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The ever-increasing use of fossil fuels causes the climate to become unbalanced due to the resulting pollution. Renewable energy is gaining widespread adoption because it is more cost-effective and eco-friendly. Using water as micro-hydro power plants or PLTMH can be a viable alternative to non-renewable fuel sources. Indonesia is one of the countries with the greatest application potential for micro-hydro power plants or PLTMH, particularly in Batang Regency, Central Java Province. This study focused on reducing the use of fossil fuels as a source of electricity in Batang Regency by utilizing water resources. Environmental approaches and hydrological analysis were employed in this study to achieve precise and optimal PLTMH planning outcomes. The results of the analysis indicated that the total discharge required to operate the PLTMH turbine is 2.22 m3/s with an 80% mainstay discharge, while the design flood discharge is 113,679 m3/s (Q100year). Implementing micro-hydro power plants or PLTMH in Batang Regency could be the first step in Indonesia’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

Battery energy storage effectively staBIlizes the electric grid and aids renewable integration by balancing supply and demand in real time. The importance of such storage is especially crucial in densely populated urban areas, where traditional storage techniques such as pumped hydroelectric energy storage and compressed-air energy storage are often not feasible.

We evaluate the accuracy of model selection and associated short-run forecasts using beta autoregressive moving average ( β ARMA ) models, which are tailored for modeling and forecasting time series that assume values in the standard unit interval, ( 0 , 1 ) , such as rates, proportions, and concentration indices. Different model selection strategies are considered, including one that uses data resampling. Simulation evidence on the frequency of correct model selection favors the bootstrap-based approach. Model selection based on information criteria outperforms that based on forecasting accuracy measures. A forecasting analysis of the proportion of stored hydroelectric energy in South Brazil is presented and discussed. The empirical evidence shows that model selection based on data resampling typically leads to more accurate out-of-sample forecasts.

The reservoirs play a crucial role in the development of civilization as they facilitate the storage of water for multiple purposes like hydroelectric power generation, flood control, irrigation, a...

Currently, hydropower is the principal renewable energy source; however, climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme events, such as floods, droughts, erosion, and sedimentation of rivers, which produce uncertainty with regard to hydroelectric generation. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the climate change projections for the hydropower systems of Ecuador based on data from 14 projects studying scenarios according to the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The study examined the period from 2010 to 2020 with historical data, determined the tendency, defined a database year, and then projected the scenarios to 2050. The quantitative methodology used time-series statistics for Ecuador’s hydropower inflow to calculate the deviation over recent years and develop a model to simulate future power generation. The results showed that hydropower in Ecuador is expected to decrease considerably through to 2050 due to meteorological changes. In this calculation of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, the selected scenarios showed a reduction in SSP5 of 11.5%, SP2 of 16.2%, and SSP4 of 18.2% through to 2050, indicating that the opportunities for hydroelectric production in the face of climate change are variable, but the challenges are broad. In Ecuador, the projections of reductions in hydropower generation represent a sensitive issue, especially knowing that, in 2020, 87% of the energy grid in the country depended on hydroelectric production.

Suriname was one of the first countries in the global South to produce aluminium. The establishment of this industry, including the hydroelectric dam that was meant to power it, was the key idea upon which Suriname’s entire dream of modernity and independence was constructed. Negotiations with the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) resulted in Suriname accepting a treaty under which hardly any benefits accumulated in the country itself, while the establishment of the industry caused loss of land, environmental damage and the deculturation of the Surinamese Maroon communities. After these revolted against the state, Alcoa left the country, leaving behind an ‘aluminium landscape’ where aluminium is no longer produced, but where the original population, insofar as its members have not moved to the cities, is still heavily affected by the changes caused by the Surinamese aluminium boom. Le Suriname a été l'un des premiers pays du Sud à produire de l'aluminium. La création de cette industrie, y compris le barrage hydroélectrique qui devait l'alimenter, a été l'idée maîtresse sur laquelle s'est construit tout le rêve de modernité et d'indépendance du Suriname. Les négociations avec l'Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) ont abouti à l'acceptation par le Suriname d'un traité en vertu duquel pratiquement aucun bénéfice ne soit accumulé dans le pays lui-même alors que l'implantation de l'industrie a entraîné la perte de terres, des dommages environnementaux et la déculturation des communautés marrons du Suriname. Après que ces dernières se soient révoltées contre l'État, Alcoa a quitté le pays, laissant derrière elle un ‘paysage d'aluminium’ dans lequel on ne produit plus d'aluminium, mais où la population d'origine, dans la mesure où ses membres ne se sont pas déplacés vers les villes, est encore fortement affectée par les changements provoqués par le boom de l'aluminium au Suriname. Surinam fue uno de los primeros países del Sur global en producir aluminio. El establecimiento de esta industria, incluida la presa hidroeléctrica que debía alimentarla, fue la idea clave sobre la que se construyó todo el sueño de modernidad e independencia de Surinam. Las negociaciones con la Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) dieron como resultado que Surinam aceptara un tratado en virtud del cual prácticamente no se acumulaban beneficios en el propio país, mientras que el establecimiento de la industria provocó la pérdida de tierras, daños medioambientales y la desculturización de las comunidades cimarronas surinamesas. Después de que éstas se rebelaran contra el Estado, Alcoa abandonó el país, dejando tras de sí un "paisaje del aluminio" en el que ya no se produce aluminio, pero en el que la población original, en la medida en que sus miembros no se han trasladado a las ciudades, sigue muy afectada por los cambios provocados por el boom del aluminio surinamés.

