STUDY OF BIJAYAPUR-I HYDROPOWER

1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction to Hydroelectricity/Hydropower
Hydro-electricity is the most widely used form of renewable electricity in the world.
Hydroelectricity actually refers to the electricity generated by hydropower. In other
words, it is the electric power generated by harnessing the power of moving water or
gravitational force of the falling water. Once a hydropower project is completely
constructed, it will produce no more direct waste and has very less output level of
green house gas CO2 than other fossil fuel powered plants. Moreover unlike other
renewable energy resources like solar and wind (intermittent energy sources), where
sunlight and blowing wind is not available every time, hydroelectricity can ensure
24/7/365 supply of energy as water always keeps on flowing. Therefore
hydroelectricity is one of the best renewable energy sources.

On the basis of different methods of generation, hydropower projects may be

classified into following three types:

I. Conventional type(storage type)(STO)

It is the most traditional and common type. It uses dams on river to store water in
a reservoir. The potential energy of the dammed water in reservoir is responsible
for driving the water turbine and generator attached to it, producing electricity. It
can be called as storage type as water is stored in big reservoirs. The Kulekhani I
& II are the only storage type hydropower projects of Nepal at present.

II. Pumped Storage type

1
 These types are used for load balancing during peak demand periods. To supply
electricity during peak demands water is moved between reservoirs at different
elevations. At the time of low electrical demand, the excess electricity generated
is used to pump water into higher reservoir. At times of higher load demand, the
stored water is released to lower reservoir through a turbine. It therefore uses low-
cost off- peak electricity to generate electricity during periods of peak demand
(when electricity prices are highest) and helps in load balancing. Pumped-storage
types are the commercially most important means of large scale grid energy
storage and it also improves the daily capacity factor of generating system.

III. Run-of-the River type(ROR)

The ROR type depends on the natural flow of river. This type consists of
comparatively smaller reservoir making them impossible to store water. Power
stations of this type are built on rivers with consistent and steady flow, either
natural or through the use of large reservoir at the head of river that can provide a
regulated steady flow for power stations down-river.

1.2 Historical development of Hydropower in Nepal

The mechanical power of falling water is an age old tool. It was used by the Greeks to
turn water wheels for grinding wheat into flour, more than 2,000 years ago. However,
the history of electricity development of Nepal has crossed 100 years since the start of
construction of Pharping Hydroelectric Plant (500 KW) in 1911. During the Rana
regime (1846 A.D to 1951 A.D) no serious attempts were made until 1930 for
initiating economic development in a systematic basis. It was only in 1953 that a

2
development agency was constituted by the name of UDYOG PARISHAD. However,
a planning approach to development in Nepal began in 1956 with the formulation of
the First Five Year Plan (1956-1961). The hydropower development in Nepal began
with the development of 500 kW Pharping power plant in 1911 A.D. It is the first
power plant of Asia. In 1966, i.e. 44 years ago, Dr. Hari Man Shrestha assessed the
total hydropower potential in Nepal as 83,500 MW. He did so during the research
work for his Ph.D. Thesis (1966) from Moscow Power Institute, USSR on “Cadastre
of potential water power resources of less studied high mountainous regions, with
special reference to Nepal”. Dr. Shrestha is known as the pioneer Hydropower
Engineer of Nepal. Since then, no further study has, so far, been done in this field.
And, that finding seems to have been accepted as full and final to date. Much water
has flown down river Bagmati during these four decades, and the world has seen sea
changes in the fields of science and technology. Moreover, the revolutionary changes
in the fields of computer and information technology has helped find new dimensions
in research and study approaches and many findings of the past have been proved
wrong in out further investigations and research works to justify the findings of Dr.
Shrestha. It was only when Nepal started with the systematic five year development
plan in 1955, that hydropower was given proper importance in planning and
execution. Until 1990, hydropower development was under the domain of
government utility, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), only. However, with the
enactment of new hydropower development policy 1992, the sector was opened to
private sector also [1]. There are three distinct stages of hydropower development in
Nepal:

a. Donor assisted till 1995,

b. Independent Power Producers (IPPs) oriented till 1995-2001
c. Open and liberal policy since then.

