The Advantages of Hydropower - Essay Example

Number: Hydropower, Potential Solutions on Making a More Reliable, Cost Efficient, And Environmentally FriendlySystem SUMMARY This paper intends to explain about the hydropower and the advantages along with the limitations of current hydropower production system. This paper also deals with the potential solutions and the implementations to make hydropower production system more reliable, cost effective and environmental friendly in future. It refers to the changes required to make the current system more consistence and eco-friendly. This paper also explains about the uses of hydropower energy and the effectiveness of electricity, which was produced with the help of water energy resources. This paper also deals with the uses of hydropower as the renewable energy resources in the environment. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATION 4 GLOSSARY SYMBOL 7 1.0. INTRODUCTION 8 2.0. DESCRIPTION 9 3.0. ANALYSIS 14 4.0. ANALYSIS SUMMARY 17 5.0. CONCLUSION 19 Bibliography 21 LIST OF ILLUSTRATION Figure 1: Small Hydropower Project under operation (2) Figure 2: Small Hydropower Project under maintenance (2) Figure 3: Overview of ABB Hydropower Plants (3) Figure 4: Hydropower System (10) Figure 5: Power Flow in a Hydropower System (10) GLOSSARY SYMBOL % - Percentage 1.0. INTRODUCTION Hydropower is also known as waterpower. In simple words, it refers to the power of electricity produced from water currents. Hydropower energy thus involves hydroelectric dams as well as reservoirs, underground waterways and tidal plants among others. Hydropower is widely considered as more efficient, as compared to other energy sources, as it helps in decreasing the cost of electricity and increasing the reliability as well as flexibility of energy produced. Hydropower is however noted to be a costly method for the production of energy (7). It is worth mentioning in this context that energy is required for the progress of mankind and therefore, energy must be available in sufficient quantities along with affordable prices for the consumers, which the hydropower plants often fail to suffice. New and advanced technologies are also required for the availability of hydropower energy as well as for the safety of the environment. However, besides the fact that hydropower is regarded as a cost consuming energy production source, it is also perceived to impose strong negative affects to the environment, especially when concerning marine biological lifecycle (7). Nevertheless, one of the benefits of hydropower is its superior ability for fossil-fuel generation. Hydropower is also considered to protect from greenhouse gas emission at large quantities. It has often been argued that the developed hydropower will have the potential of making large contributions towards improvements in the living standard of developing countries, making energy available at cheaper rates. Compulsions of the recent era to suffice rising global demand, resulting in higher costs for fuel base energy sources have further led mankind to innovate new sources of energy, one of those being the water source, which has however been in use since traditional times (8). A few noteworthy advantages, as also mentioned above, are that the operating cost of hydropower is lower then other energy resources. Therefore, the price of electricity produced by hydropower is also comparatively lower. The capacity of installation of hydropower system is also high rather than other energy sources. Considering the fact that hydropower produces about 16% of electricity and around fourth-fifth of the renewable electricity of the world, it is also considered as the leading renewable energy resources (8). In this paper, the discussion henceforth will focus on discussing the disadvantages or rather the limitations of hydropower generation systems currently used in various plants on the basis of cost efficiency, reliability and its environment friendly nature. Correspondingly, potential solutions will be provided to mitigate the issues identified and therefore, to reform the hydropower generation system. 2.0. DESCRIPTION 2.1. The Potential Solution of Hydropower on Making Reliable System. As already mentioned above, hydropower has a significant potentiality of decreasing the rate of carbon emission. Besides, since the traditional period, hydropower was known as the catalyst, which was used for the development of social as well as economic developments. Suggestively thus, in order to make the system reliable, hydropower industry must use a more advanced technology model that would further help to increase the number of sources of energy. Scientific studies have thus signified that the quality of water and the overall power generation model has to be improved to make the system more reliable. The technologies, which are used for making the system has to be more mature and efficient in comparison to the earlier used technology (1). Hydropower generation system that is used currently also has to improve the sustainability criteria of social and environmental factors to develop a more reliable system. Another possible solution to the development of a reliable system is that hydropower should increase the storage capacity and use pumped storage for the generation of renewable energy sources. Elaborating theoretically, pumped storage is a large and a reliable storage system. This particular system innovation can be effective