The Earth is warming due to the burning of fossil fuels, leading to a growing interest in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower. Hydropower plays a vital role in meeting global carbon mitigation targets, especially in the Mid-Columbia (Mid-C) energy market in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), where it currently comprises 50-65% of generation. However, with other renewable energy sources expanding, such as solar power in California (CA), hydropower operations at plants within the connected Mid-C market need to be modified to balance the more intermittent supply from renewables in CA. Our technical project aims to redesign hydropower operations in the Columbia River Basin (CRB) of the PNW to achieve a 95% renewable energy power grid in CA and the PNW by 2035, balancing objectives such as minimizing environmental spill violations, maximizing hydropower production, maximizing flood protection, and maximizing economic benefits through multi-objective optimization. The Columbia River Basin, which spans over an area of 260,000 square miles, is a significant watershed in the United States that is solely dedicated to the Columbia River. It serves as the drainage system for numerous rivers, creeks, and streams. In the 1930s, the federal government began constructing dams along this river for various purposes such as preventing floods, generating hydroelectric power, supplying water for irrigation, creating locks for navigation of boats and barges, and developing recreational areas. However, the hydropower operations and the construction of dams in the Columbia River Basin have resulted in significant environmental and social impacts, including the reduction of accessibility to salmon populations and disruption to the way of life of Indigenous populations who have relied on these lands, the Columbia River, and the salmon for centuries. The government has implicitly relied on technological determinism, sacrificing the humanitarian rights of Native Americans for the sake of hydropower advancement, while simultaneously achieving progress on their economic and environmental objectives for the larger American population who rely on the dams and the power grid. My STS research seeks to draw upon hydropower legislation and policy analyses in a global context to argue for successful approaches and frameworks for hydropower policy going forward in the California River Basin that ensure the rights and survival of Native American tribes in the region. A multi-stakeholder process in the context of hydropower in California could provide a valuable precedent for addressing the needs of multiple social groups and constituents in the future. Both projects enable me to explore how the United States can make systemic changes, motivated by the current state of the hydropower and energy sector, to balance multiple competing interests and stakeholders in the Columbia River Basin. For our technical project, we focused on adapting hydropower operations to support renewable energy transitions and freshwater sustainability in the Columbia River Basin. Achieving net-zero energy sector emissions requires rapid adoption of renewable alternatives to existing high-emissions infrastructure. The on-demand energy from hydropower uniquely facilitates the transition to renewable energy by meeting demands not met by weather-dependent energy sources like wind and solar. Because there are conflicting tradeoffs in hydropower operating policies, it was necessary for us to perform a multi-objective optimization after we had simulated the operations of reservoirs in the Columbia River Basin which serve as the supply of water for hydropower in the region. Our case study focused on designing operations at four reservoirs in the Columbia River Basin to balance environmental and economic objectives under potential future energy and climate conditions. These reservoirs included Hungry Horse, Libby, Dworshak, and Grand Coulee. Our objectives were to minimize environmental spill violations, minimize peak flood height, minimize flood frequency, maximize hydropower production, and maximize Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) revenue. We performed multi-objective optimization to design alternative reservoir operating rules that balance these conflicting objectives. We made use of two computational models – a power systems model for generating electricity prices from synthetic weather data to represent regional wind, solar, and hydropower capacities and a reservoir optimization model for generating optimal policies that balance the objectives. These models are coupled through the objective of maximizing the BPA revenue in our reservoir optimization, since calculating that revenue requires the electricity prices in the region. Our optimization model yielded nineteen non-dominated reservoir operating policies that dictate when to release water using parameters such as the previous day’s inflow and the storage of the reservoir. To evaluate the robustness of these policies and account for uncertainty, we simulated the outputted policies over four climate change scenarios and an energy scenario inspired by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Mid-Case with 95% Renewables by 2035. The climate change scenarios we used were futures that are dry with high warming, dry with low warming, wet with high warming, and wet with low warming. Furthermore, the energy scenario we selected describes the projected distribution of energy across renewable sources for the years 2025, 2030, and 2035. In the end, we selected one optimal policy out of the nineteen which had the least significant tradeoff between the objectives. It effectively maximized hydropower output and BPA revenue, while minimizing spills, flood height, and flood risk. In this policy, the Dworshak reservoir is used for flood protection and all policies chose to keep Grand Coulee reservoir full to maximize hydropower production. Thus, through multi-objective optimization and scenario analysis, we were able to find alternative reservoir operations for the Columbia River Basin that balance all the system objectives and are robust to uncertainty. Future work should explore how uncertainties in energy and climate interact rather than their independent influences and optimize policies across these possible futures to improve performance. For my STS project, I focused on developing potential public policy to uplift Native American tribes affected by hydropower in the Columbia River Basin. The ongoing operations of dams in the Columbia River Basin have negatively impacted salmon populations, disrupting the traditional way of life and culture of Indigenous populations who rely on salmon as a staple food and cultural symbol. The construction of these dams between the 1930s and 1980s also resulted in the displacement and loss of Native American territory, leaving tribes living in federally assigned settlements with unsafe living conditions. The heavy use of the Columbia River has caused significant declines in water quality and threatens the survival of species like salmon. The negative impacts have disproportionately affected Indigenous tribes in the region, including the Nez Perce, Warm Springs, Yakama, and Umatilla tribes who settled with the federal government for their lost sites. Notable legislation that has been enacted thus far to address the environmental disruptions to salmon populations and displacement of Native Americans include the Northwest Power Act of 1980, the Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program of 2002, the Army Corps of Engineers’ development of more permanent housing for Native Americans under the Obama Administration in 2016, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016, and the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing litigation with Indigenous tribes in the Columbia River Basin regarding salmon populations. Members of Congress and the US Department of Energy admit that inefficiencies in hydropower licensing processes are causing higher development costs and longer timelines which reduce the flexibility of the government to perform stakeholder analyses. Thus, the effects of hydropower operations on fisheries, recreation, and tribal and public lands are not being considered by the federal government. A framework I discovered in the academic literature on hydropower policy both domestically and internationally that can be applied to the case of Native Americans in the Columbia River Basin is the political ecology framework. In the paper—"Discussing Large Dams in Asia After the World Commission on Dams: Is a Political Ecology Approach the Way Forward?"—the authors present this framework which is characterized by the following: the framework examines the effects of large dams as well as the causes (economic and political motivations), it requires that ecological structures and functions be coupled with social, political, cultural, and economic influences, and it incorporates an actor-oriented model to look at environmental change and land-use conflicts that are occurring within politicized environments. In their paper, they analyze the case of the Bhakra Dam in India using this framework and comment on the social, political, and economic motivations behind the dam that are not immediately evident. An important similarity between the Bhakra Dam case and the Columbia River Basin case is the issue of arbitrary demarcations of land. The Bhakra Dam was built by India in a disputed territory with Pakistan called Punjab. Furthermore, India hindered Pakistan’s use of the Sutlej river which ran through both countries to construct the dam. In the Columbia River Basin case, Native Americans do not own the land they reside on—rather it is held ‘in trust’ by the federal government making it an arbitrary demarcation. Therefore, I pose two potential solutions using the framework of political ecology in the Columbia River Basin case—award property rights to Native Americans and design new licensing processes for hydropower. By giving Native Americans property rights, they have equity in the land and can therefore reap monetary benefits and power by selling it or cultivating the natural resources on it. With their own source of money, they can take charge over environmental restoration and uplifting the Native American community alongside the federal government instead of being dependent on the government for change to occur. By designing new licensing processes for hydropower, this enables the federal government to place reasonable conditions on hydropower licenses and protect tribal and public lands, safeguard water quality, and fishery resources.