1.3 Hydropower potential of Nepal and Prospects and Challenges for its
development

3
Nepal is rich in hydro-resources, with one of the highest per capita hydropower
potentials in the world. It was in the late 60s that Dr. Hari Man Shrestha created a
sensation by declaring that Nepal has a theoretical hydropower potential of 83000
MW and economic potential of 42,000 MW. However, the economically feasible
potential has been evaluated higher than 42,000 MW. Hydropower potential in terms
of electrical energy is 727,000 GWh. This Himalayan country has the capacity to
produce as much as 2.27% of the world's electricity. Of the total capacity, the storage
type of projects constitutes about 49% and the remaining 51% are run-of-river (RoR)
projects. Nepal possesses 818, 5500 ha. of total water surface(5% of total surface area
of the country). Some 225 billion cubic meter of surface water flows through
Nepalese territory annually (WWC and IHA, 2003). This gives a specific runoff of
about 0.12 million m³/km²/year, being about four times the world average. Nepal has
more than 6000 rivers and rivulets, with a total length of about 45,000 km, in three
major river basins namely Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali including some southern
rivers, and two border rivers, Mechi and Mahakali in Nepal. These three rivers, Koshi
,Gandaki and Karnali, drain about 78% of mountains part and about 70% of the
Nepalese territory.[2] Multiple sources of water include glaciers, snowmelts from the
Himalayas, rainfall, and ground water.

There are several issues of hydropower development. Some of the major issues are
discussed below:

I. Economic issue

With economic issues, the major concerns have been with delivery of expected
benefits, and distribution of costs and benefits; because of these concerns, the concept
of "benefit-sharing" has received increasing focus with hydropower developments.
Local capacity building is also an important economic issue relating to hydropower
sustainability.

II. Financial issue

4
The issue of currency and its foreign exchange rate, repatriation of loan, legislation
on tax, customs revenues, issue of market, interest rate, rate of inflation, mode of
payment etc. have to be considered.

III. Environmental issue

Environmental issues encompass habitats, biodiversity, invasive species, water

quality, erosion, reservoir sedimentation and downstream flow regimes. Reservoir
sedimentation can greatly limit the life of a hydropower facility. Passage of aquatic
species past the physical barrier presented by control of the hydropower facility.
Passage of aquatic species past the physical barriers presented by dams has been a
challenge for the hydropower industry. Increasingly with climate change, reliability
of water resource and avoidance of green house gas emissions from reservoirs need
careful consideration.

IV. Governance issue

E.g. institutional capacities, the policy context (e.g. one window policy or multi-
window policy for approval of project, multipurpose or isolated project, adoption of
BOOT or other strategies etc), and ethical practices.

1.4 Bijayapur-I Hydropower

The Bijayapur – I Small Hydropower Project is located in Pokhara-Lekhnath-26,

Kaski, Nepal on a side 2 K.M from Budhibazaar Chowk. The source is Bijayapur
Khola and Surplus water from existing irrigation systems. The type of scheme is
Run-of-River (RoR) type with a gross head of 68m. The maximum capacity of the
plant is 4.5 MW. Average annual energy produced is 28.79 GWh. The salient features
of Bijayapur-I Hydropower are given below:

Salient Features of Bijayapur-I Hydropower [3]

5
Developer Bhagawati Hydropower Development Company (p) Ltd

Project Bijayapur-I Small Hydropower Project 

District Kaski

Location of Project Site Pokhara Lekhnath Municipality

Water Source Bijayapur Khola + Irrigation Drainage 

Type of Scheme RoR

Access Road 2 km

Installed Capacity 4500 kW

Gross head 68.0 m

Rated Design head 65.4 m

Design Discharge 8.3 m3/s

Catchment Area at Intake 65.3 sq km

Probability of Excedance 45 %

Headworks Stone lined free flow weir 30m

Weir Crest Elevation EL 752 m

Under sluice 2 vertical sluice gates

Intake Type Side Intake with coarse rack

Connecting Channel 60m RCC Rectangular closed canal

Gravel Trap RCC Rectangular  (7 × 3.5 ) 

Headrace Canal 242m RCC closed canal

Desander RCC Dufour Type × 2 basins with forebay at the end

Penstock Pipe Welded Ribbed Pipe 2.5m dia

Pipe Material Mild steel (IS 2062-B)

Length 634 m

Number of Supports 206 nos.

Number of Anchor Blocks 10 nos. including Y and Bellmouth block

Powerhouse  Surface (23x11m) with outdoor switchyard

Tailrace Cut and Cover RCC, 302m

Turbine Horizontal shaft Francis 2 units

Transmission   4 km, 33kV Single Circuit    

Interconnection/Metering Point NEA 132 kV at Lekhnath Substation

Deemed Generation   29.33 GWh

Construction Started 2067 Kartik

COD/Commissioned date Bhadra 05, 2069

Project Cost without IDC 71 crore

6
Total Cost at Commissioning 80 crore

Financed by Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nabil Bank & Nepal Bank Ltd.

