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- Conventional Hydro
Pilot Scale Tests Alden/Concepts NREC Turbine
Lead Companies
Department of Energy and Alden Research Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Thomas Cooke, George Hecker, Steve Amaral, Philip Stacy
Alden Research Laboratory, Inc. (Alden) has completed pilot scale testing of the new Alden/Concepts NREC turbine that was designed to minimize fish injury at hydropower projects. The test program was part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Hydropower Turbine Systems Program. The prototype turbine operating point was 1,000 cfs at 80 ft head and 100 rpm. The turbine was designed to: 1) limit peripheral runner speed; 2)have a high minimum pressure; 3) limit pressure change rates; 4) limit the maximum flow shear; 5) minimize the number and total length of leading blade edges; 6) maximize the distance between the runner inlet and the wicket gates and minimize clearances (i.e., gaps) between other components; 7)maximize the size of flow passages. A pilot scale facility was designed and constructed to test a 1:3.25 reduced scale turbine with and without wicket gates. The test loop was operated at flows ranging between 50-95 cfs and 35-85 ft heads and the pilot scale turbine was operated at speeds ranging between 200-375 rpm to determine the Best Efficiency Point (BEP) over the range of wicket gate positions. Engineering tests were conducted to define the turbine BEP speed and head/flow combinations without and with wicket gates. Biological testing was conducted to evaluate turbine passage survival relative to: 1) fish injection location at the turbine inlet; 2) size of fish; 3) species; 4) high and low turbine speed/head/flow conditions; 5) BEP with and without wicket gates, and; 6) off-BEP wicket gate positions. A final CFD analysis was completed as part of the pilot scale study to investigate the turbine flow patterns at off-BEP wicket gate positions for comparison to the flow patterns at the BEP gate position and observed fish injury at the different gate settings. The pilot scale test results indicate that the Alden/Concepts NREC turbine has the potential to pass fish at hydroelectric projects with minimal injury and mortality.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Powerhouse Equipment
Research Sub-Category
Turbine
Status
complete
Completion Date
2003
- Conventional Hydro
Powell Center Synthesis of Dam Removal Literature
Lead Companies
U.S. Geological Survey
Lead Researcher (s)
- Jeff Duda, Jim O'Connor, Amy East, Chauncey Anderson
Examination and synthesis of dam removal literature with observations, framed and tested as hypotheses and conceptual models to provide better understanding of the multifaceted and interrelated consequences of dam decommissioning, thereby providing a basis for formulating realistic expectations for river restoration in addition to identifying key information gaps and research needs.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
complete
Completion Date
2018
- Conventional Hydro
Power Flow and Stability Models [HydroWIRES]
Lead Companies
PNNL, NREL, INL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Abhishek Somani, abhishek.somani@pnnl.gov
Operational needs of U.S. power systems are changing due to increasing penetration of variable renewable energy (VER) resources and retirement of conventional fossil fuel-based generation. The nature of grid services, such as inertia and primary frequency response, may also change as more of these services are likely to be provided by inverter-based VERs and batteries. Consequently, the role of hydropower is also expected to change, as it relates to provision of these grid services. Modeling of hydropower plants in power systems analysis has been studied for decades but there are still modeling gaps that are being acutely realized due to the changing nature of power system operations. For instance, the modeling of hydropower resource capabilities in short-term power flow and dynamic stability models, which are used for analysis of system (and resource) response to contingency events, such as loss of a large generator. These modeling gaps need to be addressed urgently to create better opportunities and challenges for hydropower resources in a changing power grid landscape. The project will produce a report on a list of hydro units modeling gaps in steady-state power flow and dynamic stability models, developed through an extensive stakeholder engagement process. Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Power Systems with High Renewable Energy Sources: A Review of Inertia and Frequency Control Strategies Over Time
Lead Companies
NREL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Ed Muljadi
Traditionally, inertia in power systems has been determined by considering all the rotating masses directly connected to the grid. During the last decade, the integration of renewable energy sources, mainly photovoltaic installations and wind power plants, has led to a significant dynamic characteristic change in power systems. This change is mainly due to the fact that most renewables have power electronics at the grid interface. The overall impact on stability and reliability analysis of power systems is very significant. The power systems become more dynamic and require a new set of strategies modifying traditional generation control algorithms. Indeed, renewable generation units are decoupled from the grid by electronic converters, decreasing the overall inertia of the grid. ‘Hidden inertia’, ‘synthetic inertia’ or ‘virtual inertia’ are terms currently used to represent artificial inertia created by converter control of the renewable sources. Alternative spinning reserves are then needed in the new power system with high penetration renewables, where the lack of rotating masses directly connected to the grid must be emulated to maintain an acceptable power system reliability. This paper reviews the inertia concept in terms of values and their evolution in the last decades, as well as the damping factor values. A comparison of the rotational grid inertia for traditional and current averaged generation mix scenarios is also carried out. In addition, an extensive discussion on wind and photovoltaic power plants and their contributions to inertia in terms of frequency control strategies is included in the paper.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Research Sub-Category
