HYDRO POWER

Ernesto Boronat Eneko Aramburu Sha Zhu Shuang Wang

INDEX
1. INTRODUCTION 2. HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATIONS 3. TURBINES 4. HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS IN THE WORLD 5. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 6. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. - Introduction
Like most other renewable, water powers indirect solar power. Unlike most of the others, it is already a major contributor to world energy supplies. Hydro-electricity power is a well-established technology, which has been producing firm power at competitive prices for about a century. It is the principal source of electric power in some 30 countries, and provides about a fifth of the worlds annual electrical output. Its power stations include some of the largest artificial structures in the world. Present-day hydroelectric plant is the end-product of 2000 years of technological advance, from the creaking wooden wheel, converting a few percent of water power into useful mechanical output, to the modern turbo-generator spinning at 1500 revolutions per minute and producing electric power at efficiencies which can reach 90. After a short introductory case study, our treatment of hydro-electricity power starts with a discussion of the nature of the resource and an account of its present contribution to world energy supplies. This is followed by a brief history of the development of water power, tracing the changing design of water-wheel and the evolution of the turbines which succeeded them. The remaining sections are concerned with the problems and potentialities of hydroelectricity for the future. In discussing the potential for small-scale developments, we find the familiar question relating to cost, firmness of supply and integration which arise for all the renewable source. But for large-scale hydro systems the questions are rather different: whether there are limits to growth, what determines these limits, and whether we are already reaching them.

1.1 What is the water resource? Water resource is a stream of water of the earth's surface and underground, rain to form it and it can cycle and regeneration also it can be used. Water is a simple chemical of hydrogen and oxygen. In the earth, it has three physics state that is liquid,

solid and gaseous, it distributing in atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and organism. Life comes of water.

1.2 Distribution of water resource The amount of water storage nearly has 1,390 million km3 in the earth and 97% is saltwater which cannot be utilized for the human beings directly. The total amount of freshwater is only 36 million km3 which is less than 3% of the amount of water storage in the earth. 77.2% exists on the polar region and mountain in the form of glacier and icecap. It is difficult to be utilized directly.22.4% is groundwater and soil water that are buried deeply under the ground. Probably there is only 230,000km3 in the total amount of surface water such as the rivers, lake, accounted for 0.36 of the total amount of fresh water. So, only about 20% fresh water is easy to use for human beings. The river that can be taken directly and lake fresh water only account for 0.3 of the total amount of fresh water. It is obvious that the fresh water resources for the mankind utilizing directly are very limited.

1.3 Cycle of water resource The earth's surface water in the solar radiant energy and under the earth's attraction mutual function, evaporates unceasingly with the transpiration to the atmosphere in, and in airborne forms the cloud, disseminates the different region in under the atmospheric circulation function, again rains or snows and so on the forms to return to the sea or the land surface. These precipitations, part of permeating underground, becomes the soil water or the ground water; A part forms the surface runoff to converge the river, the sea, again passes through evaporates enters the aerosphere; But also some part of direct evaporations or the transpiration enter the atmosphere after the plant absorption. This is a kind of process repeat in cycles, forever without limits. Through the circulating water resources can get to renew In long time, global scope evaporating in precipitation basic maintenance balance, but in certain time, the spatial scope, its quantity is extremely limited, does not look like such which the people imagine to be possible inexhaustible, to be able be used up. The different shape water

circulation speed difference is very big, besides the biological water, atmosphere and the running water circulation change time is shortest, the renewal use factor is high, is most active, most important, also is grows the closest water resources in human and the biological growth.

1.4 Condition of water resource in world Water is most abroad resource in world, but fresh water only has 2.53percent; another is salt water and has about tow-part fresh water under the ice.

