[en] The new design of the turbine of hydroelectric power plant (HPP) is executed in the form of a pipe with plates. Proposed solution allows increasing the hydroelectric power plant capacity at existing head and water flow. At that time the HPP turbine reliability is increase, its operation performances are improving. Design efficiency is effective mostly for small-scale and micro-HPP due to reliable operation, low-end technology, and harmless ecological application. (author)

[en] This paper reports that among the 300 some hydro electric power stations coming up for relicensing in the 1990s, some of them will certainly be taken over by the federal government or by competing license applications. Under prevailing interpretations of net investment value contained in the Federal Power Act, it is entirely likely that companies who lose a hydro station this way will go substantially uncompensated. Professional appraisal techniques for determining fair market value of property could produce substantially higher payments for lost hydro stations and may be a more appropriate standard for such applications

[en] Highlights: • A modeling framework for large-scale hydropower simulation is proposed. • Modeling is based on hydropower intelligence and large-scale DevOps. • Intelligent perception features are integrated into SOA and EDA. • Asynchronous parallel and multi-node execution are designed in device model. To realize large-scale personalized customization of hydropower plant simulation system, this paper proposes active perceivable device–oriented modeling (APDOM) method from the perspective of dynamic coordination of intelligent hydropower devices. In APDOM, hydropower device is regarded as a basic modeling unit, which is endowed with intelligent perception and active service ability by integrating Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Event Driven Architecture (EDA). The direct coupling of models is eliminated so that it can execute on separate computers and achieves parallel distributed dynamic coordination. The modeling framework of supporting this method is provided, in which the definitions of core components such as active perceivable device, device bus, and perceivable message and its key implementation technologies are given. And the construction process of hydropower plant simulation based on this framework is demonstrated. Finally, an application instance of cascade hydropower plants illustrate that the APDOM and framework work effectively in solving large-scale customization development of hydropower plant simulation system.

[en] The hydro power industry in Europe is discussed. Europe operates more than 200 GW of installed capacity. But, although the capacity has hardly changed over the past five years, it does not mean that the industry is not making progress, the focus now is more on particular areas. For example, in Eastern Europe commercialisation means that electricity must be produced and used more efficiently than in the past. Generally, rather than build new plant in Eastern Europe, the existing equipment is being refurbished and upgraded. In contrast, in Western Europe hydro power capacity is still increasing and existing dams are being altered. In Italy, dams tend to be multipurpose (irrigation, flood control, and civil and industrial supply). About 20% of Russia's capacity is hydro. In Turkey, hydro capacity quadrupled between 1980 and 1996 and is still increasing. (UK)

[en] Small hydroelectric power plants are power plants of 1 - 10 MW. For a supplier, this is an unnatural limit. A more natural limit involves compact engine design and simplified control system. The article discusses most of the engine and electrotechnical aspects in the development, construction and operation of such a plant

[en] Electricity is a fundamental requirement for economic growth, and hydro-electric power is often thought to be environmentally benign. However, the construction and operation of many hydro-power dams in Africa have had significant negative impacts on the environment and rural economies. Reduced downstream flooding has destroyed fisheries and starved the floodplain soils of moisture and nutrients. Often the worst-affected areas have no electrification and therefore do not benefit from power generation. New dams which are planned in Kenya and Tanzania have been specifically designed to make flood releases. This will allow electricity to be generated whilst maintaining a dynamic flooding pattern for the short-term economic importance of fisheries and agriculture and the longer-term importance of soil fertility and biodiversity. Involvement of local community representatives in deciding when flood waters should be released on the Phongolo River in South Africa has resulted in substantial benefits to floodplain users. (author)

[en] This work is the beginning of several applied itineraries, to the government of micro-centrals, mainly directed to the control of electric variables of the generator with the desire of obtaining a system of electric generation to drop it climbs, economic, reliable and with great sense of use of the hydraulic resources guided to poor communities, isolated of the system of national interconnection. In all hydroelectric power station without caring their capacity is fundamental to govern the speed of the system turbine generator, to guarantee a constant frequency of 60 Hz, the stability of this parameter is a measure of the quality of the energy given to the user. The used regulation method is the mechanical governor, its action it is to control the flow of water that it enters to the turbine. For small generation power stations (smaller to 200 Kw), the mechanical governor's cost is comparable to the total cost of the plant, then it is economic to use an electronic load control. The project develops the load control whose function is to add external electric load to the generator to maintain the constant nominal active power and similar to the power nominal mechanics surrendered by the turbine. The microprocessor 8088 dedicated to the control of the system by the complexity of the process, the quantity of variables and the precision in the answer of the system is used. To carry out the investigation project a simulation program it was designed in computer that allows to know the answer of the load control ahead of time for different conditions of the user's operation. These results were answered with the obtained experimental values of the final tests of the team, throwing very near values to those calculated

[en] This paper describes the structures for the re powering of the Miranda hydroelectric scheme that consisted in construction the of a new hydraulic circuit and a semi-buried powerhouse. Geomechanical tests carried out for the mechanical, hydro mechanical and in situ state of stress characterization are described. Monitoring plans were established for controlling the safety of the structures during constructing and first use phases. Some significant results observed are presented and compared with numerical results. (author)

[en] A recent energy act in Norway allows hydropower plants to be operated so that hydro peaking is permitted. However, it is uncertain how fish react to the variations in discharge and depth that follow hydro peaking. SINTEF Energy Research is cooperating with other research institutions to investigate the consequences of these variations on the biota. Among the research tools is an aqua channel which is an indoor laboratory flume where fish behaviour can be studied in detail. It has been constructed to provide the hydropower industry and public authorities with means of better determining the effects of hydro peaking. (author)

[en] Highlights: • The lack of a Social Licence to Operate (SLO) can halt a project. • Resettlement is a significant issue in getting a Social Licence to Operate. • Legitimacy, credibility and trust are key concepts of Social Licence to Operate. • Project proponents can and should utilise the concept of Social Licence to Operate. • Earning a SLO requires considered effort and commitment from project proponents. - Abstract: We explore why having a Social Licence to Operate (SLO) is essential for large projects. We analyse the Khudoni Hydroelectric Power Plant in the Svaneti region of Georgia, which was halted in 2013 after much social protest. We assess why the project lacked a SLO and what lessons can be learnt from this experience. Using the Thomson and Boutilier model of SLO as our analytical framework, we elaborate its key elements – legitimacy, credibility and trust – in the context of dam and hydropower projects and assess where the Khudoni project failed. We conclude that the project lacked legitimacy, with local communities not seeing any social justification for the project. The credibility of the project and proponent was weak amongst the local population, and trust was absent at all phases of the project. We conclude that the concept of social licence to operate has the potential to encourage project proponents to consider and implement activities which will lead to better outcomes for all parties. We believe there is a strong business case for companies to take the concept seriously. Improving social performance will assist projects in gaining a social licence to operate and grow.