to suffice the current hydropower production needs to use the global technology and extend its production globally. Hydropower also has the ability to adopt the changing climate, so that the productivity and reliability of the hydropower production gets improved (1). Current hydropower production is not advanced to make the system more reliable, cost effective and environment friendly. However, hydropower production has to be improved to make the system more reliable. Current hydropower production has to improve the design of the system and further has to use more useful components for developing a reliable system. Current hydropower usage can reduce GHG (Greenhouse Gas) omission but has to increase reduction level of the greenhouse gas omission to make the system more reliable (6). It is worth mentioning that the current hydropower production has to increase the capacity power to install and store the energy source and therefore, need to store water for generating a reliable energy producing system. Hydropower plants also have to develop more versatile methods related to the water resource management, through which, it will be possible to make the system more reliable and consistent. Hydropower also integrates assessment of climate change with the planning of water resource management to make the system more reliable and trustworthy in future. Hydropower also has to improve the monitoring system, operation department and data collection system to gather proper data for developing a reliable system and its continuous improvement (10). Figure One. The image of figure one shows the operation of small hydro project. This image shows that the operation management of hydro projects depends on the availability of water resources and the proper maintenance of components and energy to attain success through the project. For the proper operations of small hydro projects, skilled manpower is also required (2). Figure Two. The image of figure two shows the maintenance process of small hydro project. There are four categories of small hydropower maintenance plant those include “break down, routine, capital and prevention maintenance” (2). 2.2. The Potential Solutions of Hydropower for Cost Efficient System. Hydropower is also known as a renewable energy resource, which is used for generating electricity. In comparison to other hydropower producing plants, the current hydropower production system is not cost efficient. It is in this context that hydropower industry must implement certain potential solutions to make the system a cost efficient one. The operation cost of Hydropower is low, but the system has to maintain the cost of production at a lower level to make it efficient. The hydropower production system should therefore use advanced tools and technologies and emphasize towards developing new technologies, which can be helpful for making the cost effective system (4). Hydropower production system has to use more efficient and reliable components and equipments to make the system cost effective. By improving quality of machine energy, kinetic energy and water energy, reducing the cost of these energies in the hydropower production system can be ensured at a higher degree. By improving the research & development strategies and reducing the cost of research & development as well as technology, the hydropower production system can be renovated in a more cost efficient manner. ABB is the largest power supplier that also helps the hydropower production system to enhance quality by making it trustworthy and consistent (4). By maintaining hydropower production cost effectively along with the cost of hydraulic power, it is possible to make the hydropower production system cost effective. The amount of hydroelectricity notably depends on three aspects, i.e. the capacity of turbine, the discharge flow of turbine and the site head. Therefore, the cost of these aspects has to be maintained effectively and improved continually to make the system cost efficient. The current cost of hydropower is low and therefore, the operation cost should be improved to make the system more cost efficient. The tools and components of the hydropower production system should also be more advanced and the cost should be reduced based on the requirements to make it cost efficient. The hydropower industry should also maintain its entire production cost and the manufacturing cost at a low degree to make the system cost efficient (3). Figure Three. The image of figure two exhibits an overview of ABB power plants along with its total plant automation system. Total plant automation is important to increase the efficiency as well as reliability of plants. It provides a better and a quick solution related to operational works. Total plant automation is said to have a better awareness about hydropower plant and make it more powerful as well as provide reliable and secure results to the operations (3). 