The water resources and the population distribution contrast Except the fresh water can use, person build the reservoir can increase the water resources of available about 8000(km3). Water resource is a renewable energy, different area have different available, season and rainfall have changeability in many area. Rain is very important. Plant and soil can drink in this rain and volatilize in the air through evaporation, finally it into sea through river, lake and wet land. Every year, have 8 percent the water resources of available to be used up to person, 26 percent to be vaporized and 54 percent to be exuded. People always control water of underground in world, so we are important in cycle of water. Wastage is increase of water resources, at the same time, number of people also increase. So the demand also increases to water. Owing to is polluted, the quantity of fresh water resources is decrease. Every day some 2,000,000 tons trash are plunged in the water, including the industry, chemistry,

the people has used and agricultural waste and so on. Although the related pollution scope and the degree reliable data is not extremely complete, but has an estimate demonstrate waste water output about 1500 cubic kilometers in world. Supposition liter waste water must pollute 8 liters fresh water, then the whole world is polluted the fresh water total quantity possibly to be able to amount to 12,000 cubic kilometers. The poor receives the harm was still biggest, developing nation more than half population all deeply evil of the sewage. Now the climatic change is not clear to the water resources accurate influence. According to the research, possibly will increase latitude 30 N to latitude 30 S area precipitations, but many tropics and the subtropics areas will rain then possible to reduce and to become unstable. May perceive from one appears frequently the special weather condition tendency looked, the flood, the drought, the mud-rock flow, the typhoon and so on possibly will increase, but the rivers possibly further will reduce in the dry season current capacity, because of the pollutant quantity and the density increase as well as the water temperature increase, the water quality inevitably will worsen. The recently estimate indicated that, the next period of time climatic change will make the global water tense degree increase 20%. We have made the extremely big progress in between the cognition nature reciprocity water resources and the biological environment and in the non-biological environment. We also better analysis climatic change regarding water resources influence. How many years, we urge our even more abundant origin of water regarding to we understanding cycle of water, meets own need, reduces the extreme situation the risk. But, along with the population growth and the economical development, the interior aqueous system pressure unceasingly is also enlarging, therefore how processes lacks the water and the water pollution question extremely, humanity faced with great challenge.

1.5 Introduction of Hydroelectric Power production: The advantage of the accumulated potential energy in the water to generate electricity is a classic form to obtain energy. Around 20% of the electricity used in the world it comes from this source. It is, therefore, a renewable but nonalternative energy,

strictly speaking, because one has been coming using for many years like one from the main sources of electricity. The hydroelectric energy that can be obtained in a zone depends on the channels of water and unevenness that it has, and exists, therefore, the maximum amount of energy that we can obtain by this procedure. One calculates that if all the hydroelectric energy were operated that the entire world can give, 15% would be only covered with the total energy that we consumed. In fact it is being used around 20% of this potential, although the developed countries, the percentage of operation gets to be more than 50%. From the environmental point of view the hydroelectric energy is one of cleanest, although this does not mean that it is totally innocuous, because the marshes that there are to construct suppose an important impact. The marsh alters the fluvial ecosystem seriously. They destroy habitats, modify the volume of the river and change the characteristics of the water like its temperature, degree of oxygenation and others. Also the marshes produce an important landscaping and human impact, because frequently its construction demands to transfer whole towns and to bury under waters wild territories of culture, forests and other zones. The marshes also have some positive environmental impacts. Thus, for example, they have been very useful for some aquatic birds that have replaced the coastal humid places that used to feed themselves or to raise, many of which are disappear, by these new habitats. Some of these birds have varied even their migratory habits, looking for new routes of passage by the Peninsula through certain marshes.

The construction of marshes is expensive, but its cost of operation is low and is a form of profitable energy economically. When considering the convenience of constructing a marsh is not necessary to forget that its life is of about 50 to 200 years, because with the sediments that the river drags it is filling little by little until making unusable it.

2. Hydroelectric power stations

All the hydroelectric power stations take advantage of the water that falls by unevenness. Natural unevennesses of the land are used, or it makes the water to fall from a dam or dike. The hydroelectric power stations are divided in power stations of loss, medium and high pressure. The criterion for their classification is the height of dam. Two types of power stations can be distinguished:

Low pressure power stations Central hydro electrics are located near watercourses with unevennesses of 10 meters or more and they are constructed between the courses of the rivers or the channels. For economic and ecological reasons the water is used in its natural course, being dammed by dikes. These small hydroelectric power stations have the disadvantage to provide different electrical power in each season because of the seasonal variations in precipitations and therefore in the amount of water available.