This article argues for conceptualising the land-water nexus not primarily in spatial terms, but above all as a set of spatiotemporal rhythms of increasing and decreasing wetness and fluidity. By investigating human engagement with water and land as rhythms, the corresponding and conflicting dynamics of particular places becoming – for longer or shorter periods – land, water or a mixture of both can be traced as an evolving web of relationships between human imaginations and practices, and the materialities of water, mud, sediment, dams, floodgates, etc. The article illustrates this approach with two brief ethnographic examples from northern Europe: In the depopulated Estonian Soomaa wetlands, some of the few remaining inhabitants are in the process of redefining unruly fluctuating water as a tourism destination. In doing so, however, these tourism operators are finding themselves and their “products” caught up in volatile and complicated spatiotemporal dynamics, including the difficulty to predict flooding and to coordinate high water with their potential customers’ spare time, which is bound to working/school weeks and public holidays. On the Kemi River in Finnish Lapland, water flows are not only conditioned by precipitation and seasons, but also – through an intricate hydropower infrastructure – by the electricity market, triggering continued disputes about appropriate spatiotemporal rhythms in the land-water nexus. Seasonality and hydroelectricity generation point to the inherent rhythmicity of the land-water nexus, which is significant not only because it reflects the experience of people inhabiting and engaging with their in-between environments. A rhythms approach can also de-centre the (often illusive) quest for what the water-land nexus is, and instead focus on how this nexus continually comes into being and is negotiated by both its inhabitants and other people. This argument builds on anthropological thinking about temporality and materiality, and indicates how the two must be combined for better understanding how human life relates to the land-water nexus.

With a growing demand for hydroelectric energy, the number of reservoirs is dramatically increasing worldwide. These new water bodies also present an opportunity for the development of fishing activities. However, these reservoirs are commonly impounded on uncut forests, resulting in many immersed trees. These trees hinder fish assessments by disrupting both gill-netting and acoustic sampling. Immersed trees can easily be confused with fish schools on echograms. To overcome this issue, we developed a method to discriminate fish schools from immersed trees. A random forest algorithm was used to classify echo-traces at 120 and 200 kHz, recorded by an EK80 (SIMRAD) in narrowband (continuous wave) and in broadband mode (frequency modulated). We obtained a good discrimination rate between trees and schools, especially in broadband (90% ratio of good classification). We demonstrate that it is possible to discriminate fish schools from immersed trees and thus facilitate the use of fisheries acoustics in reservoirs.

Medium-term forecasting of water inflow is of great importance for small hydroelectric power plants operating in remote power supply areas and having a small reservoir. Improving the forecasting accuracy is aimed at solving the problem of determining the water reserve for the future generation of electricity at hydroelectric power plants, taking into account the regulation in the medium term. Medium-term regulation is necessary to amplify the load in the peak and semi-peak portions of the load curve. The solution to such problems is aggravated by the lack of sufficiently reliable information on water inflow and prospective power consumption, which is of a stochastic nature. In addition, the mid-term planning of electricity generation should consider the seasonality of changes in water inflow, which directly affects the reserves and the possibility of regulation. The paper considers the problem of constructing a model for medium-term forecasting of water inflow for planning electricity generation, taking into account climatic changes in isolated power systems. Taking into account the regularly increasing effect of climate change, the current study proposes using an approach based on machine learning methods, which are distinguished by a high degree of autonomy and automation of learning, that is, the ability to self-adapt. The results showed that the error (RMSE) of the model based on the ensemble of regression decision trees due to constant self-adaptation decreased from 4.5 m3/s to 4.0 m3/s and turned out to be lower than the error of a more complex multilayer recurrent neural network (4.9 m3/s). The research results are intended to improve forecasting reliability in the planning, management, and operation of isolated operating power systems. © 2021 The Author(s). The reported study was funded by RFBR, Sirius University of Science and Technology, JSC Russian Railways and Educational Fund “Talent and success”, project number 20-38-51007.

Nowadays, an increase in energy demand, environmental concerns, and the shortage of fossil fuel resources have made energy management researchers explore alternative resources for clean and renewable energy resources. The simultaneous incorporation of a comprehensive set of technical, economic, environmental, and social attributes in decision-making processes is recommended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of sustainable decisions on energy resource planning. To tackle this challenge, an efficient method is proposed based on the Simultaneous Evaluation of Criteria and Alternatives (SECA) for the optimal selection of renewable energy resources. In the SECA technique, criteria and alternative evaluations are performed simultaneously. The proposed assessment framework is applied in Iran's electricity industry as a real case study, and a two-round fuzzy-based Delphi technique is also adopted to extract the assessment criteria from the experts' opinions. Moreover, the management insights are inferred from sensitivity analysis. According to the study results, solar, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, hydrogen, geothermal, and marine energy resources are sorted in descending order of priority. Finally, the best composite option of sustainable energies encompassing a combination of solar, wind, and biomass energy resources concludes the study.

Selecting the best renewable energy (RE) sources are often considered as a critical task in the field of decision-making. Renewable energy depends on certain conflicting factors that might divert the proper selection of the best one. Hence, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) would be the appropriate choice to treat this kind of confusing situations. In this article, a real-time decision-making problem is considered regarding the proper selection of a RE power plant in India. The main objective is to propose the suitable RE power plant that should be established in India based on six most important factors with the help of integrated MEREC-PIV MCDM tool. Here, five alternatives RE sources are considered and the best one is chosen based on the suitability of the Indian climatic conditions with the help of PIV, and MEREC is utilized to determine the objective weights of the six criterions. The final results show that, hydroelectric power plant would be the appropriate choice, whereas, biomass energy is the worst among the five alternatives. A ranking order of the alternatives is also proposed showing from highest to lowest rating. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to validate the outcome results and ranking.

This study analyzes the impact of renewable energy on energy security risk for 23 OECD countries over the 1985-2016 period using second generation panel data techniques. To our knowledge, this study is the first to empirically analyze the impact of renewable energy sources on energy security risk for OECD countries. According to the findings obtained from the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimates for OECD countries, we have concluded that wind, hydroelectric, and total renewable energy reduce energy security risk, whereas biomass and solar sources do not have a significant effect on energy security. According to the Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test results, we found unidirectional causality running from biomass and hydroelectricity to energy security risk and bidirectional causality between industrial production, total energy, economic integration, urbanization, and wind and energy security risk. The study also made country-specific estimates which show significant differences in terms of the direction of the relationship, significance, and coefficient size by country. The findings demonstrate that wind, hydroelectricity, and total renewable energy reduce energy security risk for OECD countries. However, these positive effects are not valid for all OECD countries. According to these results, OECD countries should implement policies aiming to reduce their energy security risk specific to countries' unique characteristics. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Strain measurements by gauges can play an important role in analyzing the fatigue damage of the hydroelectric turbine runner. However, these measurements cannot cover every steady-state operating condition due to the experimental limitations. Thus, the aim of this research is to predict the strain signal on runner over every possible steady operating condition using available experimental measurements. The strain signal measured during steady state involves several components (such as periodicity, vortex rope component and stochastic components) which can generate difficulties during the prediction. This paper proposes a solution to predict the runner strain signals by independently interpolating each physical phenomenon over different turbine operating conditions. These components are extracted using cyclostationary decomposition operators. A case study is performed on a Francis hydroelectric turbine to verify the interpolation performance. The proposed methodology can contribute to the fatigue assessment and help to reduce the requirements of infield measurements.

