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The current theme is the impact that the awareness of the non-stationarity of hydrological phenomena, and of river hydrology in particular, has on hydraulic engineering and hydropower [...]

Water flow forecasts are an essential information for energy production, management and hydropower control. Advanced actions to optimize electricity production can be taken based on predicted information. This work proposes an ensemble strategy using recurrent neural networks to generate a forecast of water flow at Jirau Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), installed on the Madeira River in Brazil. The ensemble strategy consists of combining three long short-term memory (LSTM) networks that model the Madeira River and two of its tributaries: Mamoré and Abunã rivers. The historical data from streamflow of the Madeira river and its tributaries are used to validate the ensemble LSTM model, where each time series of river tributaries are modeled separated by LSTM models and the result used as input for another LSTM model in order to forecast the streamflow of the main river. The experimental results present low errors for training and test sets for individual LSTM networks and ensemble model. In addition, these results were compared with the operational forecasts performed by Jirau HPP. The proposed model showed better accuracy in four of the five scenarios tested, which indicates a promising approach to be explored in water flow forecasting based on river tributaries.

In the second half of the twentieth century, a cascade of reservoirs was constructed along the Angara: Irkutskoe, Bratskoe, Ust-Ilimskoe and Boguchanskoe, which were intended for producing renewable hydroelectric energy for providing transportation through the Angara and Yenisei Rivers, and for avoiding floods. The upper reservoir (Irkutsk Dam) is used to regulate the level of Baikal Lake. The cascade of Angarsk reservoirs is managed using the dispatch schedules developed in 1988. This article contains a multi-criteria analysis of the “Lake Baikal–Irkutsk Reservoir” operating modes in a changing climate, based on statistical summaries of performance criteria: reliability, resilience, vulnerability. Studies have shown that dispatch schedules need to be developed on the historical series of recent years, updated more often and optimization methods should be used for real-time management. This article discusses mathematical methods, algorithms and their implementations for the formation of reservoir operation modes based on dispatch schedules (DS) and optimization methods. Furthermore, mathematical methods, algorithms and programs have been developed for the formation of reservoir operation modes in real time, based on optimization approaches and long-term series of observed inflows, taking into account a given hierarchy of priorities of water users’ requirements. To solve the integer nonlinear large-dimensional task of performing water resource calculations, a special optimization algorithm was developed that allows decomposition of the task into a series of two-year dimensional independent subtasks.

Electrification is an efficient way to decarbonize by replacing fossil fuels with low-emission power. In addition, energy efficiency measures can reduce consumption, making it easier to shift to a zero-carbon society. In Québec, upgrades to aging buildings that employ electric resistance heating offer a unique opportunity to free up large amounts of hydroelectricity that can serve to decarbonize heating in other buildings. However, another source of energy would be needed to electrify mobility because efficiency measures free up small amounts of electricity in summer compared to winter. This study reveals how building efficiency measures combined with solar electricity generation provide an energy profile that matches the requirements for decarbonizing both mobility and heating. The TRNSYS software was used to simulate the annual energy performance of an existing house and retrofitted/rebuilt low-energy houses equipped with a photovoltaic (PV) roof in Montreal, Québec, Canada (45.5° N). The electricity that is made available by upgrading the houses is mainly considered for powering battery and fuel cell electric vehicles (BEVs and FCEVs) and electrifying heating in greenhouses. The results indicate that retrofitting 16% or rebuilding 12% of single-detached homes in Québec can provide enough electricity to decarbonize heating energy use in existing greenhouses and to operate the new greenhouses required for growing all fresh vegetables locally. If all the single-detached houses that employ electric resistance heating are upgraded, 33.4 and 21.8 TWh year−1 of electricity would be available for decarbonization, equivalent to a 19% and 12% increase of the province’s electricity supply for the retrofitted or rebuilt houses, respectively. This is enough energy to convert 83–100% of personal vehicles to BEVs or 35–56% to FCEVs. Decarbonization using the electricity that is made available by upgrading to low-energy solar houses could reduce the province’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 32% (26.5 MtCO2eq). The time required for the initial embodied GHG emissions to surpass the emissions avoided by electrification ranges from 3.4 to 11.2 years. Building energy efficiency retrofits/rebuilds combined with photovoltaics is a promising approach for Québec to maximize the decarbonization potential of its existing energy resources while providing local energy and food security.

This paper summarizes the results from microclimatic monitoring of the impacts related to the construction and exploration phase of a hydroelectric powerplant in the upper Douro River (Portugal). Reference climatic elements for both periods were obtained and the impacts of the reservoir water mass on the region’s microclimate were evaluated. For this purpose, Sen’s slope estimate non-parametric test was used to detect the meteorological variables’ trends over 10 years, considering the division into the construction (2011–2015) and exploration (2016–2020) phases. A network of meteorological stations located close to the dam, in addition to a control station relatively distant from the dam, was used to collect the meteorological data. The control station is still integrated into the same regional climatic context but not exposed to the direct influence of the resulting reservoirs. As a result, temporal differences were determined for temperature and relative humidity. The results show a statistically significant increase in the minimum relative humidity, accompanied by a statistically significant decrease in the daily and seasonal temperature amplitudes between the construction and the exploration phase periods. These outcomes thereby suggest that large reservoirs affect the local climate and may create new microclimates, in the surrounding area, with both positive and negative potential effects.

As recent events have shown, global heating is increasing the risk to many sectors of society, from agriculture to the built environment, to transportation. The energy security of most energy systems, regardless of their size, is also at risk from the effects of global heating: The reliable supply of power to end users can be threatened by extreme weather events affecting transformers and transmission and distribution networks. It can also be a threat to generators that are vulnerable to unpredictable supplies of water, such as thermal or hydroelectric generation facilities. In this paper, we use an energy security methodology to examine some of the possible climate risks to the supply of power from hydroelectricity produced by one of western Canada’s electricity suppliers. The work is of particular interest because it shows how the increasing number of heatwaves that are affecting parts of western Canada and the Pacific Northwest could affect electricity supply in some western Canadian provinces and northern U.S. states.