Continuous water power stations (picture from Tecnun Donostia)

Medium or high pressure power stations These hydroelectric centrals are of accumulation or pumping (unevennesses up to 100 meters). They have great size zones of dam in form of dams or whole zones of rivers in which the water is accumulated during short periods (daily accumulation) or more prolonged (annual accumulation). The hydroelectric power stations of

accumulation are constructed almost always in valley dams, and take advantage of the watercourses that carries the river. On the contrary, the hydroelectric power stations of pumping are power stations that, at the times of overproduction of electrical energy, pump the water until more elevated levels to transform in electricity again when it is required more. Therefore, the hydroelectric power stations of pumping cannot be classified in the category of renewable energies.

Dam power stations (picture from KTH Stockholm, Hydropower)

How does a hydro electrical power station work? The power stations depend on dammed water contained by a dike. The volume of the water is controlled, and it is possible to be maintained almost constant. The water is transported by conduits or pipes, controlled with valves and turbines to adapt the water flow with respect to the demand of electricity. The water that enters in the turbine leaves by the unloading channels. The generators are located right above the turbines and are connected with electrical generators. The design of the turbines depends on the water volume; Francis and Kaplan turbines are used for great volumes and middle and low jumps, and the Pelton turbines for great jumps and small volumes.

The hydraulic turbines are used to take advantage of the energy of the water in movement. The Kaplan turbine is similar to a helix of a boat. The huge shovels or blades of the turbine are pushed by high pressure water released by a floodgate. The Pelton turbine is a model of the 19th century whose operation is more similar to a traditional water mill. The wheel turns when the water coming from the forced conduit strikes its trowels or blades. For the formation of a water jump it is necessary to elevate the superficial level of the water over the level of the river. This is done with dikes. The connection between the dike and the house of machines is done by derivation channels. The water which is being carried by the derivation channels must be taken to the turbines. At the water jumps smaller than 12 meters, the water ends directly in the turbine room, but at the water jumps bigger than 12 meters, the water finishes in a widening called pressure chamber from where leaves the pressure pipe, that in forced conduction takes the water to the turbines. The water leaves with high pressure by the nozzle and pushes the blades that rotate an axis and the generator. Finally when the water leaves is carried to a water-drainage channel by which it ends again at the river.

Pumping power stations The figure that is down represents a scheme of these power stations of pumping, which are multiplying today in Europe and throughout the world. The superior dam can be natural or artificial. The electrical machine usually is unique: synchronous machine, which works like alternator when it is being turbined and like synchronous motor when it is being pumped to the superior pool. The forced pipe is also unique with flow in both senses.

Pumping power station (from KTH Stockholm Hydropower notes) The basic principle of a pumping power station is the following one: In the periods of little demand of energy, it is used leftover energy of the network, which comes from other power stations connected electrically with the pumping power station to pump the water from the down level to the superior dam. Thus, in the hours of reduced consumption the leftover energy is in the thermal and nuclear power stations can be used to pump. When the energy is needed more, the water is turbined from the superior dam with high altitude of jump, working then the reversible electrical machine like alternator. There are many solutions. In the scheme of the figure there are two hydraulic machines, a pump and a turbine, which are working in opposite sense by the same electrical machine. Modernly the reversible hydraulic machine has been created, pump-turbine, of good efficiency, although to improve the pump's efficiency we have to sacrifice a little bit the turbine's efficiency. Another better solution but more expensive, is to connect the pump turbine to an electrical machine that can turn with two different speeds. Thus, we would obtain a great efficiency in the hydraulic machine.

Dams
All the dams must fulfill two basic exigencies: To resist the push of the water To evacuate the leftover volumes

For that reason, depending on the conditions that impose the land and the water, a type of dam must be chosen. Let us see the possible variants, according to different points of view: 1. Depending to the situation of the overflow, this one can be: On the same dam Separated of it

In the first case, the overflow conditions the structure of the dam. In the second case it is not any conditions. 2. Depending to the form to resist the hydrostatic push, the dams can be: Of gravity, when the weight of the prey is remarkable and serves to give a suitable and inner resultant to the base of the dam. In arc, using a curved form for the dam. This is used to transmit the push to the land in suitable direction and intensity. There is also an intermediate type of dam between the arc dam and gravity dam that is called arc-gravity. In this one, the action of the curvature is insufficient to resist the push and is necessary to give to the dam a certain weight so that it compensates that defect. 3. In attention to the used material, they are classified in:

Factory dams Dams made with many materials

Nowadays the factory dam is almost exclusively of concrete. The dams that are made with different materials always resists by gravity. In this kind of dams, the overflow usually is separated.

