Hydropower an efficient renewable source of energy An analysis

Abstract

Hydropower, the power generated by the flow of flowing water. It is one of the most suitable as well as efficient sources of energy. Hydro-power is an efficient source of renewable energy and it has various potential application for future power generation needs cannot be underestimated. It is one of the most efficient, secure and reliable way generating power. The overall efficiency of the station (water to wire operation) is almost 90% efficiency. On the other hand, the startup cost of hydropower plants is high, but it has low operation and maintenance cost, thus it is more efficient in long terms. The main components of a hydropower plant are Reservoir, Turbine, Generator. Now a day's Domestic or In-Pipe hydro systems. are also getting attention of researchers because of their low-cost installation, low maintenance and ease of access.

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International Journal of Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Topics
Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2022
https://www.ijramt.com | ISSN (Online): 2582-7839
*Corresponding author: divyanshsoni19017@gmail.com
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Abstract: Hydropower, the power generated by the flow of
flowing water. It is one of the most suitable as well as efficient
sources of energy. Hydro-power is an efficient source of renewable
energy and it has various potential application for future power
generation needs cannot be underestimated. It is one of the most
efficient, secure and reliable way generating power. The overall
efficiency of the station (water to wire operation) is almost 90%
efficiency. On the other hand, the startup cost of hydropower
plants is high, but it has low operation and maintenance cost, thus
it is more efficient in long terms. The main components of a
hydropower plant are Reservoir, Turbine, Generator. Now a day’s
Domestic or In-Pipe hydro systems. are also getting attention of
researchers because of their low-cost installation, low maintenance
and ease of access.
Keywords: Hydropower, Turbine, Generator, Hydro System.
1. Introduction
In hydro power generation system we use potential or kinetic
or both the form of energy and convert it into form of electrical
energy. The flowing water of river or the water stored in
reservoir passes through a tunnel through which a surge tank is
also connected. Surge tank works as a pressure neutralizer in
hydropower water flow systems in order to dampen excess
pressure variance. After that it passes though a penstock.
Penstocks provide a means of isolation of flows and regulate
the flow of water while delivering it to waste management
facilities or power plants. Then it passes through the turbine
gate.
Fig. 1. Arrangement of Hydropower system [1]
The turbine has multiple no. of blades connected to it which
rotates with velocity because of potential or kinetic energy of
the water. Then the generator connected to the turbine converts
that mechanical energy into the form of electrical energy. The
whole layout of plant is shown if fig. 1. The energy which we
get is clean source of energy and is one of the most efficient
forms of renewable energy.
2. Hydropower
The One of the oldest and largest sources of renewable
energy which uses the natural flow of moving water to generate
electricity. The hydropower generation is a function of the flow
discharge, head, and density of water [2]. The hydropower
plants are classified on the scale of their power generation. The
power plants are "large hydro" (over 10 MW) or "small hydro"
(up to 10 MW). Small systems are in turn divided in "mini-
hydro" (up to 1 MW), "micro-hydro" (up to 100 kW) and "pico-
hydro" (up to 5 kW). HPP with capacity lower than 10 MW are
estimated to represent about 10% of the global HPP
capacity.[3]. These values can also vary into countries
according to their scale shown in table below.
Fig. 2. Small Scale Hydropower by installed capacity (MW) as defined by
various countries [4].
1) Advantages of Hydropower Systems
The hydropower system possesses these:
• Higher reliability
• Energy Production
• More consistent
• Emission Free
• Less maintenance
• Create lakes
2) Limitations of Hydropower Systems
• There are limited no. locations for installation of plant
on larger scale
• The hydropower plants are susceptible to draughts.
Hydropower an Efficient Renewable Source of
Energy: An Analysis
Divyansh Soni1*, Amit Kumar Kundu2, Neeraj Gautam3, Chetan Songade4, Vikrant Singh Patel5, Veerandra Patil6, Rajeev Gupta7
1,4,5Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Acropolis Institute of Technology and Research, Indore, India
2,3,6,7Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Acropolis Institute of Technology and Research, Indore, India

