Capacity sizing of a small hydropower plant using assured energy analysis

Abstract

For a Small Hydropower Plant (SHP), the installation capacity is one of the most important issues in planning step. This paper presents a methodology for the capacity sizing of SHP based on assured energy. The analyzes were substantiated on historical series with daily streamflow data, operating limits of the turbines, forced unavailability due to the minimum streamflow of the turbine, Turbine efficiency variation in function of the streamflow variation and a project with two turbines operating in parallel of different type and size. The methodology was developed at the Tijuco River Basin in Brazil, with the data of Ituiutaba fluviometric station. It was used the time series from 1975 to 2017 (43 years). The results show that the analysis can be executed already in the initial phases of a hydroelectric project of the SHP.