3. - Turbines
Pelton turbines A typical installation of Pelton turbines consists of the following elements: 1. - Entrance elbow 2. - Injector: it is the distributor of the Pelton turbines. It transforms pressure energy into kinetic energy. 3. - Nozzle 4. - Needle valve: it is moved longitudinally. The fuze and the needle of the injector usually are constructed of very hard steel. 5. - Actuator: it moves the injector by oil pressure. 6. - Regulator 7. - Control of the baffle plate 8. - Baffle plate: it serves to control the turbines movement. 9. - Spurt 10. - Bun (fig 10) 11. - Blades or spoons. 12. - Turbine's brake by water spurt: the small spurt of 25mm of diameter in this case acts on the back of the blades and restrains the bun. Without it, the bun would continue turning more and more slowly damaging the bun.

Pelton Turbine (picture from Tecnun Donostia)

How works the Pelton turbine? The successive transformation of the energy takes place like this. The gravitational power energy of the water dammed becomes, practically without losses, in kinetic energy. The water leaves through these orifices in form of free jets, at a speed that corresponds to the height of the useful jump. The maximum kinetic energy is appeared when the water affects the bun tangentially, pushing the buckets that forms it, obtaining the mechanical work wished. The concave forms of the buckets make change the direction of the water spurt, leaving this one by the lateral edges, without appreciable energy and any incidence on the successive buckets. In this way, the water spurt transmits its kinetic energy to the bun, where it is transformed instantaneously into mechanical energy. The needle valve, steered by the speed governor, closes more or less the orifice of exit of the nozzle. Thus, it is able to modify the water volume that flows by this one to maintain constant the speed of the bun, being avoided the increase or reduction of the number of revolutions. The edge that divides each bucket in two symmetrical parts cuts the water spurt, sectioning it in two laminae of fluid, theoretically of identical volume. This disposition allows resisting mutually the axial pushes that are originated in the bun.

Pelton (picture from Tecnun Donostia)

Turbines of reaction:

Kaplan and Deriaz Turbines:

Turbines of adjustable blades The work of an alternator varies according to a consumption curve. The turbine will have to provide power more or less, and like it is not any varying height of jump it will not always work with the maximum admission, Qmax. Therefore the total efficiency curves of the turbine based on the volume Q expressed like function of Qmax, represented in figure have great interest.

Graphic from Tecnun Donostia The curves like the a are characteristic of the Pelton turbines and are called flat curves, and the curves like the e are characteristic of the helix turbines and are called curves in hook. It can be observed that as ns is increasing the curves are being more of the second type. Curve b explains the exceptional meaning of the discovery of Kaplan. The turbines that take his name have revolutionized in these years the use of jumps of little height.

The Kaplan turbine is a helix turbine in which the blades of the bun turn itself in march, adjusting automatically according the work to the conditions of optimal yield. That is the reason because the curve b that corresponds to a Kaplan turbine is not a curve in hook, as would correspond to a turbine of stator blades. It is very easy to design a reversible Kaplan turbine that can work like pump and like turbine with good yield. Later, Deriaz invented the turbine that takes its name. This turbine is also reversible and presents a very good solution to the problem of the pumping power stations. It is usually called like reversible machine of adjustable blades. In this way, in the pumping power stations the price of the machinery is reduced using the same machine like pump and turbine. The Deriaz turbine is like Francis turbine but with adjustable blades and has: Working like turbine, better yield than a Francis turbine with analogous bun of stator blades. Working like pump, better yield than a turbine-pump of stator blades.