Economic feasibility studies of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants with thermal energy storage (TES) systems have been mainly based on the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), disregarding the economic benefits to the electricity system resulting from the dispatchability of the CSP plants. The analysis of these benefits is essential since the existence of storage can provide greater operating flexibility to the system. Although there are few studies on the benefits of CSP plants in thermoelectric systems, this analysis has not yet been done in a predominantly hydroelectric system. In this paper, CSP plants with TES systems were inserted in a hydrothermal system in order to estimate the economic benefits and the net cost of electricity generated by those plants. The System Advisor Model (SAM) and the hydrothermal scheduling model DESSEM were used in a real case study of inclusion of CSP plants in the Brazilian system. The results indicate that the cost of a CSP plant, previously estimated by the LCOE, can be reduced by at least 37% when considering its benefits to a hydrothermal system, increasing its competitiveness with other technologies. Therefore, we propose the use of the net cost for an appropriate comparison among energy sources.

The Ecuador’s expansion plans for the power sector promote the exploitation of hydro power potential, natural gas and a small share of alternative renewable energies. In 2019, electricity generation reached 76.3% from hydroelectric power, 21.9% from thermal plants and 1.8% from other renewable resources. Although the power energy mix is mainly based on renewable technologies, the total energy demand is still dependent on fossil fuels, which is the case of the transport sector that alone accounted for 50% of the total primary energy consumed in the country. This paper analyzes the pathway to develop a clean and diversified electricity mix, covering the demand of three specific development levels of electric transportation. The linear optimization model (urbs) and the Ecuador Land Use and Energy Netwrok Analysis (ELENA) are used to optimize the expansion of the power system in the period from 2020 to 2050. Results show that reaching an electricity mix 100% based on renewable energies is possible and still cover a highly electrified transport that includes 47.8% of land passenger, and 5.9% of land freight transport. Therefore, the electrification of this sector is a viable alternative for the country to rely on its own energy resources, while reinforcing its future climate change mitigation commitments.

The penetration of multiple integrated renewable energies to the power grid are relevant for decision making in energy policy, environment and business. Such an electricity penetration is affected by the intermittent and volatile characteristics of integrated energies, mostly significantly related to the safe and stable electricity production and supply in real world. Here, this paper focuses on the low frequency oscillation analysis of the hydropower generation response to the wind and solar variability. To enable this analysis, a hybrid model of hydropower system integrating with the wind and solar power system is presented. The Nyquist and root-locus stability methods are used to investigate the sensitivity performance of the hydropower governor to the fluctuation of the integrated renewable energies. Additionally, to quantify the risk of the hybrid system, the low frequency oscillation response of hydropower system to wind/solar/hydropower quota and transmission line distance ratio is extensively investigated in this study. The results show that under the case of the wind, solar and hydropower ratio is 40:1:150, the optimal values for maximally reducing hydropower low frequency oscillation are finally determined as kp = 0.8, ki = 0.25 and kd = 0.5. Regarding a certain wind/solar/hydropower quota, it is a promising strategy to increase the solar-load transmission line in order to achieve the safe and stable operation of the hybrid system and a relatively excellent dynamic regulation capacity of the hydropower governor. The model, methods and results implemented in this study are exploited to markedly improve new knowledge applications, policy management, low carbon emissions and investment competitiveness of future energy systems.

Reservoirs in Taiwan often provide hydroelectric power, irrigation water, municipal water, and flood control for the whole year. Taiwan has the climatic characteristics of concentrated rainy seasons, instantaneous heavy rains due to typhoons and rainy seasons. In addition, steep rivers in mountainous areas flow fast and furiously. Under such circumstances, reservoirs have to face sudden heavy rainfall and surges in water levels within a short period of time, which often causes the water level to continue to rise to the full level even though hydroelectric units are operating at full capacity, and as reservoirs can only drain the flood water, this results in the waste of hydropower resources. In recent years, the impact of climate change has caused extreme weather events to occur more frequently, increasing the need for flood control, and the reservoir operation has faced severe challenges in order to fulfil its multipurpose requirements. Therefore, in order to avoid the waste of hydropower resources and improve the effectiveness of the reservoir operation, this paper proposes a real-time 48-h ahead water level forecasting system, based on fuzzy neural networks with multi-stage architecture. The proposed multi-stage architecture provides reservoir inflow estimation, 48-h ahead reservoir inflow forecasting, and 48-h ahead water level forecasting. The proposed method has been implemented at the Techi hydropower plant in Taiwan. Experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively increase energy efficiency and allow the reservoir water resources to be fully utilized. In addition, the proposed method can improve the effectiveness of the hydropower plant, especially when rain is heavy.

Erosion on reservoir margins causes losses in the production of energy in Hydroelectric Power Plants (HPPs), making it necessary to implement control techniques that ensure the reduction in sediment deposits inside reservoirs. Among these techniques, geomats (geosynthetic erosion mats) are widely used to control erosion processes in slopes and watercourses. This material protects the margins both in the short and long term, contributing to strengthening the vegetation’s roots developed in the erosion areas. This paper studies the performance of geomats (with and without sack gabion) installed in six margin sections distributed in three experimental units of the Brazilian HPPs called Porto Colômbia and Volta Grande. The geomat performance was evaluated over four years of monitoring through a qualitative evaluation matrix and differential bathymetry. The influence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the degradation of geomats installed in each section (natural conditions), as well as on geomat ultraviolet-aging samples in the laboratory (accelerated conditions), was also evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed no significant difference in performance between using the erosion control technique consisting only of geomats and the technique consisting of geomats and sack gabion. The highest bathymetric difference value obtained in the present study was 1.62 m in the experimental unit VG1, controlled with geomat without the application of sack gabion on the margin.