2.3. The Potential Solutions of Hydropower for Environmental Friendly System. Current hydropower production system is not environmental friendly owing to which it has attracted many criticisms from around the world. Therefore, there is a stronger need to apply certain potential solutions to make the system environmental friendly. Hydropower production system centers on the utilization and production of water resource energy. It is often argued in this context that the hydropower industry should increase the availability of water and improve the quality of water to make the system environmental friendly (9). The uses of water are classified into three categories such as consumptive, non-consumptive and polluting type. Considering these three forms of water usage in hydropower generation is essential for the improvement of quality along with the source of water for generating more energy. The current hydropower production system cannot use the green power or green technologies and therefore, the systems are not reliable or environmental friendly. The hydropower system therefore needs to use green power as well as green technologies to make the system environmental friendly and improve the quality of the system thereafter. In this regard, concentrating on the form of biological lifecycle getting affected due to the system must be taken into consideration. In addition, rather than making use of natural water sources, the hydropower systems can also use and reuse manmade water sources to generate power (9). By implementing and taking due consideration of environmental factors in the production system, it is possible to make the system more environmental friendly (5). To make the hydropower production system environmental friendly it is essential to extend the production of hydropower it to other areas, where negative influences on natural water sources would be minimal. It is worth mentioning in this context that reinstalling marine life with the help of technology could also be a possible option for developing an environment friendly hydropower system. Nonetheless, hydropower industry should use its energy source in a manner, which can be sustained for long time to make the system more environmental friendly (5). The hydropower plant should also be depending on the environmental factors or aspects to make hydropower production system environmental friendly and eco-friendly. The hydropower production system also should focus on water license, which is issued by the ministry of environment to generate power and make the system environmental friendly (5). Figure Four. Figure three exhibits several parts of hydropower system and how these different parts of system work. The image of hydropower system also shows that several parts are connected with the hydropower system to make it more reliable. The several parts of hydropower system have their own functions to make the system reliable and environmental friendly along with cost efficient (10). Figure Five. Figure four also reflects the power flow concept of hydropower system. Small hydro project thus depend on the “run of river scheme” for its power flow. Mainly hydropower system uses water energy source to generate electricity. Small hydro projects can therefore be more successful rather than large hydro projects, as this type of project only depends on water supply to generate energy, which can be reliable and eco-friendly for the environment (10). 3.0. ANALYSIS 3.1. The Potential Solution of Hydropower on Making Reliable System. Hydropower systems have many advantages but lack adequate reliability to generate power in a sustainable manner. It has recently been into intense criticisms owing to its unreliability and high degree of dependency on weather conditions. This particular limitation reduces credibility of the hydropower systems to be trustworthy as well as consistent to deliver uniform or a sustainable average of energy throughout the year. Therefore, in order to maintain reliability, the systems also need to draw massive investments for energy storage that in turn increases cost of power when in limited supply (3). Hydropower has the ability and potentiality to improve the performance of environment through advanced technology and material research. The energy of hydropower is more reliable and consistent than the fossil fuel energy and therefore, it has been used in several projects of the various countries. The capacity power of hydropower system is also high, which allows the system to save required energy to develop a trustworthy system (3). It is in this context that incorporating innovation technology, hydropower industry shall be able to make a reliable system, ensuring an average flow of energy throughout the year. Hydropower mainly generates electricity through water energy sources, which is most essential for human beings. However, there are various areas where people have to face the problem of electricity supply, such as in rural areas of developing countries, wherein setting up small hydropower plants can prove both reliable and cost efficient. Therefore, in developing countries, people need electricity, which is a reliable service provided by the hydropower system. The resources of hydropower are potential as it depends on the variability, topology and the seasonal distribution throughout the years, which can also be categorized as an uncontrollable factor affecting reliability of hydropower plants. Climate can also be changed at any time and impose strong effects on the generation of hydropower. There are several technologies, such as pumped storage, in stream, reservoir and run-of-river, which are used in hydropower plant to make the system more reliable (10). 