Deriaz turbine (picture from Tecnun Donostia)

Francis Turbines The Francis turbine is one of the reaction turbines, which means that the fluid changes the pressure as it advances by the turbine giving his energy. The turbine is located between the water source of high pressure and the exit of low pressure water, generally in the base of a dam. Large Francis turbines are individually designed for each site to operate at the highest possible efficiency, typically over 90%. The entrance has spiral form, where the guide vanes direct the water to the runner. The radial flow causes the turn of the runner. The direction of the guide vanes can be adjustable; this way we can optimize elk turbine efficiency in different conditions of operation. As the water enters the runner, the radius of the guide vanes decreases. This way optimizes the operation of the turbine. At the exit, water acts on cup shaped runner features, leaving with no swirl and very little kinetic or potential energy. The turbine's exit tube is specially shaped to help decelerate the water flow and recover kinetic energy. Francis turbines are best suited for sites with high flows and low to medium head. Francis Turbines are very expensive to design, manufacture and install, but operate for decades. These turbines, are not only used to produce energy, can act like pumps so that in the hours of low demand of energy, they take advantage of the excess of energy produced by the thermal power stations and nuclear, to give back the water to the superior dam and this way to be able to obtain energy again.

Francis turbines may be designed for a wide range of heads and flows. This, along with their high efficiency, has made them the most widely used turbine in the world.

Francis Turbine installed at the Grand Coulee Dam (from answers.com)

Power
The power available in a stream of water is;

where:

P = power (J/s or watts) = turbine efficiency = density of water (kg/m3) g = acceleration of gravity (9.81 m/s2) h = head (m). For still water, this is the difference in height between the inlet and outlet surfaces. Moving water has an additional component added to account for the kinetic energy of the flow. The total head equals the pressure head plus velocity head.

= flow rate (m3/s)

Design and application

Turbine Application Chart (from answers.com)

Turbine selection is based mostly on the available water head, and less so on the available flow rate. In general, impulse turbines are used for high head sites, and reaction turbines are used for low head sites. Kaplan turbines are well-adapted to wide ranges of flow or head conditions, since their peak efficiency can be achieved over a wide range of flow conditions. Small turbines (mostly under 10 MW) may have horizontal shafts, and even fairly large bulb-type turbines up to 100 MW or so may be horizontal. Very large Francis and Kaplan machines usually have vertical shafts because this makes best use of the available head, and makes installation of a generator more economical. Pelton wheels may be either vertical or horizontal shaft machines because the size of the machine is so much less than the available head. Some impulse turbines use multiple water jets per runner to increase specific speed and balance shaft thrust.

Typical range of heads

Kaplan Francis Pelton

2 < H < 40 (H = head in meters) 10 < H < 350 50 < H < 1300

The runaway speed of a water turbine is its speed at full flow, and no shaft load. The turbine will be designed to survive the mechanical forces of this speed. The manufacturer will supply the runaway speed rating.

Generator Kaplan turbine (picture from answers.com)

4. - Hydroelectric Power Plants in the World:

The biggest Hydropower producers (TWh):

Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant: Between Brazil and Paraguay A great project is constructed with cutting-edge technology and mankind's ceaseless endeavor to attain the impossible. These were the prior requirements - all duly superlative, that led to the inclusion of Itaip in the list of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant (picture from google.com/images/Itaip)

The installed power of the plant is 12.600 MW (megawatts), with 18 generator units of 700 MW each. In the next years it will increase till 14.000 MW with two new generator units. The energy generated by Itaipu in 2005 reached 87,9 million of MWh, enough to supply 86% of the annual consume of the So Paulo State, the largest industrial center of Brazil. This was the sixth largest production of the plants history, mark surpassed only in 2000 (93,4 million of MWh) and in 1999 (90 million of MWh).

Guri Hydroelectric Power Plant: In Venezuela

Guri Dam (picture from google.com/images/Guri Dam) An impressive engineer work and art masterpiece stands on the Caroni River, one hundred kilometers from the confluence with the Orinoco River. The Raul Leoni Hydroelectric Power Station, also known as the Guri Dam. The construction started in 1963 concluded the first part in 1978 and the second one in 1986. The installed power of the plant is about 10.000 MW.