D. Soni et al. International Journal of Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Topics, VOL. 3, NO. 2, MARCH 2022
80
• The leakage has a higher risk of disastrous floods.
3. Reservoir
Reservoir also known as dams which are large concrete wall
like structure which holds a large amount of water beside it. The
fluctuation of the water flow can be reduced by the reservoir
[5]. It stores water and due to large storage capacity of water
they provide the constant flow of water for a longer duration of
time. When required the gates of dams are open and the water
flows through the tunnel. It prevents excess water from flowing
away and uses whole amount of water to rotate the turbine.
4. Turbine
A water turbine is a mechanical rotary machine that converts
the kinetic, potential or both forms of energy into mechanical
form of energy. Turbines were firstly used in 19th century.
They are rotated due to kinetic energy or potential energy which
are generated due to head. Head is the difference between the
upper and down streams of water level [5]. There are 3 types of
head, high head, medium head and low head. The use of turbine
depends on the head. Impulse turbines are most efficient for
high head and low flow sites [6] ranging from 6 to 600 feet [7].
One of the example of it is Turgo turbine. Pelton Wheel
Turbines are suited for high head, low flow applications [6].
The cross flow turbines like Osseberger turbine can be used
where higher water flow and lower head is present. Reaction
turbines have a better performance in low head and high flow
sites [5].
5. Generator
Generators are the devices used to convert the mechanical
form of energy into electrical energy. It is connected to the
turbine which generates mechanical energy in the form of
rotation that rotation of turbine is then converted by generator
into electricity. Apart from hydropower plants generators are
also used to generate electricity from steam turbine, gas turbine
and wind turbine.
6. Domestic or In-Pipe Hydro System
Domestic or In-Pipe Hydrosystem are very small-scale
hydropower generation systems with very low installation cost
and also generate comparative less amount of energy that the
large hydro power plants then too these systems are also one of
the most efficient ways of domestic energy generation sources.
These systems are mostly fitted in the piping system of houses
and when the water flows through those pipes the turbine
existing in it rotates and generates the electrical energy. These
systems are compact in size and needs less maintenance and
emission free source of energy. These systems do not have any
chances prone to flood or something accidental like this.
Generators are the devices used to convert the mechanical form
of energy into electrical energy. These systems acts as money
saver in by recovering the energy losses during the flow of fluid
in the form of electrical energy.
7. Literature Review
Following is the review of related literature and studies.
Mohammad Mehedi Hasan et al. (2018) have studied the
impact of climate change on hydropower generation in Rio
Jubones Basin, Ecuador. It was stated Hydropower plants with
low storage capacities are more susceptible to climate change,
as a high storage capacity requires more workability to operate
[2].
In this study, wind speed, relative humidity, and solar
radiation data were derived from the monthly statistics of
weather information for which seven rain gauge stations and
three temperature stations were utilized. It was found
hydropower generation will be increased in wet season and
plant will face a significant power shortage during dry season
[2].
Marco Casini (2015) has studied about harvesting energy
from in-pipe hydrosystem at urban and building scale. It was
found that in-pipe hydro systems can be operated on various
head and flow conditions. He further classified them in 2
designs. Internal systems, where the runner is wholly inside the
pipe section and only the generator protrudes from the conduit
and External systems, where the runner is contained in a
secondary conduit that bypasses the main one.[3]. These
systems are not affected by climatic conditions.
Vergila Dadu et al. (2016) have studied concepts related to
small hydro powerplants. He found the vortex in flow cause loss
of energy to avoid that water access level should be lower than
the diversion pipe level. He concluded that better economic
results could be obtained by decreasing the diameter of the pipe
from the intake to the power plant [8].
Renata Archetti (2011) has researched about feasibility of a
domestic hydroelectric powerplant. The aim of this paper is to
evaluate the feasibility and affordability of a micro-
hydroelectric power station (installed capacity less than 100
kW) for domestic use [9]. It was concluded that to save energy,
exploit the available flow flowing through a water system,
using a pelton turbine generator coupled with a permanent
magnet direct current that powers an inverter connected in
parallel directly to a house [9].
A.H. Elbatran et al. (2015) have studied about Hydro Power
and Turbine Systems. The power capacity and facility are two
criteria required for the classification of hydropower plant. The
first one consists of five technologies: dammed reservoir, run
of river, pumped storage, in stream technology and new
technology gravitational vortex. The other one is classified
according to power scale is Large, Small, Mini, Micro and Pico
Hydropower [5]. The overall efficiency of the station (water to
wire operation) is almost 90% efficiency. On the other hand, the
startup cost of hydropower schemes is high, but it has low
operation and maintenance cost, thus it is more efficient in long
terms [10]. This paper showed various types of hydropower
turbines; it presented a general description of hydropower
turbines systems and their various components and
performance on the other hand this paper also indicated that
hydro is a corner stone of the electric generation power plant
which is achieved great significance for the global commercial,
economic and environmental concerns [5].

D. Soni et al. International Journal of Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Topics, VOL. 3, NO. 2, MARCH 2022
81
8. Conclusion
In overall it was concluded that the hydro energy is one of
the most efficient ways of renewable source of energy. Through
this system electricity can be generated very easily with the help
of domestic or in-pipe hydropower plants. Though hydropower
plant require huge installation cost on larger scale but in
comparison to that it gives us a large amount of energy in long
term. The hydropower plants can have about 90% efficiency
which can neither be achieved by any of the renewable sources
of energy generation. As per future aspects the domestic or in-
pipe hydro systems can be used in multi storey building.
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