Brief Review on Hydro Power Plant

Abstract

In nature, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but its form can change. In generating electricity, no new energy is created. Actually one form of energy is converted to another form. To generate electricity, water must be in motion. This is kinetic (moving) energy. When flowing water turns blades in a turbine, the form is changed to mechanical (machine) energy. The turbine turns the generator rotor which then converts this mechanical energy into another energy form electricity. Since water is the initial source of energy, we call this hydroelectric power or hydropower. Hydropower is not only a renewable and sustainable energy source, but its flexibility and storage capacity also makes it possible to improve grid stability and to support the deployment of other intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.As a result, a renewed interest in pumped-hydro energy storage plants (PHES) and a huge demand for the rehabilitation of old small hydropower plants are emerging globally. As regards PHES, advances in turbine design are required to increase plant performance and flexibility and new strategies for optimizing storage capacity and for maximizing plant profitability in the deregulated energy market have to be developed. During the upgrading of old small hydropower plants, the main challenges to be faced are the design of new runners that had to match the existing stationary parts, and the development of optimal sizing and management strategies to increase their economic appeal. This paper traces an overview of the prospects of pumped-hydro energy storage plants and small hydropower plants in light of sustainable development. Advances and future challenges in both turbine design and plant planning and management are proposed. Peculiarities of the new design strategies based on computational fluid dynamics, for both PHES and small hydropower plants.