Grand Coulee Hydroelectric Power Plant: In U.S. Grand Coulee Dam's hydroelectric generating facilities include four powerhouses (counting the pumping plant) with a total of 24 main generators, three station service generators and six pump/generators. These provide a combined generating capacity of 6480 megawatts. This makes Grand Coulee Dam the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States and the third largest such facility in the world.

Grand Coulee Dam (picture from google.com/images/Grand Coulee)

In few years its going to be the fourth largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world because of the huge Chinese project. Known as The Gorges wich is going to be the largest producer in the world.

Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Plant: The biggest Power Plant in the World:

Three Gorges Dam (picture from google.com/images/Three Gorges) The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River will be, when completed, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Its dam is more than five times Hoover dam. With an installed generating capacity of 18.200 MW, the dam will span more than two kilometres across, and tower 185 meters above, the worlds third longest river. Its reservoir will stretch over 600 kilometres upstream and force the displacement of more than 1.3 million people. Construction began in 1994 and is scheduled for completion by 2009. Construction on the dam itself was completed in May 2006. 18.200 MW of electricity capacity installed that will generate the equivalent of roughly 18 coal power stations or 11,000 barrels of oil per hour. The dam could potentially reduce China's annual coal consumption by 40 to 50 million tons. This will reduce the discharge of 2 million tons of sulphur dioxide and 10,000 tons of carbon monoxide per year.

The primary aims of the dam are to alleviate flooding on the Yangtze River and generate power. More than 1,200 towns and villages will disappear under its rising waters. Those made homeless by the dam are being moved to new townships. The 600 km long reservoir will inundate some 1,300 archaeological sites and alter the legendary beauty of the Three Gorges. Despite the amount of effort that has gone into the dam, critics are sceptical that it will adequately control flooding and say silting may eventually clog up its turbines. There are two hazards uniquely identified with the dam: sedimentation modelling is unverified the dam sits on a seismic fault

4.2 Hydropower in China

Water Resources in China

Physical background China is situated at the southeastern part of Eurasia on the Northern Hemisphere, closed to the Pacific Ocean on the southeastern side, stretching into the hinterlands of Asia, bordered by the subcontinent of southern Asia. The total land area is 9.60 million km2, or equivalent to about 1/5 of the world total, ranking third among all countries in the world. China borders more than ten countries with the total length of land boundaries being more than 2000 km. China has a sea area of about 3 million km2, and more than 5400 islands of various sizes, in which Taiwan is the largest. The total length of coastal lines of the mainland and islands is 32000 km, in which the coastal line of the mainland occupies 18000 km.

Distribution of water resources Region distribution is extremely uneven of the water resources, water and electricity of west need deliver to east. Because in China is vast in territory, the difference are bigger of terrain and the rainfall, thus forms the water resources not to be balanced in the region distribution. The terrain is west higher than east, rainfall is southeast more than northwest, therefore, distribution is west more than eastern of the water resources, however, the economy in China that is eastern to developed, west to falls behind, therefore water resources development market besides west own, we must consider eastern, we need to implement this way that water and electricity of west need deliver to east. According to economical potential quantity statistics, western have 12 provinces, the economy is relative to falls behind that is Yun, Gui ,Sichuan, Chongqing, Shanxi, Gansu, Lingxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Tibet, Guangxi, Nei menggu and so on , its water resources approximately compose the national total quantity 80.45%, specially the southwest cloud, expensive, Sichuan, Chongqing, Tibet account for 64.30%, next is the middle have 6 provinces, Jin, Jianxi, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, the Hainan and so on account for 11.39%, but the economy developed, uses electricity the load centralized eastern have 13 provinces, Hei Longjiang, Jiling , Liaoling, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Lu,

Soviet, Zhejiang,Anhui, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian and so on ,only accounts for 8.16%

Distribution of water resources

China water resource (Main River in China)

Lengthkm Name Total In China Changjiang (Yangtze) River Yellow River 5464 (Huanghe) Pearl River Haihe River Huaihe River 2214 1090 1000 454,000 44.2 263,400 269,000 336 22.8 61.1 Including 752,000 59.2 6300 1,808,500 975.5 Catchments (km ) Total In China
2