Markets
Status
complete
Completion Date
2018
- Conventional Hydro
Prediction of Reservoir Sediment Pressure Flushing
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Blair Greimann
Reservoir sedimentation affects all Reclamation reservoirs to some extent. In some cases reservoir sediment is beginning to approach the intake elevation for either a penstock or water diversion. A gated intake at a lower elevation can be used to remove sediment in the vicinity of the gate and prevent sediment from entering the penstock or water diversion. Can we construct numerical models to assist in the design and operation of these low level outlets? Many Reclamation facilities are approaching an age of 100 years. Often, the intake elevation for penstocks leading to hydroelectric facilities was set at the elevation expected after 100 years of sedimentation. Our current numerical modeling tools are lacking in their ability to simulate pressure flushing as may occur at facilities where they are attempting to keep the penstock intake clear of sediment by flushing sediment at a lower level intake while keeping the reservoir nearly full. Our current sediment models can only model flushing of sediment when the reservoir is drawdown completely and there is not appreciable reservoir pool left. Therefore, to design appropriate low level outlets and to analyze various operations, it will be necessary to have a numerical model that can simulate this process.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Predictive Dreissenid Mussel Modeling for the Western United States
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Jacque Keele
The presence of dreissenid mussels triggers a need for large budgets to manage water bodies that contain these mussels. Based upon dreissenid mussel behavior in the eastern US, it was assumed that mussels would be widely invasive in western US waters. After five years of monitoring, it appears that not all environments trigger invasive populations. The goal of this research is to utilize predictive modeling techniques to inform decisions regarding stewardship of natural resources.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Preparing the Power Sector to Navigate Climate and Water Risks
Lead Companies
NREL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Ariel Miara
About 90% of the United States' energy comes from hydropower and thermal energy sources—including natural gas, nuclear, and coal—all of which share a critical need: water. Power plants need water to keep their systems cool and safe, and hydropower uses water as renewable fuel. As the climate changes, so will water availability and other ambient conditions, threatening the reliability of today’s power system and tomorrow’s clean energy grid. That’s why researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)—along with those at Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the City University of New York, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory—are studying both regional and national climate and hydrologic changes to provide a comprehensive assessment of climate and water impacts and risks to the U.S. power grid. This year, the team developed a state-of-the-art modeling framework to assess climate and water impacts as well as other risks to the grid, including sensitivities to varying hydrologic drivers and infrastructure scenarios. The research provides key insights that utilities and system operators need to mitigate and adapt their power grid assets and systems to climate and water risks, so utilities and policymakers can make better-informed planning decisions.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Status
complete
Completion Date
2022
- Conventional Hydro
Quantifying Fish Biomass X Distance from Environmental DNA Samples in a Hydrodynamically Complex Environment
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Andrew Schultz
Can monitoring of Environmental DNA (eDNA) in hydraulically dynamic systems be used as a tool for monitoring target species to facilitate optimization of water delivery operations? Our specific research question will investigate how much fish biomass X distance is present when a quantity of DNA is obtained in a water sample. It is not possible to calculate the biomass alone because an infinite number of combinations of fish biomass and distance could produce the same amount of DNA in a water sample. Thus it is necessary to calculate the biomass X distance.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2021
- Conventional Hydro
Quantifying the Development and Dynamics of Reservoir Delta and Related Backwater Vegetation in the Context of Physical Drivers
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Nathan Holste
The goal of this project is to better to determine whether deltas and backwaters represent significant areas of riparian and wetland habitat on a landscape scale, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Further, we hypothesize that early successional woody riparian species, which are declining along many regulated river reaches below dams, will be comparatively abundant where reservoirs experience large fluctuations in pool elevations. Understanding the drivers of delta-backwater vegetation can facilitate a predictive understanding of these habitats in response to, for example, changes in water management or in hydrology upstream from reservoirs.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Shoreline and Riparian Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2022
Don’t see your waterpower research?
Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org