ECONOMIC PLANNING AND DESIGN OF MICRO HYDEL SCHEME EQUIPMENTS

Abstract

Uncertainties about availability of future fuels have greatly renewed interest in the utilization of small hydro-electric sources the world over. Small scale hydro-electric resources considered unecononnical earlier are fast drawing attention of planners these days. These sources are dam potentials, canal falls, river slopes, small brooks etc. Micro hydels may suitably serve the remote areas where possibility of getting power from the power grid or large power stations in far or near future is less. In this study a survey of available equipment for such micro-hydel developments has been made and economic selection-of equipment for such installations has been presented. A case study on the probability of development of Salandi reservoir potential, has been made, to generate power from irrigation releases. The firm power is found out by reservoir operation studies through computer program. An analysis has also been made on the comparat-ive cost of a kwhr. that would be generated by Kaplan or Frances turbine based on the variation in head and discharge on these turbines during the irrigation water release. A study has }gee n made on centrifugal pumps to operate as a turbine on very small microhydel power stations. This study ,•includes the selection of the size of the pump for a given capacity for the source to-be developed. As there is no governing system in, a pump an electronic output controller serves the purpose of speed control of the pump as turbine which has been developed in W.R.D.T.C. recently, The electronic output controller keeps the load constant on the generator at all' times by diverting the load to an auxiliary load when the main load is switched off . The auxiliary load on the machine terminal is a useful load like water heaters, room heaters` hydroge n generation equipment etc. which can work on intermittent and uncontrolled power supply.