Area Average Annual Surface Runoffbillion m3 Remark

Yishui,Shushui,Sishui River 187,000 Songhuajiang River Liaohe Rvier Heilongjiang Rvier 2309 1345 4440 556,800 219,000 1,855,000 89.11 810,000 15.4 1643,000 5.73 325,000 13.78 935,000 24.0 198,000 19.4 131,000 6.16 158,000 7.63 187,000 5.67 63,800 3.25 44.3 74.2 14.8 355 74 10 68.9 165.4 20.5 17 18.3 45. 29.1 7.52

Lancangjiang 4500 1612 Erqisi River 4248 633

Nujiang River 3200 1659 Yarlung Zangbo River Tarim River Yili River Yuanjiang River Wusuli River Yalujiang River Tumenjiang River 2900 2057 2300 2046 1500 601 1183 565 890 795 520

300,000 2.2

4.2 Hydroelectric Power Plants in Spain: In Spain there are almost 800 Hydroelectric Power Plants. Twenty of them are over 200 MW and it represents 50% of the hydroelectric power in Spain. In the other hand, there are too many little ones under 20 MW. Hydroelectric installed power in Spain is a little bit more than 23000 MW. The distribution of power plants depends on the location of the waterfalls with sufficient height and energy. It exists, therefore, dense concentrations of power plants in the northwest mountains and in Pyrenees, where hydroelectric power plants began to be constructed from the beginning of XX century to supply energy to the Catalan industry. Other power stations are more randomly distributed by mountains in the interior of the peninsula; taking advantage of the points where sufficient water and unevenness related to mountainous nuclei exists. The greater concentration of great power plants is located in the fall of the rivers Duero and Tajo, when they leave the Plateau, already in the border with Portugal. The Villarino, Saucelle, Aldeadvila, Jos Mara de Oriol y Cedillo power plants add nothing less than 20% of the total of installed hydroelectric power in the country, and 7% of total the electrical power.

(picture from Las centrales en Espaa, ediciones UPC-ETSEIAT)

The energy of hydraulic origin represents 18.5% of total the energy in Spain. We must consider than year 2003 had been especially rainy, because this value is greater than the produced energy the previous year, without increasing as soon as the installed power.

Year Hydropower Wind and solar Biomass y remainders Thermical Power Nuclear CHP

2003 44000 8000 2500 92000 64000 28000

2003 (%) 18% 3% 1% 38% 26% 12% 1% 100%

2002 32000 4600 1900 97500 62000 27000 4500 229500

2002 (%) 14% 2% 1% 42% 27% 12% 2% 100%

Net purchases to the outside 3500 Total 2003 242000

Electric Power production in Spain in 2003 in GWh

Aldeadvila Hydropower Plant: The biggest hydropower plant in Spain.

Aldeadvila Hydropower Plant (picture from

www.mcu.es/igc/Jornadas/Eupa_2001/castilla-leon/c-l_duero)

With an installed generating capacity of 1.139 MW Aldeadvila is the biggest hydropower plant in Spain. Dam and power station of Aldeadvila (Salamanca), are constructed between 1952 and 1962, extending itself in 1986. The hydraulic power station is greatest of Spain, with a power superior to the 1,100 MW, and one annual production the 2,500 average superior to GWh. The dam, constructed in one of the steepest sections of the Duero river, is of the type of arc of gravity, with a length of coronation of 250 meters and height from the bottom of the channel of about 140 meters, is nailed in a natural place of great beauty, having constituted an engineer installation of colossal dimensions. The power station is excavated in a granite bulk to 400 meters of depth; a complex network of excavated hydraulic circuits in the subsoil takes the water until the eight groups of vertical Francis turbine-pump.

