Hydropower Engineering

 Lecture : 4 References :
 Er. Sanjeeb Baral
 Tutorial : 2
 Dandekar and Sharma
 Practical : 2 / 2 Various published papers

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Chapter 1 (4 hours)

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1.1 Introduction

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 Types of Hydropower Plants

1. Impoundment / Dams

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2. Diversion / ROR (Run of River)

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3. Pumped Storage (Rechargeable batteries)

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Pumped Storage (Rechargeable batteries)

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Advantages of hydropower:

Cheap energy ; No fuel used

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Advantages of hydropower:

Renewable

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Advantages of hydropower:

1 Low emission

100 billion tonnes of CO2 averted---

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(independent research)

2 Emissions averted by nuclear power

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 Annual GHG
emission 4 billion
M.T

Hydro
Fossil fuel

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 2018 Hydropower Status Report (IHA)

GHG emission intensity of

the hydropower reservoirs

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unlike solar or wind, water
can be relied on 24/7

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Water flow is usually very predictable than
wind flow and sun’s radiance 

Easy to determine where to build a hydropower

plant

either on an actively flowing river or built with a

dam to manage water flow
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Quick response to Fluctuating
demand
The output of electricity can
be adjusted. If energy demand
is low, water can be averted
from the turbines and less
energy will be produced. The
opposite is true if more energy
is needed - more water can
flow into the turbine for
electricity production.
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Hydropower is

1 No sickness-causing pollution is emitted

2 zero chance of oil spills or gas pipes breaking

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Disadvantages:

Long gestation period

High Intial cost

Potential Drought
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Disadvantages:

Environmental consequences

a. Wildlife and river ecosystem ruined

b. River Natural flow affected

c. Fish migration affected

upstream countries could take more water

c.
than is fair
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Dams emit GHG in warm
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Disadvantages:

Underwater sand boxes

Impedes spawning; migration problems

Fish ladders---too steep ; too small ;

only for salmons

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Disadvantages:

Algae & aquatic weeds encroachment

Low dissolved oxygen

Colder than normal river water

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Disadvantages:

Limited reservoirs

Long transmission lines

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Overcoming the Challenges:

Cost and benefits assessed & weighed

Mixing solar, wind & storage

technologies

More investments in planning & EIA

Retrofit existing dams instead

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Overcoming the Challenges:

Optimize fish passage systems; more

friendly for all different kinds of fishes

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 Water wheels

Irrigation, grinding grains, breaking ores

Paper, textile and metallurgy plants

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1831, First Electric
Generator
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James Francis, 1849

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Francis Turbine
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Pelton Turbine, 1870s AN
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 World’s first hydroelectric
project

1 used to power a single lamp

2 Northumberland, England, 1878

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1 Appleton, Wisconsin, USA, 1882

2 First commercial hydro

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 1 Three Gorges Dam,
the largest dam

2 Yangtze River

3 22,500 MW

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Itaipu dam; Parana river; between Brazil
and Paraguay; 14000 MW
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Sidrapong Hydroelectric Power Station, 1897

130 KW, Darjeeling

India’s & Asia’s oldest

1912, China, Yunnan province, 240 KW

3rd in Asia

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Total Installed
Capacity

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 History of Hydropower in Nepal

1 Pharping Hydro(500 KW)--1st in Nepal, 2nd in Asia

2 1907 AD – 22 May 1911 AD

3 Chandrajyoti Hydro-electric power station

4 Chandra Shamsher

5 Inauguration--King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah Dev

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 History of Hydropower in Nepal

1 Rs. 7,13,273.82

2 Owner—NEA (2042 B.S.)

3 pumped storage

4 12 Km transmission line; 11kv trans volt

5 Substation—Singh Durbar, 230v distn volt

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History of Hydropower in Nepal
Shree Chandra Jyoti Prakash Vijuli Adda

1934 AD, Sundarijal hydro, 640 kW; by PM Dev Shamsher

Bijuli Adda closed—Biddhut corporation, Bhadra 1,

2019 BS formed under new Nepal Biddhut Corp. Act

Electrical Department established---dealt on

production only

2042 BS, NEA was formed under Biddut pradhikaran Act 2041
to include private sectors in hydro development
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History of Hydropower in Nepal
After 2046, Biddhut Bikas Kendra, for providing license
under Ministry of Energy, Water resources & Irrigation

Largest hydro of Nepal—Kaligandaki A, Syangja; 1997-

2002 ; 144 MW

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 History of Hydropower in Nepal

Electricity production in Nepal---107 years history

Took 23 years for the 2nd hydro to build

Frequency conversion reduced the Sundarijal capacity

Landslide destroyed 3rd hydro, Chisang Khola.