Small hydropower (SHP) plants are advantageous as they have a short construction period and can be easily maintained. They also have a higher energy density than other alternative energy sources as environmentally-friendly energy sources. In general, hydropower potential is estimated based on the discharge in the river basin, and the discharge can be obtained from the stage station in the gaged basin. However, if there is no station (i.e., ungaged basin) or no sufficient discharge data, the discharge should be estimated based on rainfall data. The flow duration characteristic model is the most widely used method for the estimation of mean annual discharge because of its simplicity and it consists of rainfall, basin area, and runoff coefficient. Due to the characteristics of hydroelectric power depending on the discharge, there is a limit to guaranteeing the accuracy of estimating the generated power with only one method of the flow duration characteristic model. Therefore, this study assumes the gaged basins of the three hydropower plants of Deoksong, Hanseok, and Socheon in Korea exist as ungaged basins and the river discharges were simulated using the Kajiyama formula, modified-TPM(Two-Parameter Monthly) model, and Tank model for a comparison with the flow duration characteristics model. Furthermore, to minimize the uncertainty of the simulated discharge, four blending techniques of simple average method, MMSE(Multi-Model Super Ensemble), SMA(Simple Model Average), and MSE(Mean Square Error) were applied. As for the results, the obtained discharges from the four models were compared with the observed discharge and we noted that the discharges by the Kajiyama formula and modified-TPM model were better fitted with the observations than the discharge by the flow duration characteristics model. However, the result by the Tank model was not well fitted with the observation. Additionally, when we investigated the four blending techniques, we concluded that the MSE technique was the most appropriate for the discharge simulation of the ungaged basin. This study proposed a methodology to estimate power generation potential more accurately by applying discharge simulation models that have not been previously applied to the estimation of SHP potential and blending techniques were also used to minimize the uncertainty of the simulated discharge. The methodology proposed in this study is expected to be applicable for the estimation of SHP potential in ungaged basins.

In recent years, the intensified influences of global climate change and human activities have increased the frequency of large-scale debris flow disasters. As a result, main river channels often become blocked, thus forming a disaster chain of rivers dammed by debris flow followed by outburst flooding. In order to quickly and easily reveal the dynamic process of a debris flow dam breach, and quantitatively predict the outburst flood hazard, this study takes the Zhouqu “8.8” debris flow barrier dam in Western China as an example. Based on a stability assessment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research ‘s Dam Breach Slope (DBS-IWHR), China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research’s Dam Breach (DB-IWHR), and Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) were integrated to simulate the development of dam breach, breach flood, and outburst flood evolution, respectively, under different scenarios. The simulated peak discharge flow of the actual spillway was 317.15 m3/s, which was consistent with the actual discharge of 316 m3/s. The results under different scenarios showed that, with the increased inflow of the barrier lake, the erosion rate of the dam increased, the peak discharge of the dam break flood increased, the peak arrival time shortened, and the downstream flooding area increased. These findings could provide scientific support for risk management and emergency decision-making with respect to barrier dam failure.

This work aims to evaluate the hydrologic changes caused by a small hydropower plant on the watercourse in which it is installed. Since hydrologic research with data of temporal frequencies less than a day is less common than daily measurements, there are few indicators and methodologies capable of treating such records. For this reason, 17 indicators are proposed which describe the magnitude, duration, frequency and rate of changes in hydrologic conditions occurring in a watercourse at a sub-daily frequency. These 17 indicators were used to assess changes in the flow regimes at sub-daily scales across the Itiquira hydroelectric facility in Mato Grosso, Brazil. During the dry season the river was more susceptible to hydroelectric operations than during the wet season. Eighty-eight percent of the proposed indicators were significantly altered during the dry season compared to 71% during the rainy season. In addition to the number of indicators that changed between the seasons, the magnitude of the change was different. During the dry season, 53% of the magnitudes of the proposed indicators were classified as having a high magnitude of change, while in the rainy season only 6% of the indicators were characterized as having a high magnitude of change.

This paper discusses the potential of green hydrogen production in a case study of a Slovenian hydro power plant. To assess the feasibility and eligibility of hydrogen production at the power plant, we present an overview of current hydrogen prices and the costs of the power-to-gas system for green hydrogen production. After defining the production cost for hydrogen at the case study hydro power plant, we elaborate on the profitability of hydrogen production over electricity. As hydrogen can be used as a sustainable energy vector in industry, heating, mobility, and the electro energetic sectors, we discuss the current competitiveness of hydrogen in the heating and transport sectors. Considering the current prices of different fuels, it is shown that hydrogen can be competitive in the transport sector if it is unencumbered by various environmental taxes. The second part of the paper deals with hydrogen production in the context of secondary control ancillary service provided by a case study power plant. Namely, hydrogen can be produced during the time period when there is no demand for extra electric power within a secondary control ancillary service, and thus the economics of power plant operation can be improved.

In this work we study long-term maximization of hydroelectric energy generation from complex multi-purpose reservoir systems, using the reservoir system of the Aliakmon River, Greece, as an application example. This system serves various purposes, like urban water supply, irrigation, hydroelectric energy production, cooling thermoelectric power plants and flood control, while preserving environmental flow. The system operator uses institutional rules for the annual scheduling of the outflows of the 2 largest reservoirs (Ilarion and Polyfyto) for additional safety and smooth distribution of energy production through the year. In this work, we focus on maximization of energy production. We have considered three different hydrological scenarios (dry, average and wet), both for the current and for anticipated future water demand. The multi-reservoir system’s operation was simulated and then optimized using a rather simple form of genetic algorithms, in order to maximize hydro energy production. All other water uses were taken into account as constraints. Our conceptual and computational approach succeeded to identify and quantify hydro energy production increase and to indicate necessary changes to the operating rule curves of the reservoirs. The methodology can be easily adapted to other large-scale multi reservoir systems.