The share of world energy consumption for electricity generation by source is primarily based on coal and natural gas. Within the last years, governments have implemented policies to promote investment in renewable energy. In Ecuador, the share of hydroelectricity has rapidly increased without regarding long-term environmental impacts. This paper aims to develop a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of two representative plants of Ecuador (Agoyán and Paute, with 156 MW and 1075 MW of installed capacity, respectively). The life cycle inventory contains the primary flows of energy and matter during the construction, operation, and final disposal stages, with 1 kWh as a functional unit. The life cycle impact assessment uses the CML 2000 midpoint potential categories, including Abiotic Depletion, Acidification, Eutrophication, and Global Warming. The construction stage is the leading contributor to the global impacts, and the dam the environmental hot spot of both plants, and the reservoir flooding represents the major contributor to the impact during the operation stage. Furthermore, electricity generation in plants with a larger scale can lead to fewer impacts, suggesting that constructing large-scale plants can reduce the global impacts in countries with similar hydropower potential. This methodological framework serves as a decision-making criterion for evaluating the environmental performance of other renewable energy systems.

This study employs the econometrics test of endogenous structural breaks to separately investigate the changes in trends of the share of hydropower and non-hydro renewable power in electricity production for China using two separate sub-panels of data spanning from 1971 to 2015 and 1990–2015. To identify structural changes in each renewable power generation series, we apply the Bai and Perron procedure for determining structural breaks to estimate shifting-mean autoregressions and use the low frequency Fourier-type Lagrange Multiplier test to approximate the time series in a non-linear form. Through these tests, our empirical results reveal that the series under investigation are characteristic of segmented trend stationary processes around four or one structural breaks, among which, there are two upward shifts in the 45-year series of hydroelectricity generation occurring in 1978 and 2008, respectively. Meanwhile, one upward shift is identified in the 26-years series of non-hydro renewable generation occurring in 2005. The patterns in the timing of structural changes are suggestive of the causal effects from the recent regulatory shocks and policy change. In the present study, we conduct an innovative attempt to reveal the relevance of renewable energy and policy changes, which may also provide some empirical value in investigating the effect of policy series on renewable energy in other countries.

Résumé La contribution des énergies renouvelables (EnR) dans l’offre énergétique de la société d'Electricité de Guinée (EDG) se résume à nos jours à l'apport de l'hydroélectricité qui a contribué à 72% de la production totale en 2020. Le but de cette étude est d'analyser l'apport des EnR dans l’offre énergétique de l'EDG. A travers cette analyse, nous montrons en nous appuyant sur l’inventaire du potentiel hydroélectrique de la Guinée, estimé à 6000 MW, l’impérieuse nécessité de choisir l’option de la mise en valeur des énergies renouvelables et la réduction du mode de production thermique. Cette option a retenu notre attention au regard des multiples inconvénients de la production thermique en comparaison aux avantages des EnR. Les résultats de notre étude ont permis de comprendre les impacts positifs, dans le processus de la fourniture d’électricité au réseau interconnecté de Conakry, de la centrale de Kaléta depuis sa mise en service en mai 2015. La centrale hydroélectrique de Kaléta a contribué à une baisse des charges de fonctionnement (achat du carburant et autres consommables) de 31% soit 122 milliards de franc guinéens équivalent à 13.224.931,76 USD. La production de Kaléta représente environ 43% du parc de la production nationale. La situation d'exploitation a connu une grande amélioration avec une augmentation de 44% d'électricité produite et distribuée entre 2015 et 2018 et une baisse substantielle des temps de coupures de 40%. L'apport de Kaléta et l’existence d’un potentiel considérable pour l’hydroélectricité et le solaire; la préservation de l’environnement pour les générations présentes et futures par l’utilisation d’énergies non polluantes, la volonté de l’Etat de tendre vers l’indépendance énergétique sont autant de raisons qui nous amènent à plaider pour un mix énergétique à travers une combinaison rationnelle de la source hydroélectrique, solaire et de la thermique. Mots Clés : Analyse ;Hydroélectricité ;Energies Renouvelables (EnR) ;Impacts ;Mix énergétique Abstract The contribution of renewable energies (RE) in the energy supply of the company Electricity of Guinea (EDG) is summarized today to the contribution of hydroelectricity which contributed to 72% of the total production in 2018. The purpose of this study is to analyze the contribution of renewable energy in the energy supply of EDG. Through this analysis, we show, based on the inventory of Guinea's hydropower potential, estimated at 6000 MW, the imperative need to choose the option of the development of renewable energies and the reduction of thermal production mode. This option caught our attention with regard to the multiple disadvantages of thermal generation compared to the advantages of renewable energy. The results of our study have made it possible to understand the positive impacts, in the process of the supply of electricity to the interconnected network of Conakry, of the Kaleta power station since it was commissioned in May 2015. Kaleta hydroelectric plant has contributed to a reduction of the charges. operating cost (purchase of fuel and other consumables) of 31% or 122 billion Guinean francs equivalent to 13.224.931,76 USD. Kaleta production represents about 43% of the national production fleet. The operating situation has improved significantly with a 44% increase in electricity produced and distributed between 2015 and 2018 and a substantial reduction in cut-off times of 40%. The contribution of Kaléta, the existence of considerable potential for hydroelectricity and solar; the preservation of the environment for present and future generations through the use of non-polluting energies, the will of the State to strive towards energy independence are all reasons which lead us to plead for an energy mix through a rational combination of hydroelectric, solar and thermal sources. Keywords : Analysis ;Hydroelectricity ;Renewable Energy ;Impacts ;Energy mix

Cet article analyse le rôle croissant de l’État brésilien dans le secteur électrique entre 1930 et la fin des années 1980, et, plus particulièrement, les controverses autour de la construction des barrages hydroélectriques de Tucuruí et Sobradinho. En adoptant une approche d’histoire environnementale, il interroge la logique et les ressorts politiques de cette participation croissante de l’État, pour montrer les liens entre les projets de développement, la gestion de l’eau et la modification de la nature du pays. Este artigo trata da expansão do papel do Estado brasileiro no setor elétrico entre 1930 e o final dos anos 80, e analisa as controvérsias ligadas à construção das hidrelétricas de Tucuruí e Sobradinho. Adotando a abordagem da história ambiental, ele questiona a lógica e os motivos políticos deste crescente envolvimento estatal, revelando as relações entre projetos de desenvolvimento, gestão da água e a modificação da natureza no país. This article deals with the expansion of the Brazilian State's role in the electricity sector between 1930 and the late 1980s. Furthermore, it analyzes the controversies linked to the construction of the Tucuruí and Sobradinho hydroelectric dams. Adopting an environmental history approach, it questions the logics and political motives of this growing State involvement, revealing the links between development projects, water management and the modification of nature in the country.