3.2. The Potential Solutions of Hydropower for Cost Efficient System. It has often been argued in contradiction to the perception that hydropower systems are cost consuming, based on the grounds that the operation cost of hydropower is less than other energy sources. Hydropower generates energy by using water sources and this source is less expensive and the system provides long-lasting services to the people in terms of electricity. The transformation process of hydropower is also highly efficient due to the 90% of mechanical effectiveness in turbine and 99% in the generation. However, to be noted in this context the inefficiency of hydropower depends on the loss of hydraulic power (4). ABB is the largest power supplier, which helps the hydropower industry to make the entire process a cost efficient as well as effective system. Through technological solutions, hydropower industry can make it a cost efficient system to produce electricity. The engineers or staff members who worked in hydropower industry are also well qualified and have the knowledge about uses of advanced technology to make the system more reliable as well as environment friendly. Engineers are also involved in the design as well as operation process to produce the system (4). The maintenance cost of hydropower system should be maintained at a lower rate and therefore, it is possible to establish the hydropower system effectively. It is to be noted in this regard that the improvement of hydropower infrastructure depends largely on the development of national and global policies, wherein the development of hydropower infrastructure is also helpful for the improvement of the environment. In the current phenomenon, the hydropower plants are expanded in several areas around the world to deliver better services and reliable products. Besides other solutions, strategic focus to develop small or micro hydropower generating plants have received much credit and proclamation that would deliver advantages in terms of both cost efficiency and reliability (3). 3.3. Potential Solutions of Hydropower for making Environmental Friendly System. The systems as well as products of hydropower industry are also criticized to lack environmental friendly nature, specifically owing to its negative impacts on the marine biology system. The hydropower industry should use a reliable source of renewable energy and also should maintain a healthy environment along with sustainable ecosystem to make the hydropower production process environmental friendly (9). Illustratively, to be mentioned in this context, in the year 1994, Advanced Hydropower Turbine System Program was established to develop the new hydropower turbine design that can enable a decrease in the fish injury as well as mortality rate and make the system more environmental friendly. Hydropower industry also should increase storage capacity to store the availability of water for generating renewable energy and producing electricity, which is essential for consumers. Current hydropower production system also has certain negative effects on the environment, which can however be reduced by using green technologies as well as green power to generate reliable energy (9). In recent trends, hydropower production system should be focused on environmental factors and therefore, should use turbine system to make the power generation process environment friendly. The hydropower industry also should focus on sustainable energy source to make the system environmental friendly. The hydropower industry also should reduce wastage of water and focus on water license to make hydropower production system environmental friendly. To make the system environmental friendly, it is also essential to apply the various aspects as well as factors related to the environment in the production system, during the time of production to make the system environmental friendly. The hydropower industry also should implement new and innovative strategies to improve the quality of water to make the system environmental friendly (5). 4.0. ANALYSIS SUMMARY From the above summary, it can be analyzed that hydropower be used as the renewable resource due to greater use of waterpower in generating the energy. The ability power of water is high to generate energy rather than consume it. Therefore, there should be adequate availability of water and the source of water for generating reliable energy through which, the hydropower system can be improved to maintain high degree of reliability. From the above summary, it can be observed that there are certain changes needed to improve the quality of hydropower generation system and make it more trustworthy. The current hydropower production system has improved the limitations such as the uses of green technologies and green power through which the improvement of hydropower production system can be possible. From the above summary, it can also be evaluated that there should be proper description of the uses of hydropower and future solutions of the hydropower production system. The hydropower system should be therefore based on the factors of environment and the components, which are considered and tested as cost effective in nature. From the above summary, it can also be analyzed that new and innovative strategies are required based on which, the hydropower production system can be developed as more reliable and eco-friendly in future. The other explanation about the technologies are required to improve quality of the water along with the hydropower production system and how these technologies can be implemented in the hydropower industry to make the system more consistent and reliable. From the above summary, it can also be evaluated that the limitations of the