Energies : open-access journal of related scientific research, technology development and studies in policy and management 13(21), 5634 (2020). doi:10.3390/en13215634 special issue: "Special Issue "Underground Pumped Storage Plants" / Special Issue Editors: Assoc. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Elena Pummer, Guest Editor; Adjunct Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kaspar Vereide, Guest Editor; Prof. Andre Niemann, Guest Editor", Published by MDPI, Basel

The expansion of hydroelectric dams that is planned, and under construction, in the Amazon basin is a proposal to generate &ldquo, clean&rdquo, energy, with the purposes of meeting the regional energy demand, and the insertion of Brazil into the international economic market. However, this type of megaproject can change the dynamics of natural ecosystems. In the present article, the spatiotemporal patterns of deforestation according to distance from the reservoir in the vicinity of the lake of Tucuru&iacute, and within a radius of 30 km from it, are analyzed. A linear spectral mixture model of segmented Landsat-thematic mapper (TM), enhanced thematic mapper plus (ETM+), and operational land imager (OLI) images, and proximity analysis were used for the mapping of the land-cover classes in the vicinity of the artificial lake of Tucuru&iacute, Likewise, landscape metrics were determined with the purpose of quantifying the reduction of primary forest, as a mechanism of loss of ecosystem services in the region. These methods were also used for the evaluation of the influence of the distance from the reservoir on the expansion of anthropogenic activities. This methodology was used for the scenarios of pre-inauguration, completion of phase I, beginning of construction phase II, full completion of the Tucuru&iacute, hydroelectric project, and the current scenario of the region. The results showed that the highest deforestation rate occurred in the first period of the analysis, due to the areas submerged by the reservoir and due to the anthropogenic disturbances, such as timber extraction, road construction, and the conversion of forests into large areas of agribusiness.

Malaria is a disease spread by female mosquitos of the Anopheles genus. It is acutely prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 90% of malaria deaths occur annually. One Sub-Saharan African country historically impacted by malaria is Ethiopia. In the past twenty years, malaria prevalence has decreased throughout Sub-Saharan Africa; yet, anthropogenic environmental changes are changing the landscape of malaria. Scholarly literature has cited a positive relationship between hydroelectric dams and malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia is currently expanding their hydroelectric infrastructure. The Gilgel Gibe III Dam is located on the Omo River in Southwestern Ethiopia. It began generating electricity in 2015 and its reservoir has a capacity of 14,700 million m3 of water. This research utilized Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing to identify populations at an increased risk of malaria due to Gilgel Gibe III Dam. Two different techniques were employed: the proximity approach and the remote sensing approach. The proximity approach was based on distance from the reservoir. It identified all populations living within three kilometers of the reservoir as being at an increased risk. The remote sensing approach evaluated the slope, elevation, water content, and land surface temperature of the study area to create a mosquito breeding habitat risk map. Then, populations living within three kilometers of the two main High-Risk areas were identified. This study suggests that mosquito breeding habitat risk is not equally distributed throughout the Gilgel Gibe III Reservoir. This causes certain populations to be at a heightened risk of malaria.

Fishing livelihoods are under stress in many regions of the world, including the lower Mekong river basin. Building on research on the socio-economic impacts of hydroelectric development, this paper explores the spatial dimensions of livelihood diversifications. Research in 2016 and 2017, involving 26 semi-structured interviews in nine upstream, downstream, tributary and relocated villages in the vicinity of the Pak Mun hydroelectric dam, provides insight into how villagers have coped and adapted fishing livelihoods over time. Results are consistent with other research that has detailed the adverse effects of hydroelectric development on fishing livelihoods. Interviewees in the nine communities in the Isan region of Thailand experienced declines in the abundance and diversity of fish valued as food, and engaged in other household economic activities to support their families, including rice farming, marketing of fishing assets and other innovations. Stories of youth leaving communities (rural-urban migration) in search of employment and education were also shared. Although exploratory, our work confronts theories that fishing is a livelihood practice of “last resort”. Narratives suggest that both fishing and diversification to other activities have been both necessary and a choice among villagers with the ultimate aim of offsetting the adverse impacts and associated insecurity created by the dam development.

Water resources play a critical role in the sustainable development of river-based tourism. Reduced stream flow on the Lijiang River, south China, may negatively impact the development of cruise tourism. We explored the effects of stream flow changes on cruise tourism by determining (1) cruise tourism development indicators, (2) stream flow regime characteristics and their impacts on cruise tourism development indicators, and (3) climate variability and socio-economic factors effecting stream flow. Cruise tourism on the river has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. Stream flow regimes displayed no significant changes between 1960 and 2016, although dry season stream flow was significantly lower than in other seasons. We found that stream flow changes did not have a significant impact on the development of cruise tourism. As precipitation has not changed significantly, policies, including regulated stream flow from hydroelectric reservoirs, are assumed to mitigate reduced stream flow. However, increased irrigation and economic development, combined with future climate change, may increase challenges to cruise tourism. Future reservoir operations should prepare for climate change-related increases in temperature and insignificant changes in precipitation, and adopt adaptive measures, such as rationing water use in various sectors, to mitigate water shortages for supporting sustainable tourism development.

Nowadays, the importance of implementing energy efficiency (EE) measures is growing significantly worldwide, based on its potential to reduce energy demands and mitigate climate change effects. Paraguay is a developing country with the highest per capita hydroelectric energy generation in the world, but only 18% of local consumption is hydroelectric and 41% of its energy matrix corresponds to oil products. This paper aims to analyse the importance the Country places on EE as a strategy towards sustainable development and to highlight as EE is an effective pathway to mitigate the climate changes and contrast their effects. The authors initially provide an insight into the climate scenarios for Paraguay and underline the effects of the climate changes on the buildings’ comfort. Subsequently, the authors provide, by resourcing a bibliographic review, a description of the Paraguayan sectors of greater energy consumption, its policies and targets set for increasing EE. Besides, the main EE projects developed by other neighbouring South American countries are analysed to show the level of development of each one in the scope of EE and to offer a reference basis of potential virtuous solutions to be adopted in Paraguay. A focus on the building sector is also made to provide a foundation for policy analyses to enhance EE in this sector. As a result of this review, evidence that EE is beginning to take part in Paraguay’s public policies was found, with the leaders becoming aware of its importance. Nevertheless, many concrete results could not be achieved as of yet and overcoming these barriers still involve a great challenge. Regarding the building sector, few advances have been noticed regarding the regulations of buildings’ thermal performance, a reason for which the National objectives set need to be more specific to achieve greater collective awareness to enforce them. Finally, key actions are recommended for Paraguay aiming to improve EE levels to face the climate change phenomenon.