The experience of operation of surface emergency gates in ice-breaking conditions at a number of hydroelectric power plants has shown the insuffi cient eff ectiveness of the methods used to combat freezing of structures. The rules for technical operation of spillway dam gates in winter provide for heating of structures by slots, threshold and skin in conjunction with measures to maintain mines before construction. However, measures to heat gates and build mines are not always suffi ciently justifi ed and justifi ed. In order to obtain full-scale data and scientifi c information for the development of recommendations on operating and accounting modes during design, full-scale studies of stresses and defl ections in the load-bearing elements of the watershed gate of the hydroelectric power station were carried out. This article presents the results of fi eld studies in comparison with calculated values. As a result of the studies, information on the static operation of fl at gates in winter conditions is obtained, which is of theoretical and practical interest. The materials can be used to clarify technical operation rules and to clarify regulatory documents for the design of hydromechanical equipment at hydroelectric power stations.

Current bid formats in pool-based electricity markets are ill-equipped to accommodate the broad range of non-conventional sources of flexibility, such as demand response and interconnected heating, natural gas and water infrastructure networks. To address this issue, this paper introduces the novel price-region bid format to be used in both forward electricity markets and financial right auctions. We show that price-region bids are able to accommodate a broad range of techno-economic characteristics, including complex spatial and temporal couplings, and facilitate market access to non-conventional flexibility providers. We then show that this new bid format is compatible with existing market structures, and satisfies desirable market properties under common assumptions. Three numerical studies are provided: two motivating examples based on a district heating utility and a cascaded hydro power plant, and a case study based on an integrated power and heat system. These studies illustrate the inability of existing bid formats to accommodate flexible resources, and show how price-region bids overcome this shortcoming.

In todays world, small and economically weak States find it difficult to develop without the assistance of international partners. Analysis shows that trade relations between Russia and Tajikistan are developing in a mixed manner. Their structure is characterized by some one-sidedness and raw material orientation. Exports from Russia predominate, and Russian products occupy a stable first place in the overall trade turnover of Tajikistan. While Tajik export goods are not so much in demand in Russia, their share in the total Russian trade turnover is insignificant. Russian investment activity, which was active in the zero years of the 21st century, is gradually losing its position. The study shows that this has been facilitated more by the internal-Tajik factor, in particular the sharp deterioration of the investment climate for Russian investors. But, in the authors opinion, the potential for successful trade and investment cooperation between Russia and Tajikistan is quite wide. Ecologically clean and of good quality fresh fruit and vegetables and dried fruit from Tajikistan could, under certain conditions, diversify the Russian market for agricultural products. In turn, the Tajik economy needs new technologies in telecommunications, the agricultural sector, the digitization of all sectors of the economy, and assistance in the construction of hydroelectric power stations, new power lines, roads and railways.

This paper proposes a High Performance Cuckoo Search Algorithm (HPCSA) for determining suitable operation parameters of the optimal wind-hydro-thermal system scheduling (OWHTSS) problem. The objective of the problem is to reach the lowest electricity generation cost of thermal power plants (TPPs) and wind power plants (WPPs) while exactly meeting all constraints of TPPs, WPPs and hydroelectric plants (HEPs). HPCSA is formed by applying improvements on the two main techniques of original Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CSA) to cover CSA’ drawbacks such as searching random solution spaces, always using two random solutions for getting a jumping step and suffering from slow convergence. HPCSA accompany with CSA, Adaptive CSA (ACSA), Snap-Drift CSA (SDCSA) and Water Cycle Algorithm (WCA) are run for solving four test systems in which the largest and complicated system is comprised of four TPPs, four HEPs and two WPPs with the uncertain wind feature. The result comparisons indicate that HPCSA is superior to applied and previous methods, and other modified versions of CSA in the literature in terms of better cost, higher stability, faster search ability and higher success rate. As a result, it leads to a conclusion that HPCSA is a strong metaheuristic algorithm for solving OWHTSS problem.

In recent decades, the energy sector in Egypt faces various challenges due to the continuous increase in energy demand. Fossil fuels may be running out, so there is an urgent need to find a sustainable energy source. Renewable energy is one of pure energy, but it needs to be stored using economical and environment-friendly means. Pumping hydroelectric storage (PHES) plants are currently one of the most economical and unique storage technologies available. In addition, PHES plants are working on creating a balance between the supply and demand of energy during the day. A GIS model based on remote sensing data was used to discover suitable sites for PHES plants and establish a (PHES) map for Egypt. The new PHES locations were filtered using a model based on GIS multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). The GIS model criteria were developed by using the weighted linear combination (WLC) technique. The global digital elevation model SRTM 1 arcsec was used for depicting elevation head, head ratio, and terrain slope criteria. The National Grid, road networks, land use, and airport-restricted areas as constraints data sets were analysed using Arc GIS spatial analysis math algebra tool. The results discovered many suitable PHES sites covering a total area of 10428 km2 and, maps of PHES have become available for Egypt.

Generating more Power are complex at cheaper cost, also continuous energy supplied are important Hydro power generation is one of the most successful renewable energy resources for the production electrical energy without any environmental hazard and presently it providing more than 86% of all electricity generated by renewable sources worldwide and accounts for about 20% of world electricity. To increase the percentage of green energy in account of world electricity generation the analysis must be performed to get the information about the working conditions of each component in plants so that the required maintenance action should be taken. Maintenance and operation of a hydro power plant is very complicated and the process to calculate and analyzing its compatibility and reliability is very important. In this work introducing a Markov model to evaluate the reliability parameter of THPS-I Sirmour, Rewa. For this work the operational data regarding failure and maintenance time taken to repaired and analysis of all parts of generating unit of the power plant for period of 2010-2015 is considered. The availability and reliability of individual unit of power plant is evaluated by taking into account different reliability Parameters, namely failure rate (λ), repair rate (µ), MTTR, MTTF, MTBF through the collected data and tabulating the required information for the analysis. By this analysis work we can improve reliability of all the components of each unit of power plant. The sub-unit that is commonly failed during operation is like- penstock, butter fly valve, spiral case, turbine, generator, excitation system, speed governor etc. Reliability plays a key role in the cost-effectiveness of systems Keywords: Hydro power plant, Reliability evaluation, Reliability parameters, Markov analysis, Total schedule outage hrs and Total forced outage hrs.

