[en] The purpose of this note is to present the questions, the realizations and the perspectives of a research programme devoted to the study of small-scale hydroelectric power plants that dot the rural landscapes in the north of Ivory Coast. (N.C.)

[en] In a nuclear power/water pumping-up composite power plant, a reversible pump for pumping-up power generation connected to a steam turbine is connected to an upper water reservoir and a lower water reservoir. A pumping-up steam turbine for driving the turbine power generator, a hydraulic pump for driving water power generator by water flowing from the upper water reservoir and a steam turbine for driving the pumping-up pump by steams from a nuclear reactor are disposed. When power demand is small during night, the steam turbine is rotated by steams of the reactor, to pump up the water in the lower water reservoir to the upper water reservoir by the reversible pump. Upon peak of power demand during day time, power is generated by the steams of the reactor, as well as the reversible pump is rotated by the flowing water from the upper water reservoir to conduct hydraulic power generation. Alternatively, hydraulic power generation is conducted by flowing water from the upper reservoir. Since the number of energy conversion steps in the combination of nuclear power generation and pumping-up power generation is reduced, energy loss is reduced and utilization efficiency can be improved. (N.H.)

[en] The LaGrande hydroelectric project in northwest Quebec, originally begun in 1972, was blocked by the Cree Indians and a negotiated settlement was reached in 1975 to continue it in exchange for compensation, land rights, and other matters. The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement contained provisions regulating the use of land and aimed at preserving the traditional Cree way of life. Other complementary agreements were signed in the 1980s. The impact of river-system modifications on wildlife harvesting and the effect of access roads on Cree communities are discussed. Flooding of hunting lands affected some traplines, and the low productivity of shore habitats and the high levels of mercury in some fish have greatly limited use of the LaGrande reservoirs for other purposes. Stream navigation at some communities was made more difficult because of changed river flows. The impact of the roads has been more positive, since the roads have facilitated trade and reduced local prices of many goods, and made wildlife harvesting easier and more evenly distributed. An income security program for hunters, fishers, and trappers has helped preserve a traditional lifestyle. A sharp increase in salary income, indicating consolidation of the employment market in the region, is the most significant economic impact of the LaGrande project agreement. 6 refs

[en] The Societe d'energie de la Baie James is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hydro-Quebec and is responsible for harnessing the hydroelectric resources of the James Bay territory. The Societe executes, manages, and administers the design and construction of hydroelectric development projects in the James Bay territory as well as any other project assigned by Hydro-Quebec. In 1991, the Societe saw its strongest surge of activity since development projects were resumed in 1986. Work at the La Grande -2A, La Grande-1, Laforge-1, and Brisay developments, representing over 4,500 MW of installed capacity, continued in compliance with schedules and cost projections. The first three turbine generator units of La Grande-2A were commissioned and detailed design continued for Laforge-2 and Eastmain-1. At LaGrande-1, the spillway and two embankments were completed; at Brisay,excavation of headrace tunnels and the tailbay of the power station were completed; and in total, over $500 million in contracts and $54 million in purchases were made in 1991. 15 figs., 2 tabs

[en] The purpose of the paper is to study for the example of the Federal German Republic the implications of a temporally and spatially fluctuating power supply such as from solar irradiation (photovoltaic) and wind and water energy. This includes equalisation effects resulting from the wide spatial distribution of plant sites and from the combination of different renewable energy sources with dissimilar daily and yearly fluctuations. (orig./HW)

[en] Design allowing turbine operation at heads as low as 1m and operating at a rotational speed of 500 RPM at a flow of 2.6m³/s and a runner diameter of 700 mm. This eliminates the need for a gear box and helps in achieving efficiency of 60% in the case of a 21 kW installation at a 1m head site and 85% with a 69 kW 3.2m head site. Present turbine designs for such low head sites are very expensive to produce and have a low efficiency. The design uses an all plastic waterway, guide vane assembly and reinforced plastic runner blades. There will be a short pay-back period, for example 4.5 years in the case of a 21 kW unit and 2.0 years in case of the 69 kW unit. These payback periods assume a cost per kW of 0.00 ECU. Design is attractive for decentralized production. 3 figs

[en] When the 10-MW Wailuku River Hydroelectric Project begins operating this summer, the island of Hawaii will reduce its dependence on oil. The project is illustrative of what must be done to add to the electricity supply and, at the same time, to protect the environment. The Wailuku project is the first hydro plant to be developed in Hawaii in more than 50 years and is the largest hydro facility ever built in the state. The project is being developed by Wailuku River Hydroelectric Power Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Synergics, Inc. Hawaii Electric Light Company Inc. (HELCO) will buy the electricity generated at the project for 30 years on an as-delivered basis at its avoided cost rate, now approximately 6.71 cents per kilowatt-hour, the floor rate in the contract. The Wailuku endeavor receives rave reviews form the mayor of Hilo, the president of the utility, and local residents. The project demanded a high degree of sensitivity to environmental issues and the uniqueness of the Hawaiian culture and island setting, according to Wayne Rogers, president of Wailuku River Hydro. From the conception of this project, we have worked closely with state and local interests and have been committed to following Hawaii's plans for land use and environmentally responsible energy development

[en] Norway is about to reorganize its electricity production sector from a predominantly administered one to one which is based on market prices and principles of efficiency. The objective of this paper is to model the energy sector and to measure the size of hydro rent before and after the reorganization. We construct a regionally diversified and integrated equilibrium model of production, transmission and distribution of hydroelectricity. Particular attention is paid to the role of precipitation variability for the size and regional variation of hydro rent. We consider alternative routes for assessing the size of hydro rent in a long-run perspective. (author)

[en] This paper reports that the southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern), an agency of the Department of Energy, is responsible for marketing the power and energy produced at Federal hydroelectric power projects developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the southwestern United States. In order to maximize benefits from limited resources, to evaluate proposed changes in the operation of existing projects, and to determine the feasibility and marketability of proposed new projects, Southwestern utilizes a period-of-record computer simulation model rated in the 1960's. Southwestern is constructing a new computer simulation model to take advantage of changes in computers, policy, and procedures. Within all hydroelectric power reservoir systems, the ability of the resources to match the load demand is critical and presents complex problems. Therefore the method used to compare available energy resources to energy load demands is a very important aspect of the new model

[en] Some methodological aspects developed for the design of Cubatao River Basin in Santa Catarina State are presented, including geology, topography, hydro meteorology and environment studies. A feasibility study is also shown with cost, energetic benefit, and investment. (author)