Along the middle reaches of the Dnieper River in central Ukraine, braided riverbeds with many islands have developed in alluvial valleys. In the 1970s, six dams were commissioned, and respective monitoring infrastructure was installed. Riverbanks and valley floors composed of unconsolidated material have much lower bank strengths and are susceptible to fluvial erosion and bank collapse, particularly during the release of high flow volumes from hydropower dams. The regulation of the Dnieper River along a cascade of storage reservoirs caused significant changes in its active river channel and hydrological regime. In order to estimate channel stability downstream of the Kaniv reservoir, we conducted an analysis of the hydraulic conditions in terms of changes in flow velocity and propagation of waves caused by intervention water discharges from the Kaniv Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP). In this paper, we assess the hydromorphological parameters of the studied river reach as well as the characteristics of the related erosion and deposition zones. Therefore, a monitoring framework for channel processes (MCP) downstream of the Kaniv HPP was installed. The analysis of the intervention discharge parameters was conducted based on measurements from July 2015. Channel stability was expressed by the following factors: Lohtin&rsquo, s number (L), Makkaveev&rsquo, s (Kc) factor of stability, and a complex index of stability (Mx) by Grishanin. This study shows that the velocity of artificial wave propagation may reach a speed of up to 74.4 km&middot, h&minus, 1. The wave propagates for a distance of approx. 45 km within 65 min at a mean velocity of 37.4 km&middot, 1. The L, Kc, and Mx indicators used in this work showed that when water discharge increased (e.g., during typical peak-capacity operation), the channel becomes unstable and sediments are subject to erosion processes. The riverbed stability indicators clearly illustrate that an increase in parameter values is not dependent on the distance to the dam. The results are valuable for sustainable sediment management at catchment scale and hence, directly applicable in water management.

Battery electric vehicles (BEV) provide an opportunity to balance supply and demand in future power systems with high shares of fluctuating renewable energy. Compared to other storage systems such as pumped-storage hydroelectricity, electric vehicle energy demand is highly dependent on charging and connection choices of vehicle users. We present a model framework of a utility-based stock and flow model, a utility-based microsimulation of charging decisions, and an energy system model including respective interfaces to assess how the representation of battery electric vehicle charging affects energy system optimization results. We then apply the framework to a scenario study for controlled charging of nine million electric vehicles in Germany in 2030. Assuming a respective fleet power demand of 27 TWh, we analyze the difference between power-system-based and vehicle user-based charging decisions in two respective scenarios. Our results show that taking into account vehicle users’ charging and connection decisions significantly decreases the load shifting potential of controlled charging. The analysis of marginal values of equations and variables of the optimization problem yields valuable insights on the importance of specific constraints and optimization variables. Assumptions on fleet battery availability and a detailed representation of fast charging are found to have a strong impact on wind curtailment, renewable energy feed-in, and required gas power plant flexibility. A representation of fleet connection to the grid in high temporal detail is less important. Peak load can be reduced by 5% and 3% in both scenarios, respectively. Shifted load is robust across sensitivity analyses while other model results such as curtailment are more sensitive to factors such as underlying data years. Analyzing the importance of increased BEV fleet battery availability for power systems with different weather and electricity demand characteristics should be further scrutinized.

The health of the hydroelectric generator determines the safe, stable, and reliable operation of the hydropower station. In order to keep the hydroelectric generator in a better state of health and avoid accidents, it is crucial to detect its faults. In recent years, fault detection methods based on sound and vibration signals have gradually become research hotspots due to their high sensitivity, achievable continuous dynamic monitoring, and easy adaptation to complex environments. Therefore, this paper is a supplement to the existing state monitoring and fault diagnosis system of the hydroelectric generator; it divides the hydroelectric generator into two significant parts: hydro-generator and hydro-turbine, and summarizes the research and application of fault detect technology based on sound signal vibration in hydroelectric generator and introduces some new technology developments in recent years, and puts forward the existing problems in the current research and future development directions, and it is expected to provides some reference for the research on fault diagnosis of the hydroelectric generator.

Connected objects are deployed all over the world. Thus, they are contributing to improving communications. In urban areas, technological challenges are gradually being overcome, and advances in this area are exponential. Unfortunately, isolated territories such as northern Quebec do not beneficiate from this technological progress. Yet, northern Quebec relies on abundant natural resources, with notably its huge hydroelectric dams and iron mines, and therefore, the region’s economic life revolves essentially around the exploitation of these resources and is heavily reliant on rail transportation. However, according to Transport Canada, 1246 railroad accidents were reported in 2019 to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). Thirty-eight people described as trespassers lost their lives, and five railroad employees were fatally injured. In this context, we present the implementation of a security system in an isolated environment for employees intervening on the railroad track to warn them of the imminent arrival of a train. Due to the context of the isolated environment, i.e., without an electrical network, without internet, and without an LTE network, a solution for employees has been developed using a Zigbee telecommunication system and a connected watch. A case study on a train operating in a remote and isolated area in northern Quebec is presented to validate the performance of the proposed system based on an open-source and customizable solution.

Construction time and time overruns for infrastructure projects have been frequently studied, however, the construction time of power plants has not been studied. This lack of study is problematic, as more renewable energy power plants, such as wind and solar, are planned for many jurisdictions. Accurately estimating the construction time of a power plant will assist construction planning, budget estimates, and policy development encouraging the use of more renewable sources. The construction times of utility scale power plants in Canada were studied using publicly available data. Multiple linear regression analysis techniques were applied to the data to generate construction time estimation functions for all power plants together, and for individual technologies. The analyses reveal that construction time is sensitive to jurisdiction and the decade of construction, indicating that decisions made by individual Canadian provincial governments at different times had statistically significant impacts on construction time. The analyses also indicated that construction time is a strong function of installed capacity, independent of technology. This finding suggests that large solar or wind energy facilities will encounter longer construction times similar to large hydroelectric facilities.