In this study, the vortex formed on the upstream of the frontal water intake structure in a dam lake was investigated by numerical modeling. Using the computational fluid dynamics method, vortex formation for different water levels was examined numerically. The purpose of this study is to prevent the formation of vortex, which can cause serious damage to the hydraulic structure. The water intake structure examined in the study has three units and rectangular shapes. The geometrical areas of each unit in the water intake structure are equal. The discharge and the distance between the side curtain walls were kept constant. The pressure at the inlet of the water intake structure has been changed depending on the height of the water level. The model scale of the water intake is 1/40. Froude model affinity was used as the model scale. In the numerical study, air intakes to the extent of serious damage to the structure and vortex formations have been observed. Visual simulations and analysis results of numerical models prepared and analyzed in FLOW-3D were examined in FlowSight. The first numerical models are based on examining the vortexes in the water intake structure, and the later numerical models are on the structures that prevent the vortexes in the water intake structure. Vortex formation in hydraulic structures is an undesirable physical phenomenon. Especially in dams with hydroelectric power plants, it causes serious damage to energy efficiency loss, water intake structure, shortening the service life of turbines and energy tunnels. Due to these problems, different anti-vortex structures were tested on the numerical model by CFD method in order to eliminate or reduce the negative forces from vortexes. Structures that block the tested vortex may allow to increase the operating water level in the dam reservoir. A new water intake structure model has been created for the solution of this hydraulic problem, which may cause great danger. Thanks to the new models created, it has been observed that air intake and vortex formations occur in a way that will cause less damage to the hydraulic structure in question.

This study evaluates the impact of future climate change (CC) on the hydropower generation potential of the Bamboi catchment (Black Volta) in West Africa using a conceptual rainfall-runoff model (HBV light) and regional climate models (RCMs)–global climate models (GCMs). Two climate simulation datasets MPI-ESM-REMO (CORDEX) and GFDL-ESM2M-WRF (WASCAL) under RCP4.5 were applied to the validated hydrological model to simulate the catchment runoff. Based on reference and future simulated discharges, a theoretical 1.3 MW run of river hydro power plant was designed to evaluate the hydropower generation. Hydrological and hydropower generation changes were expressed as the relative difference between two future periods (2020–2049 and 2070–2099) and a reference period (1983–2005). The climate models' ensemble projected a mean annual precipitation increase by 8.8 % and 7.3 % and discharge increase by 11.4 % and 9.735 % for the 2020–2049 and 2070–2099 periods respectively (for bias corrected data). On the contrary an overall decrease of hydropower generation by −9.1 % and −8.4% for the 2020–2049 and 2070–2099 periods was projected respectively. The results indicate that projected increases in discharge should not solely be considered as leading to an increase in hydropower potential when prospecting climate change impact on hydropower.

The present work aims to obtain a ranking of hydro generating units using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, based on the maintenance indicators of the Santo Antonio Hydroelectric Plant (SAHP). The purpose of the generated classification is to provide subsidies to assist maintenance planning, determining the most critical turbines for performing preventive maintenance, in order to increase the availability of equipment, in addition to reducing the probabilities of forced shutdowns for corrective maintenance, impacting factors the plant’s availability factor. Thus, the main contribution of this work is the application of AHP to classify the SAHP generating units, using parameters and actual historical data from the plant and hydraulic turbines.

This article deals with a diagnostic approach based on a predictive / conditional maintenance approach of a hydroelectric group. The technique used is based on the spectral analysis of the vibration signals, as well as on the orbital analysis of the bearings displacements. To do this, test protocols in different operating regimes are carried out, based on the collection of data measured according to the multisensor approach, the aim of which is to identify the predominant faults. The positions of the sensors are placed as close as possible to the bearings on the rigid structure of the hydroelectric group in accordance with the recommendations of standard ISO 10816-5. The evaluation approach is based on the analysis of the amplitudes of the vibration speeds, the aim of which is to identify the type of faults, as well as on the bearing displacement indicators in order to classify them in the pre-established zones according to thresholds recommended by the Standard. Therefore, a recommended tuning intervention can be planned in order to restore the unit to its proper operating condition, the aim of which is to increase its service life and improve fuel efficiency. Keywords—Diagnostic, Vibration analysis, Hydroelectric group, Multi-sensor approach, Standard

The paper presents a laboratory micro hydroelectric power plant destined to applicative activities. The hydraulic turbine is a Pelton turbine, rebuilt by fast prototyping in Geomagic Design X and printed on a 3 D printer. The turbine casing and the afferent elements are made in-house. The hydrogenator is synchronous being an alternator from a Dacia vehicle. The hydrogenerator load is constituted by 3 groups of light bulbs. We analysed the working of the micro-hydroelectric power plant in idle run and for different loads. As a result of the analysis we found out that it stably works for different loads and by its open construction it is useful for developing students’ ability to understand the phenomena. The installation designed and executed is useful for the engineering students as the pandemic forbids the thematical visits in hydro-energetic facilities.

Power generation from renewable energy resources has increased substantially in recent years. Wind and hydroelectric renewable sources are being widely used for power generation. Self-excited induction generators (SEIG) are used for the electricity generation from wind resources, for their robust nature. Performance of SEIG in an islanded micro-grid has been analyzed in this paper. A method is developed to identify the conditions of both SEIG and load of the micro-grid for stable operation of the network. Critical speed, critical fault clearance time and maximum loadability of the islanded micro-grid having SEIG sources, have been determined. Critical fault clearance time and critical speed 500 ms and 1.2 p.u. are found, respectively. To develop the mathematical model for the performance analysis of SEIG, a d-q frame model and thevenin equivalent circuit has been considered in this work.

Focusing on the planning and construction of the Sanmenxia hydropower project, this article analyses the dynamics and tensions between energy demand and the nature of the Yellow River in the twentieth century. From the late 1920s, Japanese engineers aimed to develop hydroelectric power by building dams on the Yellow River. They viewed the Yellow River as an important source of hydroelectric power for building the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. When Chinese Communists took control, they claimed that the primary function of the Sanmenxia project was flood control. Yet, influenced by the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist state's industrialisation efforts, the engineers also emphasised the generation of electrical power, which resulted in a high dam design. The silting of the reservoir, however, frustrated the ambition of the Chinese leaders and engineers and resulted in the production of much lower and unstable power output upon the dam's completion.

Energy economics and environment protection are important issues in a modern society that aspires to aim at sustainable development. The evaluation of environmental and operational efficiency would be an important first step towards sustainable development. Renewable energies, especially hydroelectricity, geothermal, solar and wind, are playing an increasingly important role in the energy sector. Therefore, oil & gas companies are progressively transforming into energy companies following an energy transition policy. This raises the question whether the renewable energies promote the environmental and operational efficiency of petroleum companies. First, this paper examines two types of efficiency measures – operational and environmental – for 45 US oil & gas companies during the period 2000–2018 using on the true fixed effect (TFE) model. Second, this research aims to study the effect of renewable energies on both types of efficiency. The results reveal that the overall average operational efficiency (desirable output) of the US oil & gas companies is 76% for a period of 19 years, while the overall average level of CO2 emissions efficiency (undesirable output) of the oil & gas companies is 79%. The results highlight that US oil & gas companies have begun to transition to low CO2 emission in recent years. Furthermore, the renewable energies and biomass energies contribute to destroying the operational efficiency and to promote the environmental efficiency of oil & gas companies.

