Resilience of hydropower plants to flow variation through the concept of flow elasticity of power: Theoretical development

Article

Devkota, Laxmi P., Bhattarai, Utsav, Khatri, Pawan, Marahatta, Suresh and Shrestha, Dibesh. 2022. "Resilience of hydropower plants to flow variation through the concept of flow elasticity of power: Theoretical development." Renewable Energy. 184, pp. 920-932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.11.051
Article Title

Resilience of hydropower plants to flow variation through the concept of flow elasticity of power: Theoretical development

ERA Journal ID4067
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsDevkota, Laxmi P., Bhattarai, Utsav, Khatri, Pawan, Marahatta, Suresh and Shrestha, Dibesh
Journal TitleRenewable Energy
Journal Citation184, pp. 920-932
Number of Pages13
Year2022
PublisherElsevier
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN0960-1481
1879-0682
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.11.051
Web Address (URL)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960148121016335
Abstract

Fluctuation in hydro-electricity production is primarily attributed to natural and human-induced flow variations. Reduced electricity generation because of unavailability of flow inflicts significant upward pressure on the sources and prices. Despite studies on the impact of externalities on river flow variation, there is a distinct research gap on the responsiveness of hydropower plants to change in flow. This study has introduced a novel concept of flow elasticity of power (ε) to assess the resilience of hydropower projects to flow variation. The theoretical aspect has been established for run-of-river (ROR) and storagetype (ST) cases separately and validated at two projects, one of each type, located in the Budhigandaki Basin in central Nepal. Responsiveness of hydro-projects to the topographical parameters are also dealt with here. For ROR systems, wide-ranging values of ε indicate varying levels of resilience to power generation and loss of resources. For ST projects, the response differs according to emptying, filling and ROR-equivalent phases. Furthermore, strong topographical implications on power production and its elasticity are evident. This concept of ε sets out a significant research contribution in the hydropower sector and demonstrates its possibility of direct application in projects ‘in priori’ as well as ‘posteriori’ while planning/designing and operating/updating stages, respectively. The ε coefficient scientifically informs the planners and developers on the sensitivity of the powerplants to hydrological variations and topography ultimately benefitting the existing global challenge to minimize the loss of precious resources for sustainable hydropower development.

KeywordsBudhigandaki; Resilience; Flow variation; Hydropower; Elasticity
ANZSRC Field of Research 20203001. Agricultural biotechnology
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Byline AffiliationsNepal Academy of Science and Technology
Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment
Water Modeling Solutions, Nepal
Tribhuvan University, Nepal
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