This study presents the first continental assessment of water storage and its influence on the availability of water of the river systems of South America. Although hydraulic infrastructure has the potential to cause several impacts on river systems and the environment, their relevance in water resources systems is irrefutable. The human services that dams and reservoirs provide to society, e.g., hydroelectricity, water supply, irrigation, or flood control, are vital services that society requires to develop. Despite this fact, the interactions of dams and reservoirs in the river systems of South America have not been explored from a hydrological perspective. In this study, we present the first assessment of the potential effects of water storage at a basin scale in South America. For this purpose, first we present an analysis of the current conditions and the influence of water storage in the basins of the continent. Then, we estimate the potential water availability of each basin, to evaluate the role of water storage in the availability of water in the continent. Our findings indicate that the ‘Colorado’ and ‘Negro’ basins in Argentina are the most influenced by water storage in the continent. Moreover, our results suggest that reservoirs improve the potential water availability capacity, particularly in the southern basins of the continent. With this study, we expect to provide helpful insights about the current interactions of reservoirs with the river systems of the continent.

Dams are important for flood mitigation, water supply, and hydroelectricity. Every dam has a water conveyance structure, such as a spillway, to safely release extreme floods when needed. The flows down spillways are often self-aerated and spillway design has typically been investigated in laboratory experiments, which is due to limitations in suitable full scale flow measurement instrumentation and safety considerations. Prototype measurements of aerated flows are urgently needed to quantify potential scale effects and to provide missing validation data for design guidelines and numerical simulations. Herein, an image-based analysis of free-surface flows on a stepped spillway was conducted from a top-view perspective at laboratory scale (fixed camera installation) and prototype scale (drone footage). The drone videos were obtained from citizen science data. Analyses allowed to remotely estimate the location of the inception point of free-surface aeration, air–water surface velocities, and their fluctuations, as well as the residual energy at the downstream end of the chute. The laboratory results were successfully validated against intrusive phase-detection probe data, while the prototype observations provided proof of concept at full scale. This study highlights the feasibility of image-based measurements at prototype spillways. It demonstrates how citizen science data can be used to advance our understanding of real world air–water flow processes and lays the foundations for the remote collection of long-missing prototype data.

The pumped hydropower energy storage (PHES) assessments carried out so far have been focused on large water bodies obtained from global or restricted-use databases, or, on the other hand, on the application of methodologies to specific areas focusing on the detection of dams. In addition, many assessments do not include data optimization, or include it at the end of the process and are subject to the prior application of restrictions, often stipulated with subjective criteria. The aim of this article is to design a universal and easily applicable methodology for the assessment of viable PHES potential, which provides immediate and reliable results to assist in the energy planning of a given territory. It is classified in ravine basins, including an optimization before using the restrictions. The island of Gran Canaria is taken as the territory of application, whose density of dams is the highest in the world and whose share of hydroelectric energy is, at present, null, besides, no PHES studies have been carried out. The results show that the PHES potential in Gran Canaria is 5996 MWh after applying the optimization and all technical constraints. If all environmental constraints were rigorously applied, the island would have no possible pairing. The results demonstrate the importance of tailoring the restrictions to each particular territory.

The world has a target of achieving 100% renewable energy by the end of the century. This paper presents a case study to establish a new floating photovoltaic park (FPV) in Egyptian dams. In Egypt, two hydroelectric dams, namely High Dam and Aswan Reservoir, together produce 2.65 GW in the Upper-Egypt region. The addition of 5 MW FPV for each dam is simulated using the Helioscope software application. A comparison between the performance of the dams with and without adding the FPV is presented in terms of the evaporation rate and total produced energy. A comparison between different types of FPV, namely polycrystalline, thin film and mono-crystalline in the two dams are also presented. The results show that installing FPV in the Egyptian dams will drive the dams to better performance in terms of carbon dioxide reduction, water-saving from reducing evaporation and increasing hydropower generation.

Deposition of debris on the screens of hydroelectric power plants translates into measurable economic losses. Occurring plant debris, although it is an organic material, is characterised by different forms and structure. It is often leaves, branches, and grasses in lowland areas, while in mountainous regions, broken boughs and trees can be expected. On the trash racks of power plants, debris may be deposited in different forms, shapes, and places. This work aims to determine the impact of the degree of submergence of debris on the values of the force acting on the racks. This paper analyzes the influence of the rectangular shape of the debris deposited on the trash racks and its degree of submergence and weight on the obtained values of the force acting on the racks as a result of water pressure, which directly affects the hydraulic losses and productivity of hydroelectric power plants. Our research confirms the negative influence of the deposited plant debris on the value of forces recorded on the gratings. The increase in the recorded force, and thus the resistance on the grating, is obviously dependent on the degree of obstruction of the debris by the grating obtained by changing the degree of debris immersion and its weight. In the case of changing the degree of submergence, the increase in force recorded on the gratings varied during the experiment from about 25% recorded for the fully submerged debris compared to that of the partially submerged debris for the mass of 100 g, in comparison, an increase of about 31% was recorded for that of the mass of 200 g. However, comparing the values of the forces recorded on the obstructed grids to that of the forces recorded on the clean grids, the increase ranged from about 15–53%.

South American rivers have become intensely affected by the construction of hydroelectric dams that block the river&rsquo, s connectivity for migratory fish species. In order to mitigate the problems caused by dams and to reestablish connections between habitats, fishways are implemented. Fishways are structures that aid fish in overcoming obstacles and help preserve migratory, reproductive, and feeding routes. This study performed an inventory of all hydropower plants&mdash, present and future&mdash, in the Upper Paran&aacute, River, with the objective of identifying fishways unknown to scientific literature, as well as the task of mapping them. By doing so, the current situation of structural connectivity via fishways in the Upper Paran&aacute, River Basin was described. Overall, 389 dams along 209 rivers were identified, of these, only 9% (35 dams) have fishways. In addition, an alarming explosion of future medium-sized hydropower plants was observed, with an expectation of an almost 500% increase in relation to those existing. This data reveals a trend of reduction of free-flowing river stretches, which are crucial habitats for Neotropical potamodromous species, and point to a deficiency in the structural connectivity of existing hydropower dams. Furthermore, if the implementations of these expected constructions are associated with limited connectivity as a result of the absence of fishways, the management of fisheries and their resources in the Upper Paran&aacute, River may become unsustainable.