Nowadays, special attention is paid to hydroelectric production because it is an efficient, reliable, and renewable source of energy, especially in developing countries like Cameroon, where hydropower potential is the main source of electricity production. It also represents a useful tool to reduce the atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations caused by human activities. However, it is the most sensitive industry to global warming, mainly because climate change will directly affect the quality, quantity of water resources (streamflow and runoff), which are the important drivers of hydropower potential. This study examined the response of hydropower potential to climate change on the Lagdo dam located in the Benue River Basin, Northern Cameroon. Hydropower potential was computed based on streamflow simulated using HBV-Light hydrological model with dynamically downscaled temperature and precipitation from the regional climate model REMO. These data were obtained using the boundary conditions of two general circulation models (GCMs): the Europe-wide Consortium Earth System Model (EC-Earth) and the Max Planck Institute-Earth System Model (MPI-ESM) under three Representative Concentrations Pathways (RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The results suggest that, the combination of decreased precipitation and streamflow, increased PET will negatively impact the hydropower potential in the Lagdo dam under climate change scenarios, models and future periods.

Energy coming from large hydroelectric plants is recognized worldwide due to the great environmental impact caused by the deviation of the rivers during the construction period and the dams while they are operating. This paper shows the design and construction of a micro hydroelectric power plant (MHPP) that was carried out in Cundinamarca Department, in Colombia, in order to analyze the feasibility of generating electric power with micro-power plant, which can be dispatched to the National Interconnected System, taking into account technical and economic aspects for the recovery of the investment. On the other hand, different scenarios are considered, such as self-consumption or the sale of energy to users of the rural sector that are close to the project, performing the financial analysis with economic indicators such as Internal Rate of Return, Uniform Annual Equivalent Cost and Net Present Value. These types of initiatives take special relevance in Colombia because the country issued Law 1715 of 2014, whose purpose is to improve energy reliability, it supports these kinds of projects with tax incentives such as: Discount of Value Added Tax (19%), 50% deduction of the income tax for up to five (5) years and elimination of the tariff levies for the equipment that make up the project. Based on the considerations above and because of the testing of the 24 kVA micro hydroelectric power plant, a paper that deals with the entire construction process of the micro-plant has been prepared, which includes: Flow capacity, turbine selection, selection of the generator, design of the electrical installations and commissioning to verify the effective value of the energy generated and the feasibility of being dispatched to the National Interconnected System.

Currently, households in the East Region of Cameroon (ERoC) depend solely on fossil-fueled plants to meet their energy needs. Fossil fuel-based sources are a major drain on public finance in addition to being a key contributor to the increase in carbon footprints. Alternatively, the ERoC is blessed with a hydropower potential estimated at around 620.37 MW, with a production potential of 5.36 TWh per year. However, despite its favorable candidates’ sites, hydropower resources are yet to be harnessed in the ERoC. Hence, the need for a thorough assessment of hydropower potential is necessary in order to increase stakeholders’ awareness and interest in attractive hydropower resources. This paper evaluates and highlights the hydropower potential of seven selected locations in the ERoC and contributes to constituting a database for the stakeholders of the hydropower resources for electricity generation. Specifically, hydrological data, mean flow rates and mean volume contributions on each site’s river basin are explored. Furthermore, the present work highlights optimal regulation ratios, nominal flow rates, producible energy, investment costs as well as other useful parameters for projected hydropower plants for the seven selected locations in the ERoC. The results display a cumulative projected capacity of 582 MW, of which 19 MW from Zoukoumanbale, 18 MW from Colomines, 53 MW from Zoulabot, 297 MW from Nki falls, 129 MW from Yenga, 35 MW from Bangue and 124 MW from Ngoila. Moreover, 3 929 GWh are projected cumulative producible energy for the selected locations. Investment costs estimates of hydroelectric plants range between 2 964 € per kW (for Colomines) and 3 002 € per kW (for Bangue).

The North Region of Cameroon is home to a 72 MW hydroelectric dam, which provides electricity beyond the region’s needs. However, aging dam and distribution network leading to frequent load shedding, are contributing factors to look for other environmentally friendly alternatives such as wind power to sustain the energy needs of the region. Wind energy can significantly contribute to the energy mix, mainly during the dry season (March, April and May) when energy demands highly rise and load shedding can last forever, mainly in rural or remotes locations. The main purpose this study to evaluate the wind energy production, using bihourly data collected at 10 m above ground level over a period of fifteen years from 2005 to 2019 for the localities, Garoua and Guider. The novelty of this study is 2D and 3D topographical maps of the wind resource of Garoua and Guider have been computed as well as the map of wind energy produced using the WAsP software, with an accurate determination of wind speed, wind power density and energy produced. Based on the results, wind power can be considered as a reliable alternative for renewable energy production, if optimal site selection is made.

This paper presents renewable energy systems based on micro-hydro and solar photovoltaic for rural areas, with a case study in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Special Region of Yogyakarta, located on the island of Java, Indonesia, has a high potential for the development of renewable energy resources, especially hydropower and solar power. Many rural areas in Yogyakarta lack a supply of electricity. In this study, data on the potential for hydropower and solar power in rural regions of Yogyakarta are processed to determine the best capacity of hydroelectric and solar power plants. The extended particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique has been used to ensure optimal capacity optimization of this hybrid systems. The final result of this study is the most optimal of hydropower and solar power generation capacity based on the calculation of cost of capital, grid sales, cost of energy, and net present value.

The good operating practices of hydroelectric plants with earth dams recommend that continuous monitoring of the construction elements should be carried out to ensure their stability and integrity. Engineers have frequently used FMEA to assess mechanisms that can cause damage or failure of such structures because it is a self-documented and straightforward method. We adopted fuzzy approximate reasoning to mitigate the rigidity of the FMEA rating scales and to address the bias and inaccuracy inherent in subjective estimates. This paper applies linguistic variables in a two-stage assessment. In the first stage, we computed the RCI through the combined effect of Occurrence and Severity. In the second stage, we combined the RCI with Detection to compute the FIS-RPN. The failure modes, causes and effects, the rule bases for the two stages and the membership functions were obtained through in-depth interviews with a focus group composed of staff members of the Corumba IV hydroelectric plant, located in Central Brazil. The fuzzification process assured more consistency to the RPN calculation, treated the imprecision and provided fair management value to prioritize actions and improve monitoring processes.

