TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ULTRA-LOW AND ZERO HEAD TURBINES

Abstract

Energy is precarious, directly or indirectly, in the entire process of advancement, growth and endurance of all living beings and it plays a vital role in the socio-economic development and human prosperity of a country. Renewable power generation can help countries meet their sustainable development goals through provision of access to clean, secure, reliable energy sources solar, wind, and hydropower. Among all renewable energy sources, small hydropower provides significant amount of economical, clean electricity. Ultra-low and zero head hydropower generation has a very significant contribution in small hydro development. Turbine is considered to be the heart of any hydropower plant, and performance of turbine is very critical. It is a key component to deciding all the parameters of powerhouse. There are many standard turbines available for small-scale hydro. However, conventional turbines are not techno -economically viable for many micro hydropower sites. It is found that many attempts are being made to develop the turbine technology for ultra-low and zero head hydro power sites. According to the literature review, it is found that techno economic feasibility of ultra-low and zero head turbines are still a critical area to justify the feasibility of these turbine. In the present work, Turbines for ultra-low and zero head hydropower installed at various sites have been studied. Some important parameters of turbine and their sizing are discussed. An attempt has been made to estimate the cost of such turbines and cost correlations are developed based on different size turbines up to 100 kW. A, nomogram chart has been prepared to select the turbines under a range of application, site conditions for various ultra-low and zero head hydropower sites. A techno- economical study for ultra-low and zero head turbines has also been carried out for small-scale micro hydropower