Sustainable and green technologies include renewable energy sources such as solar power, wind power, and hydroelectric power. Renewable power output forecasting is an essential contributor to energy technology and strategy analysis. This study attempts to develop a novel least-squares support vector regression with a Google (LSSVR-G) model to accurately forecast power output with renewable power, thermal power, and nuclear power outputs in Taiwan. This study integrates a Google application programming interface (API), least-squares support vector regression (LSSVR), and a genetic algorithm (GA) to develop a novel LSSVR-G model for accurately forecasting power output from various power outputs in Taiwan. Material price and the search volume via Google&rsquo, s search engine for keywords, which is used for various power outputs and is collected by Google APIs, are used as input data. The forecasting model uses LSSVR. Furthermore, the LSSVR employs a GA to find the optimal parameters for the LSSVR. Real-world annual power output datasets collected from Taiwan were used to demonstrate the forecasting performance of the model. The empirical results reveal that the proposed LSSVR-G model is superior to all other considered models both in terms of accuracy and stability, and, thus, can be a useful tool for renewable power forecasting. Moreover, the accuracy forecasting thermal power and nuclear power could effectively assist in understanding the future trend of renewable power output in Taiwan. The accurately forecasting result could effectively provide basic information for renewable power, thermal power, and nuclear power planning and policy making in Taiwan.

This paper presents a novel method of hydro power plant operation, based on the control of the injectors&rsquo, or wicked gates opening time as a function of the upper reservoir level. In this way, a faster power injection, depending on the current water level on the upper reservoir, could be achieved. When this level is higher, the opening time could be shorter, hence, hydropower ramps could be steeper. Due to this control, frequency excursions and load shedding trips are smaller, thus the power quality is enhanced. This method has been tested and validated by computer simulations in a case study located in El Hierro island, Canary Archipelago (Spain). The simulations made show significant improvements, dependent on upper reservoir water level, in power quality.

This paper analyzes contestation over aspects of the Site C Project on the Peace River in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The $10.7 billion project, which is now under construction, has been vigorously debated for over 30 years. Initially proposed in the 1980s, project approval was not granted following review by the BC Utilities Commission, as the need for the project was not established. In 2010, the provincial government enacted legislation to exempt the project from future review by the BC Utilities Commission, an environmental assessment was initiated in 2012 and a constrained review by the Commission was undertaken in 2017, after construction had commenced. The paper explores key examples of contested knowledge regimes within the review process, focusing on debates over cumulative effects and greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis provides technical examples of the ways in which differing societal values are deployed and co-produced within regulatory processes.

The Mekong River Basin of mainland Southeast Asia is confronting a series of intertwined social, political, and biophysical crises. The ongoing construction of major hydroelectric dams on the river&rsquo, s main channel and tributary systems&mdash, particularly in the basin&rsquo, s lower and more populated reaches&mdash, is leading to significant socioecological changes. Multiple scientific studies have suggested that proceeding with the planned dam construction will disrupt the region&rsquo, s incredibly productive fisheries and threaten the livelihoods of millions of basin residents. These effects will almost certainly be exacerbated by global and regional climate change. Yet increased understanding of the adverse consequences of dams for the Mekong&rsquo, s hydrological and ecological processes is having minimal impact on decision-making around hydropower development. While local communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and certain scientists draw on this knowledge to oppose or question accelerated dam building, state officials and hydropower developers have turned to the expertise of engineering and technological assessments in order to justify dam construction. Drawing on work in political geography, political ecology, and science and technology studies (STS), we ask two primary questions. First, why does engineering/technological knowledge retain so much legitimacy and authority in the face of mounting scientific knowledge about ecological change? Secondly, how are narratives of progress deployed and co-produced in the contested epistemologies of large dams as development? We conclude with some examples of how contestations over dams seem to be shifting epistemological boundaries in meaningful ways, creating new spaces for knowledge production and transfer. To answer these questions, we focus on three contested dams that are at various stages of construction in the basin: the nearly complete Xayaburi Dam, the under-construction Don Sahong Dam, and the planned Pak Beng Dam. The research advances understandings of the politics of contested knowledges as they become manifest in the conceptualization and governance of large dams in transboundary basins.

The Algerian power system is currently dominated by conventional (gas- and oil-fueled) power stations. A small portion of the electrical demand is covered by renewable energy sources. This work is intended to analyze two configurations of renewables-based hybrid (solar–wind) power stations. One configuration was equipped with batteries and the second with pumped-storage hydroelectricity as two means of overcoming: the stochastic nature of the two renewable generators and resulting mismatch between demand and supply. To perform this analysis, real hourly load data for eight different electricity consumers were obtained for the area of Mostaganem. The configuration of hybrid power stations was determined for a bi-objective optimization problem (minimization of electricity cost and maximization of reliability) based on a multi-objective grey-wolf optimizer. The results of this analysis indicate that, in the case of Algeria, renewables-based power generation is still more expensive than electricity produced from the national grid. However, using renewables reduces the overall CO2 emissions up to 9.3 times compared to the current emissions from the Algerian power system. Further analysis shows that the system performance may benefit from load aggregation.

This research paper is part of the wider project concerning the very first detailed mapping of the overall Taiwanese hydro-power plants that took place from 2013 up to 2015 and it is currently in evaluation and finalization stage. The case of Shanping hydro-power plant has been carefully studied, photographed, documented and mapped in situ. It was one of the isolated hydro-power plant projects originally built to supply the remote area with the specific designation. Shanping hydro-power plant, as well as the other units from the early hydro-power generation era in Taiwan, are considered to be the technological heritage of civil and mechanical engineering that reflects later in all the further projects up to nowadays modern Taiwanese hydro-power plants. Unfortunately, most of the hydro-power houses from the older periods were severely damaged or destroyed by natural causes which were also the case of Shanping unit. The research is trying to reconstruct the original location of the powerhouse and its supporting structures based on available historical documents, previous studies, comparative methodology, and the current on-site observation.

