POWER October 2015 - 60

HYDROPOWER
Hydropower Innovations Make
Some Noise
Hydropower may be flying under the radar for many in the industry, but it
remains a key component of the power mix, and a growing one in many
areas of the developing world. Though the basics of hydroelectric generation
remain the same, technological advances are making it more flexible,
efficient, and environmentally friendly.
Thomas W. Overton, JD
H
ydropower is booming, but unless you
live in China, Latin America, or Africa,
you may have missed it.
Global installed capacity of hydroelectric
generation has grown by more than 25% over
the past decade, according to the World Energy
Council. The bulk of that development,
especially the largest projects, has taken place
in China and the developing world. China
alone now operates 26% of worldwide hydro
capacity along with 11 of the 25 largest projects
in existence. In 2014, more than half of
all new capacity-more than 20 GW-came
online in China.
Globally, according to the International
Energy Agency, future development will
continue to be led by non-OECD (Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development)
countries. China will continue to
account for about half of future capacity additions,
with the bulk of the remainder made
up by non-OECD Asia and the Americas.
Though small hydro has become the typical
approach for new projects in the U.S. and
Europe-the median size for hydro projects
under development in the U.S. is less than 10
MW, according to the Department of Energy's
(DOE's) 2014 Hydropower Market Report-big
dams are still the rule elsewhere.
China Leads the Way
China's plans, as with its overall goals for its
power sector, are particularly ambitious. The
nation aims to reach 350 GW of installed capacity
by 2020, with an additional 70 GW of
pumped storage hydropower (PSH). Another
110 GW (conventional and PSH) is planned
by 2030, and a further 130 GW by 2050, by
which point China's hydropower potential
would be about 80% developed.
Outside China, notable projects include
the 11-GW Belo Monte plant in Brazil, the
7.1-GW TaSeng plant in Myanmar, and the
6-GW Grand Renaissance plant in Ethiopia,
all of which are slated for operations by 2020.
Plans for the long-proposed Grand Inga proj60
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| October 2015
ect in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
which could top 40 GW in size when fully
built out, have taken a few steps forward in
recent years, with the 4.8-GW first-stage
Inga III dam slated to begin construction in
2017, according to the World Bank.
Not surprisingly, increasing technological
innovation in hydro is being seen in China.
Though a substantial amount of hydropower
in China was supplied by foreign firms, the
country has worked hard to develop indigenous
technology through transfer agreements.
Working with domestic Chinese
firms, western companies such as Voith and
Alstom have installed some of the largest turbine
generators in the world, such as the 800MW
Francis units at the 6.4-GW Xiangjiaba
plant (Figure 1) and the 770-MW units at the
13.1-GW Xiluodu plant.
1. Mammoth. The 800-MW Alstom turbine
generators at the Xiangjiaba plant on the
Jinsha River in China are the largest in the
world. Courtesy: Alstom
Automation is a top priority as China's
fleet continues to expand. For example, automation
equipment for the left-bank first
phase of the giant Three Gorges Dam was
supplied by ABB, but Chinese firm Beijing
IWHR supplied its H9000 control system for
the underground and right-bank phases.
The Chinese company has also supplied
controls for the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu
projects. The H9000 system allows the central
dispatch center in Chengdu to control
generation on the Jinsha River (upper Yangtze)
cascade from several hundred kilometers
away.
Making Hydro More Fish-Friendly
One long-standing objection to hydropower
projects has been their impact on aquatic life,
especially migratory species such as salmon.
Fish ladders and similar devices to restore fish
runs have been in use for decades, but new developments
are further reducing fish mortality.
As with other elements of hydropower,
automation has made significant inroads in
reducing effects on fish migration (see sidebar).
Other advances have focused on turbine
design to improve survival for fish that are
not diverted from intakes.
A project by Alden and Voith Hydro, with
funding from the DOE, has developed an
innovative turbine employing a slower rotational
speed and only three blades, to reduce
fish mortality due to blade strike. Intended
2. Death ray. Israeli firm Atlantium has
developed an ultraviolet (UV)-based system to
prevent the growth of nuisance aquatic species
on hydropower equipment. The technology
uses UV radiation to deter algae, mussels,
and similar organisms. Courtesy: Alstom
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POWER October 2015

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