, carrying the traditional vertical waterwheel to its apex of development.

7.

Fourneyron Installs the First Modern Water Turbine (1827)

French Engineer Benoît Fourneyron set in operation the first modern turbine at Pont-sur-l'Ognon, France, in 1827. Unlike traditional waterwheels, Fourneyron's horizontally situated wheel made use of its entire surface area to generate power in a more compact space. Centrally placed curved guide blades led water into the wheel with minimum impact, and curved runner blades ensured water left the wheel along its circumference with minimum velocity, thus satisfying the theoretical conditions for optimum wheel operation laid down by Jean-Charles de Borda in 1769.

8.

Francis and Boyden Design the "Francis" Turbine (ca. 1850)

James B. Francis and Uriah A. Boyden, seeking to reduce water consumption at the largest hydropower complex in the world at Lowell, Massachusetts (around 9,000 total horsepower generated by dozens of waterwheels in 1850) improved on the work of Fourneyron by designing a turbine runner that took water from the outside and had it flow inward and toward the axle, the opposite of Fourneyron's outward flow design. The Francis mixed-flow turbine, improved steadily in the late nineteenth century, yielded 90% efficiency. Francis turbines are used more widely than any other type today.

9.

Niagara Falls Hydroelectric Plant Opens (1895)

The largest hydroelectric plant of its era and the first large-scale application of hydroelectricity and alternating current power transmission, Niagara Falls Powerhouse #1 had 10 sets of turbine runners, each set generating 5,000 horsepower. The successful transmission of power to the city of Buffalo, some 20 miles away, demonstrated the possibilities of long-distance power transmission and laid the foundation for the large-scale hydroelectric complexes of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

10.

First Instillation of the Kingsbury Thrust Bearing (1912)

The size of hydroelectric units was sharply limited by the ability of traditional roller and friction bearings to support the weight of turbine-generator units. Albert Kingsbury's fluid dynamic thrust bearing (invented independently by Australian engineer A. G. C. Michell) could support 100 times the weight a roller bearing could while sharply reducing friction and significantly increasing bearing life. A Kingsbury bearing was first installed on Unit #5 of the Holtwood hydroelectric plant on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. Its success there led to widespread application and permitted the use of enormous turbine-generator sets in twentieth century hydroelectric instillations such as the Grand Coulee and Hoover Dams.

—Terry S. Reynolds, Michigan Technological University

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Hydro Power

Emmanuel Jjunju , ... Byman Hamududu , in Comprehensive Renewable Energy (Second Edition), 2022

Abstract

Hydropower and climate change show a double relationship. On the one hand, as an important renewable energy resource, hydropower contributes significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to the mitigation of global warming. Hydropower provides electricity, with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than most other energy sources. Beyond its power benefits, hydropower contributes to water supply and/or management of water resources for other needs.

On the other hand, climate change is likely to alter river discharge, impacting water availability and hydropower generation.

This chapter presents the methodology for assessing climate change impacts on hydropower and summarizes results from climate change impact studies on hydropower around the world. A number of case studies are presented. The impact on hydropower varies from region to region. The impacts on hydropower potential are spatially correlated with the changes in precipitation across the world regions. There is a need for impact studies at the catchment level of each hydropower project since the magnitude of impacts may vary from project to project within the same region.

The chapter also documents the emerging risk management approach for climate proofing of hydropower and other water resources infrastructure. As the knowledge about the possible impacts on hydropower has become more conventional, hydropower plant owners, developers and professionals who work with hydropower have begun to ponder how to translate the knowledge about climate change into practical decisions for building and operating hydropower projects that can adapt to climate change. The chapter highlights the principles and the most recent climate proofing/resilience guidelines that can be applied in the identification, planning, development, and operation of hydropower infrastructure.

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