Energy is an important input for socioeconomic development and human well-being. The rationality of energy transitions toward cleaner energy resources is not only to improve individual living conditions, but also to enhance the economic growth of a nation. Nepal is considered to be one of the countries with a low per-capita electricity use, heavily relying on traditional energy resources such as firewood and agricultural residues. The country is rich in hydropower resources. However, various economic and socioeconomic constraints have left the significant potential for hydroelectricity untapped. This study describes the energy transition patterns in Nepal based on a literature review and field survey of household energy use in the winter. We collected data from 516 households in the Solukhumbu, Panchthar, and Jhapa districts of Nepal. The rate of per-capita electricity consumption was 330 kWh/capita/year, which is significantly lower than that of other contemporary global societies such as India 1000 and China 4900 kWh/capita/year. The increasing trend in hydroelectricity production has optimistically transformed the energy sector toward cleaner resources, this correlates with the GDP per capita. Solar home systems, mini- and micro-hydropower plants, biogas technology, and improved cook stoves have been widely used, which has lowered the health and environmental burdens in rural areas. By analysing the survey data, we found that 25% of the households only relied on traditional cooking fuel, while 67% and 8% of the households relied on mixed and commercial cooking fuels, respectively. Moreover, 77% and 48% of traditional and mixed-fuel-using households were unhappy with current cooking fuels while 40% and 66% of these households preferred to use clean cooking fuels. The share of traditional energy resources decreased from 78% to 68%, while that of commercial energy resources increased from 20% to 28% from 2014/15 to 2019/20. This study suggests that future energy policies and programs should acknowledge the reality of energy transition to achieve sustainability by establishing reliable and clean sources of energy.

Sediment and cavitation erosion of the hydroelectric power turbine components are the fundamental problems in the rivers of Himalayas and Andes. In the present work, the latest research conducted in both the fields by various investigators and researchers are discussed and critically analyzed at different turbine components. Analysis shows that both types of erosion depends on flow characteristics, surface, and erodent material properties. Design optimization tools, coalesced effect (CE) of sediment and cavitation erosion and well conducted experiments will yield results that are beneficial for erosion identification and reduction. Although some researchers have done experimental work on the coalesced effect (CE) of sediment and cavitation erosion, very limited Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) work is available in literature. The present research work will be beneficial for practitioners and researchers in the future to address the erosion problem successfully.

During underground construction, the behavior of the ground is influenced by characteristics of the rock mass with situ stresses and ground water, cross section of the excavation area, excavation method, and the rate of excavation. These fundamental features are considered to ensure the support and stability of underground excavations and achieve long-term successful operation. However, the ground composition of the Himalayas hinders tunnel excavation, especially in case of mechanized tunneling; this causes time and cost overruns. This study has reviewed the recently completed Neelum–Jhelum Hydroelectric Project; the project complexities, geological environments involving significant overburden and tectonic stresses, and effects of the excavation method on tunnel stability were analyzed. The major challenges that were encountered during construction are discussed herein along with their countermeasures. An analysis of project-related data reveals that latest techniques and approaches considering rock mechanics were used to complete the project; the existing approaches and methods were accordingly verified and extended. Apart from ground composition, the excavation methods used play an important role in the occurrence of severe rock bursts. Thus, the findings of this study are expected to be helpful for future tunneling projects in the Himalayas.

The Bhumibol Dam on Ping River, Thailand, was constructed in 1964 to provide water for irrigation, hydroelectric power generation, flood mitigation, fisheries, and saltwater intrusion control to the Great Chao Phraya River basin. Many studies, carried out near the basin outlet, have suggested that the dam impounds significant sediment, resulting in shoreline retreat of the Chao Phraya Delta. In this study, the impact of damming on the sediment regime is analyzed through the sediment variation along the Ping River. The results show that the Ping River drains a mountainous region, with sediment mainly transported in suspension in the upper and middle reaches. By contrast, sediment is mostly transported as bedload in the lower basin. Variation of long-term total sediment flux data suggests that, while the Bhumibol Dam does effectively trap sediment, there was only a 5% reduction in sediment supply to the Chao Phraya River system because of sediment additions downstream.

The thirst of the Earth for energy is lurching towards catastrophe in an era of increasing water shortage where most of the power plants are hydroelectric. The hydro-based power systems are facing challenges in determining day-ahead generation schedules of cascaded hydropower plants. The objective of the current study is to find a speedy and practical method for predicting and classifying the future schedules of hydropower plants in order to increase the overall efficiency of energy by utilizing the water of cascaded hydropower plants. This study is significant for water resource planners in the planning and management of reservoirs for generating energy. The proposed method consists of data mining techniques and approaches. The energy production relationship is first determined for upstream and downstream hydropower plants by using multiple linear regression. Then, a cluster analysis is used to find typical generation curves with the help of historical data. The decision tree algorithm C4.5, Iterative Dichotomiser 3-IV, improved C4.5 and Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detection are adopted to quickly predict generation schedules, and detailed comparison among different algorithms are made. The decision tree algorithms are solved using SIPINA software. Results show that the C4.5 algorithm is more feasible for rapidly generating the schedules of cascaded hydropower plants. This decision tree algorithm is helpful for the researchers to make fast decisions in order to enhance the energy production of cascaded hydropower plants. The major elements of this paper are challenges and solution of head sensitive hydropower plants, using the decision-making algorithms for producing the generation schedules, and comparing the generation from the proposed method with actual energy production.

Despite the growing scientific evidence, the electricity market models used in Chile do not consider the effects of climate change on hydroelectric energy production. Based on a statistical analysis of the historical hydro-energy inflow dataset and a revision of the scientific literature, we suggest a set of technical and statistical criteria to determine an alternative representation of the hydro-energy uncertainty in the Chilean electricity market. Based on these criteria, we then propose an alternative range of historical hydrological data, which is built by shedding the first 35 years of the historical dataset (out of 59 years) and using only a reduced subset of 24 years. Additionally, we propose to capture the potential impacts of even more prolonged droughts on the Chilean electricity system by repeating the last nine years of data at the end of the 24 year-long series. The resulting extended subset of 33 hydro-years is approximately 10% drier on average than the original dataset of 59 years. The proposed range of hydrological data captures some of the anticipated effects of climate change on Chilean hydro-uncertainty reported in the literature and also preserves most of the intra-annual and spatial diversity of the original data.