<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt">In Romania before 1990, a massive plan of developing micro and small hydro-power plants (SHP) for electrifying isolated areas or small communities was implemented. Many of them due to previous political concepts were realized in improper conditions, in very short time. Starting 2007, a new concept referring to their functioning parameters, efficiency, and yields was redesigned. Firstly, a massive campaign of monitoring the environmental data allowed establishing a database of economically suitable SHP for rehabilitation, associated with another renewable resource (wind, solar, or both if appropriate). This is the purpose of this paper, to present such pilot station. As the first stage, six sites were selected, from different zones of the country. Firstly, some local conditions of the presented cases and part of the elaborated database of the environmental measurements are mentioned. In Romania, the hydro energy represents about 35-40% of the entire electricity production, with an average of 2000-3000 MW, so the rehabilitation of old SHPs, at least of part of them, is quite important. The selected pilot station for presentation is realized near the Arger River and is realized based on interconnection of the existent SHP with a wind power plant equipped with turbines from internal production and a photovoltaic power plant. The analyzed power plants are realized downstream the Vidraru hydropower plant (one of the largest in Romania) being equipped, with Kaplan turbines. From these selected power plants two are with remote dams, eight with dams, and six are as branched power plants. In the present paper was considered the Budeasa hydroelectric power plant, realized for complex utilization. The SHP was decommissioned in 1998, one between the others 180 from the entire country. Now due to local electricity demands is included in the rehabilitation campaign. &nbsp;Each component of the pilot station is separately analyzed. A special paragraph is dedicated to the wind power plant, equipped with a classic turbine associated with a new one, with a new type of rotor, Romanian patent-pending, capable to start at very low wind velocities. When the wind farm was implemented, SHP Budesti operated with diminished parameters, considering the flow rate and therefore the produced energy. Shortly was obtained supplementary energy production, and the pilot station became profitable. From the benefits obtained with the wind power farm, the hydropower plant starts to be rehabilitated. The theoretical model, physical realization with its main steps, and the necessary conditions for coupling these three resources are also mentioned. The obtained results after seven months of functioning associated with the economic balance are briefly presented.</p>

Interconnection of Renewable Resources, New Opportunity in the Rehabilitation of Old Small Hydropower Plant

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IMECE/IMECE2021/volume/85543

ASME 2021 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE2021)

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