5 Environmental and Social Impacts

Hydro-electric power plants have lots of environmental impacts; some of these are just beginning to be understood. Until now there is an almost universal belief that hydro-power is a clean and environmentally safe method of producing electricity. Hydro-electric power plants do not send out any of the standard atmospheric pollutants such as carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide. In this respect, hydro-electric power is better than burning coal, oil or natural gas to produce electricity, as it doesnt contribute to global warming. Similarly, it does not result in the risks of radioactive pollution associated with nuclear power plants. The most obvious impact of hydro-power dams are the flooding of vast areas of land, much of them forested or used for agriculture before. The size of reservoirs created can be extremely large. Reservoirs can be used for ensuring adequate water supplies and irrigation, recreation; but in several cases they have flooded the homelands of local peoples, whose way of life has then been destroyed. Many rare ecosystems are also imperiled by hydro-electric power development. Large dams and reservoirs can have other effects on watershed. Damming a river can change the amount and quality of water in the river downstream. These effects can be reduced by requiring minimum flows downstream of a dam, and by arousing fish ladder which allow fishes to move upstream past the dam. Silt usually carried downstream to the lower reaches of the river, is hold up by the dam and deposited on the bed of the reservoir. The silt can slowly fill up the reservoir, reducing the amount of water which can be stored and used for electrical generation. Bacteria incept decaying vegetation can also change to mercury, into a form which is soluble in water. The mercury cumuli in the bodies of fish and arose a health hazard to those who depend on these fish for food. The water quality of many reservoirs also arise the health hazard due to new forms of bacteria which grow in many of the hydro rivers. Dams can facilitate the development of diseases.

Possible dam failure. This is the worst impact that could someone imagine. It would destroy everything to its step killing thousands of human lives, thousands of flooded hectares... total catastrophe. The Pollution is stored in the reservoir. Local increase in water vapour and some temperature effects. Vegetation rotting under water produces methane. Emissions from northern reservoirs are typically about 5% of conventional power plants, while emissions from tropical reservoirs are typically 25%. High levels of total dissolved gas causes bubble disease in aquatic organisms and can lead to their death.

6. - Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of the hydroelectric power stations are evident:

It doesnt need fuel because it uses a renewable energy, constantly replaced by the nature for free. Its clean, because it contaminates neither the air nor the water. Often it can be combined with other benefits, like irrigation, protection against the flood, water provision, ways and also navigation. The maintenance and operation costs are low. The hydraulic turbine is simple, efficient and safe. It can be started up and stopped quickly and requires very few attention. It generates jobs in his construction, maintenance and operation. It generates experience in these subjects and this makes the technology can be easily exported to developing countries.

Also it is necessary to indicate some disadvantages:

The costs per installed kilowatt are frequently very high. It alters the normal course in the biological life (animal and vegetable) of the river. The dam power stations have the problem of the water evaporation: In the zone where it is constructed, the relative humidity of the atmosphere increases as a result of the evaporation of the water contained in the dam.

In the case of the dam power stations constructed in tropical regions, some studies have demonstrated that they generate, as a result of the stagnation of water, big amounts of infectious bacteria and diseases.

The location of the hydroelectric power station, determined by natural causes, can be far from the centre of consumption and this can demand the construction of a electricity transmission system. Thus, it would increase the cost of the investment, maintenance and loss of energy.

The construction lasts more time than the construction of thermo electrical power stations. The energy availability can fluctuate from station to station and year in year.

7.- Bibliography:
Books: Godfrey Boyle. Renewable Energy Power for a Sustainable Future. Turbomquinas, Ediciones UPC-ETSEIAT Mquinas Hidrulicas, Ediciones UPC-ETSEIB U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office document. A summary of Environmentally and Friendly Turbine Designed Concepts by Mofeed Odeh. Mquinas Hidrulicas, Tecnun Donostia Webs:
www.ept.ntnu.no/vk/publikasjoner/pdf/ArneKjolle/chapter7 Voith Siemens Hydropower generation http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/hydro_turbine_types http://hydropower.inel.gov/turbines/pdfs/doeid-13741.pdf

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/hydro_history.html http://lsa.colorado.edu/summarystreet/texts/hydropower.htm http://www.groept.be/dam/HYDROpower.htm http://www.wvic.com/hydro-works.htm http://www.nju.edu.cn/njuc/dikexi/earthscience/chp6/dqkx3-1.htm http://ncert.nic.in/sites/learning%20basket/energy10class/hydropower.htm http://www.agro-labs.ac.cn/21c/jpg/2-1-5.jpg http://www3.nstm.gov.tw/review/exhibit/0822_1/04/04-1.htm http://vancouver.indymedia.org/?q=node/2544 http://www.powerfoo.com/slzy.html www.answers.com