current hydropower production system can be removed to enhance quality of the system in future with technology innovation and strategic implementation. The research proved highly effective in revealing certain factors those demonstrated the developments steered in hydropower generation systems, especially concerning its reliability, cost efficiency and eco-friendly nature. To be mentioned in this regard, one of the most effective and noteworthy solutions obtained through this research were the empowerment of small hydropower generating turbines in different places. This might permit only a minimal amount of energy produced to suffice the need for a defined geographic location, it can yield better results in terms of cost efficiency and reliability. In addition, rather than having strong negative influences to the marine life of one particular area, setting-up small turbines will help diversifying the negative impacts over many surroundings making the entire process a more eco-friendly one. Nevertheless, continuous improvements in research to enhance system capacity will be essential in order to maintain reliability and efficiency of the system over the long-term period. Generating awareness among public will also be essential in order to ensure that system renovation takes place effectively and efficiently. 5.0. CONCLUSION From the above discussion, it can be stated that hydropower energy is more effective and reliable than other forms of energy production used since the traditional period. The current hydropower production system can be more reliable and cost effective in future by using the advanced and green technologies along with innovation ideas. The design of the current hydropower production system must also be improved by implementing innovation ideas. The current hydropower production system should also emphasize reducing the GHG (greenhouse gas) emission rate and need to use green power to make the system more reliable. Current hydropower production must also be focused to increase storage power and therefore, supply reliable energy, so as to maintain cost efficiency throughout the system. Hydropower generation system currently used must also introduce more useful techniques and maintain the cost of the techniques effectively to make the system cost effective. The hydropower industry should therefore maintain the production cost to make the system cost effective. To make the hydropower production system cost efficient, it is essential for the hydropower industry to improve the quality of the system with reasonable price. With this objective, the research and development department may use cost effective components to make the system cost efficient and reliable. Correspondingly, incorporation of innovation and advanced technology along with green technologies will play the vital role to improve the quality of the system and lead the improvement of the environment. In recent trends, technology has also been used to improve and increase the sources of energy for producing environmental friendly and reliable systems. From the above discussion, it can be further observed that the hydropower system and the potential solution to make the hydropower production system more reliable, consistent, eco-friendly and cost effective. With the help of skilled manpower, it is possible to improve the design of the system. The manpower of hydropower industry is highly qualified. However, the manpower should be more skill oriented as well as focused on renovation and sharing of knowledge about the environmental factors to make environmental friendly system. The manpower also should have knowledge about the use of green power and green technologies to enhance the quality of the system. From the above discussion, it can also be concluded that the hydropower industry should maintain good as well as a healthy environment to make the hydropower system more eco-friendly in nature. It is therefore essential for the hydropower industry to take into consideration the environmental factors in the production system to make the system environmental friendly. Bibliography [1] Alstom, “Hydro Power Solutions,” Powers, pp. 2-18, 2015. [2] P. Adhikary, and S. Kundu, “Small Hydropower Project: Standard Practices,” International Journal of Engineering Science & Advanced Technology, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 241-247, 2014. [3] ABB, “Solutions for Hydropower made by ABB help you Master Current and Future Challenges in Power Generation,” ABB Power Generation, pp. 1-28, 2014. [4] ABB, “Harnessing the Power of Water Power and Automation Solutions for Hydropower Plants,” Power and Productivity for a Better World, pp. 1-19, 2011. [5] ESHA, “Technical and Operational Procedures to Better Integrate Small Hydropower Plants in the Environment,” Hydropower and Environment, pp. 1-22, 2015. [6] EATON, “Industrial Solutions for Hydropower Plants,” Powering Business Worldwide, pp. 1-2, 2009. [7] IEA Hydropower, “Hydropower and the Worlds Energy Future,” The Role of Hydropower in Bringing Clean, Renewable, Energy to the World, pp. 2-15, 2000. [8] IRENA, “Hydropower,” Renewable Energy Technologies: Cost Analysis Series, pp. 1-32, 2012. [9] M. Odeh, “A Summary of Environmentally Friendly Turbine Design Concepts,” U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office, pp. 1-32, 1999. [10] Ruralelec Org, “The Potential of Small Hydro for Rural Electrification,” Latin America, pp. 2-16, 2015. Read More