So production reduced to 1.14 MW

Only after 1965 AD visible growth was seen, after 54 years

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 Decade-wise Development
Year (AD) Production (MW)

1911-1920 0.5
1921-30 0
1931-40 0.6
1941-50 0
1951-60 0
1961-70 27.5
1971-80 26.7
1981-90 180.3
1991-2000 125.9
2001-2005 195.3
2005-2018 525.2
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 2076----A history in production
In 2076 BS, 1100 MW was being produced—a history in
the production

Upper Tamakoshi (456 MW) would start operation

About 39 hydro projects would start their production

> 24 projects of 12 Arab on showcase-----

investment summit 2019

Haising Fund was started recently

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 Government Plan

1 19 projects will be constructed of 3779 MW capacity

15000 MW production in next 10

2
years

3 abcfgnjjnmmkk
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 Citizen 39%
Share

Project
affected 10%
39% people
51%

Estimated amount: 6 Gov.

10% 51%
Kharba 95 arba 80 sector
crore
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 500 MW

440 kV

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Holding License

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 About Laos
26,000 MW of theoretical potential

The Laos Govt. has a strategy to use hydropower

To eradicate poverty

a system to include importing company as equity share holder

supplies 7000 MW and 5000 MW to Thailand and

Vietnam respectively

Had a target to increase domestic electrification from

60% to 90% by 2020

participation of private sector is sought and promoted through “

BOOT ” approach AN
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 Hydropotential of Nepal
world's second richest country in inland water
resources

more than 6000 rivers & rivulets

Roughly 83,000 MW theoretical potential; 42000 MW

economically feasible

installed capacity < 1,000 MW, as of 2018

85% of the potential is based on reservoir projects

supply relies heavily on imports from India during winter

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 Hydropotential of Nepal
perennial rivers; sharp topography change

from 8848m to 100m within a short distance of

160-270 km

sources----snow melt, glaciers and rainfall

1,500 mm of annual rainfall

Mean annual surface runoff –175 billion m3 (within Nepal); 200

billion m3 (including Tibetian drainages)

Topography-------high relief and high river flow

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 Estimation of hydropower potential
Power potential of a hydropower:

P = 9.81 x ŋ x Q x H

P = power in KW
Q= discharge, m3/s
H = head, m
Ŋ = overall efficiency of the system = ŋt x ŋg
Ŋt = efficiency of turbine

ŋg = efficiency of generator

Design discharge(NEA) = min of Q 40 = 40% probability of exceedence ( to be

eligible for PPA) AN
 1
2

P.E

K.E

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Here, P.E = mgh

And, Z2 =0
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 Useful +ve pressure
energy
P.E
K.E rejected at the Useful –ve pressure
outlet of the turbine energy via the use
or “the remaining of draft tube
K.E”

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1 Power generation depends on Q and h

2 In lowland areas, Q is high; h is low

3 In mountainous areas, h is sufficient, Q

is low

4 So hydro potential varies from place to

place; cases where Q & h both are sufficient

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Hydropower potential :
A) Gross potential :
 Theoretically possible power in a river basin
 Can never be attained due to difficulties in
construction; losses, etc.

Ŋ = efficiency in %

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 B) Technical potential :
 Economically viable to produce
 Unfavorable geography topography, climatic conditions, accessibility,
etc.----various constraints to gross potential
 About 42000 MW

C) Economic potential :
 Technically feasible projects should be economic as well
 Not always economical to utilize the flows available during a short
period of the year
 Good return on our investment
 If IRR > prevailing interest rate; and B/C ratio > 1 AN
 Hydro Development Policy
 Hydropower Development Policy, 2058(objectives):

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Refined the policies & legal frameworks of HDP-2049

Inorder to be in line with changing global market

& its impact on:
 technological development
 export of electricity
 promotion of foreign investment
 Environmental conservation
HDP,2058 also dealt with issues like:
 Concept of multipurpose projects
 Roles of public & private sectors
 Use of domestic and foreign capital markets
 Transparency in GON procedures w.r.t private sector
participation
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 Legal instruments ( Acts & regulations) are needed to effectuate the HDP policies
The National Code, 1910 BS ----1st Statutory law:

 Established the rights of the people on the usage of water

resulting from the ownership of land abutting the stream
or river
Canal, Electricity and Related Water Resources Act, 2024 BS
 Concept for water tax
 Licensing for water use in hydropower generation
Water Resources Act, 2049 BS + Water Resources Rules, 2050 BS

Handles
 all uses of water resouces
Umbrella act


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Electricity Act, 2049 BS + Electricity Rules, 2050 BS: covers
the specifics of power sector

Other Acts and Rules:

 Environment Protection Act and Rules, 1997
 Local Self Governance Act, 1999
 Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 1992
 Nepal Electricity Act, 1984

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 Highlights of HDP, 2058:
 Concept of integrated water resources development
 Multipurpose development of water resources
 Rural electrification
 Granting license for survey, production, transmission and distribution
 No license required for upto 1 MW
 But registration with DWRC and DOED (technical arm of MOE) is must
 License provided by MOE
 License for production--35 years for domestic consumption; 30 years for
export, starting from the date of generation
 5yrs additional for storage projects

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Electricity Act 1992 provides a basis for the Government of Nepal to
collect royalties from hydropower generation plants in Nepal based
on: the installed capacity of the hydropower plant and the annual
generation of electricity, 

Royalty structure: formula for calculation of capacity

and energy royalty have been set

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See the PDF file on HDP, 2058 for the
additional policies

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