Energy consumption in Pakistan has increased considerably over the last two decades particularly due to industrialization, urbanization, and population growth. To keep pace with the economic growth, the growing energy demands have been fulfilled at the cost of switching from abundant, cheap, and environmentally friendly domestic hydropower to expensive, imported, and higher GHG emitting petroleum products, thus leaving Pakistan at the mercy of global oil crises and environmental degradations. While employing the trans-log production framework, this study has investigated the potential inter-fuel and inter-factor substitution among energy vs. non-energy factors in calculating substitution elasticities between pairs of labour, capital, petroleum, coal, natural gas, and hydroelectricity in order to design policy for Pakistan on how to ensure secure energy and environmental protection. Using the time-series data covering the period 1980–2017, the ridge regression technique was adopted to calculate parameter estimates. The findings show that labour-energy and capital-energy are substitutes, thus signifying the need for greater focus on technological progress and skilled employment creation to save energy and mitigate CO2 emissions. The gradual removal of energy subsidies is suggested to discourage inefficient energy use and stimulate capital-intensive production approaches. The findings also advocate the significance of a diversified energy-mix consisted of hydroelectricity and natural gas.

This article analyzes the losses, efficiency and fuel consumption of the generating units during the process of producing active and reactive energy. It presents a proposal for tests to determine the losses of the generating units already installed in the plants, proved by the actual application in a hydroelectric generating unit and in a thermoelectric generating unit. The result obtained in the study is a general equation of losses as a function of the simultaneous generation of active and reactive power that were determined through the variations of the armature and field currents and the terminal voltage of the generating unit, which can be represented by a three-dimensional graph showing total losses at all possible operating points. Losses have a direct influence on the efficiency of each component of the generating unit, directly influencing fuel consumption at the many allowable operating points. The study also showed the fuel consumption and loss curves in real hydroelectric and thermoelectric generating units installed in Brazil. With the determination of efficiency at each point of operation, it allows determining a weighting factor based on the value of the active and reactive energy generated, culminating in the proposition of an index that reflects the total production cost of each generator for an entire power plant. This makes it possible to divide the requested active and reactive energy in detail between less expensive generating units of the same hydro or thermal generating plant

The fulfilment of electricity needs in Aceh Province has not been evenly distributed so that the potential of available natural resources continues to be explored and destroyed to be utilized. One of the high available natural potentials in Aceh province is watershed and subwatershed. This study aims to study the potential use of Lawe-simpali subwatershed as a hydroelectric power plant to meet the electrical energy needs of remote communities around the Lawe-simpali Subwatershed, Aceh Province, Indonesia. The method used in this research is a literature study and field survey. Four types of methods for estimating rainfall frequency distribution were tested on climatological data obtained from around the Lawe-simpali subwatershed area. A Der Weduwen method is used to determine water discharge with a return period of up to 100 years. The results show that the Log Pearson Type III rainfall estimation method is more suitable for use in the Subwatershed Lawe-simpali area with a coefficient of inclination of 0.9. The estimated water discharge that can be generated from this Subwatershed for a biennial return period is 1571.85 m3/s. The discharge has the potential to be able to generate electricity by 26.2 kW for planning of 2 m head and 131.1 kW for planning head of 10 m. This shows that the Lawe-simpali subwatershed in Aceh Province has great potential to become micro and mini hydroelectric power so that it can meet the electrical energy needs of remote communities around it.

Dams must provide human development with economic viability, social equitability, and be environmentally sustainable However, environmental and social impacts are often negative and seldom considered in the design of these projects. We made a multitemporal analysis classifying 26 satellite images of several Mexican hydroelectric power stations between 1972 and 2016 to evaluate the effect of dams on the change in land use. Eleven socio-economic indicators were also compared before and after the construction of the dam to document effects on local communities. We use the Land Change Modeler to quantify the net changes in land use and land cover. We found a mean decrease in tropical forest (1,404.19 km2) and temperate forest (1,191.26 km2) and an increase in agriculture (2,241.26 km2) and urban use (92.9 km2). The results also show that although some indicators improved, the environmental deterioration around these projects shows that they are not sustainable.

The real-time optimal load dispatch (OLD) problem in a hydropower plant aims to determine the generation level of each generating unit (GU) in the most efficient way and a few seconds. Due to the hydro production function (HPF), it is a nonlinear programming (NLP) problem that can be efficiently handled via mixed-integer linear programming (MILP). However, solving the real-time OLD of the Santo Antonio Hydro Plant (SAHP) is particularly challenging, both in terms of modeling and execution time, due to the following issues: (1) there are 50 GUs with different hydraulic efficiency curves; (2) the gross head is dependent of the GU dam location; and (3) significant (and potentially dangerous) losses in the trash racks produced by the Madeira River debris. In this scenario, this paper presents a recommendation system for the real-time OLD of the SAHP based on MILP. In real-time, the system employs gross head and trash rack losses measures to model and solve a MILP problem that obtains the GUs power level to be used by the hydro plant operator. We compare the system solution with the strategy currently used by the plant operator and with the equal dispatch between the identical GUs. The results emphasize the improvement in plant productivity. In the 2019 year, for example, the OLD real-time recommendation system presents a 9852.63 MWh increasing in power energy generation.

Influenced by regional economic integration and politics, the transboundary common water resources in the lower Mekong River are being exploited by the riparian states for hydroelectric dam develop...

Hydroelectric generation is a potential flexible electricity source that can ease the transition to a decarbonized energy economy. As such, using scarce hydroelectric generating resources efficiently is important. We examine approaches to represent the operating characteristics of hydroelectric resources. Many hydroelectric-plant owners use water tables or generic unit characteristics for operational planning. Such practice may be inefficient, as it does not account for unit-specific operating-characteristic changes or time-related impacts, e.g., plant degradation. We demonstrate a data-driven approach to modeling plant operations that is unit-specific and depends solely on observable and controllable variables. Numerical results using historical data for four hydroelectric units illustrate the proposed methodology.

Floating photovoltaic system for reservoirs is a recent innovative technology that is highly advantageous in reducing evaporation while generating solar power. In addition, the integration of floating photovoltaic systems with the existing hydroelectric power plants will increase renewable power production. The present study aims to assess the electrical performance of floating photovoltaic systems in major reservoirs with existing hydroelectric power plants in India. The reservoirs with large water surface area were selected for the study, and a model floating photovoltaic system with a 5-MW capacity was designed for the selected reservoirs. The numerical analysis showed that installing floating photovoltaic systems will result in an annual energy yield of 160 GWh. Further, the systems also save 1.40 million cubic meters of water per day and also help in generating additional energy of 514.80 MWh/day from the saved water through its integration with hydroelectric power plants. A single-axis tracking mechanism to the floating photovoltaic systems will increase the annual energy generation by 11%. The detailed cost analysis and carbon emission analysis were also carried out. The results indicate that the tracking mechanisms increase the total installation cost of the systems. The annual carbon emission reduction from the floating photovoltaic systems accounts for about 3.30 million tons of CO2. The obtained results highlight the suitability of this innovative technology for installation in Indian reservoirs and its effectiveness in reducing evaporation and carbon emission. Graphic abstract