1.4.1 Civil Components and their Maintenance Mechanism

A. Weir

A hydro system must extract water from the river in a reliable and
controllable way. The water flowing in the channel must be regulated
during high river flow and low flow conditions. A weir can be used to
raise the water level and ensure a constant supply to the intake. Sometimes
it is possible to avoid building a weir by using natural features of the
river. 

1. Stone lined diversion

weir

B. Control Gates

These are the gates built on the inside of the dam. The water from
reservoir is released and controlled through these gates. These are called
inlet gates because water enters the power generation unit through these
gates. When the control gates are opened the water flows due to gravity
through the penstock and towards the turbines. The water flowing through
the gates possesses potential as well as kinetic energy. There are two
sluice gates under the weir to divert the water toward the intake. During

7
normal days the sluice gate is kept closed and the generation of electricity
is continued.

2. Sluice Gates

C. Intake

The intake of a hydro scheme is designed to divert a certain part of the

river flow. This part can go up to 100 % as the total flow of the river is
diverted via the hydro installation. There is another sluice gate in the
intake which is always kept open except in the case of flood

3. Side intake with coarse

rack

D. Channels

The channel conducts the water from the intake to the forebay tank. The
length of a channel can be considerably. In Nepal channels exist with a
length of a few kilometers to create a head of 10 to 30 meters. The length
of the channel depends on local conditions. In one case a long channel
combined with a short penstock can be cheaper or necessary, while in
other cases a combination of short channel with long penstock suits better.
There is a connecting channel in Bijayapur-I Hydropower which conducts

8
the water from the intake to Desander. The small silt and the sand particle
are settled in the Desander .

4. Desander

E. Forebay

The forebay tank forms the connection between the channel and the
penstock. The main purpose is to allow the last particles to settle down
before the water enters the penstock. Depending on its size it can also
serve as a reservoir to store water.

5. Forebay

F. Penstock

The penstock is the pipe which conveys water under pressure from the
forebay tank to the turbine . Penstock pipe starts after forebay up to
powerhouse. The length of the penstock pipe is 634m with a head of 64m

9
 G. Turbine

Water flowing from the penstock is allowed to enter the power generation
unit, which houses the turbine and the generator. When water falls on the
blades of the turbine the kinetic and potential energy of water is converted
into the rotational motion of the blades of the turbine. The rotating blades
cause the shaft of the turbine to also rotate. The turbine shaft is enclosed
inside the generator. In Bijayapur-I Hydropower Horizontal shaft and
Francis 2 unit turbine is used.

6. Turbine

1.4.2 Generation and Transmission

A. Generation

Water from a higher height is passed through penstock as controlled in the valve
house into water turbine thus potential energy of water stored at higher altitudes is
first converted into kinetic energy. As the water reaches the turbine it gains speed
after losing the potential energy. Kinetic energy of this speedy water drives the
water turbine which converts this into mechanical output. It drives the cooled
generator which gives electrical energy output. The valve house has a protective
valve and controlling valve (main sluice valve). Power control is done by main
sluice valve. The protective valve (an isolated automatic butterfly shape) comes
into action if there is sudden drop in load in generator and water flows in opposite

10
direction. If there is no protective valve the penstock pipe may burst due to
pressure of water due to sudden load reduction as penstock is subjected to
extreme strains. After imparting the energy of water to turbine the water is again
allowed to pass into the river. The best operating of turbine is dependent on the
head.

B. Transmission

Primarily the 11KV voltage line is increased to 220 KV by step up transformer

and transmitted to load center by three phase three wire overhead system to
different substation Secondarily at receiving station the level of voltage reduced
by step down transformer from 220/132 KV to 66 KV and electric power is
transmit by three phase three wire overhead system to different substation.

Penstock pipe is bifurcated into Y-shape because there are two units inside the
powerhouse. Then the following procedure occurs:

Y-shaped Bifurcation Horizontal axis Francis tube Generation Voltage

build up Conversion by transformer NEA 132 KV at Lekhnath

Transmission line

11
2. Significance of Research(Work)

This paper gives us an opportunity to learn about the different parameters related with
hydropower project. Its specific significance is:

 It helps to update our theoretical and practical knowledge in hydropower projects

in the actual field conditions.
 It helps to know about the civil components of the hydropower project.
 It helps to learn about the impact of the hydropower plant on society, economy,
and environment.
 It helps to know about working principle for a generation, distribution, and
transmission of electricity.
 It helps to establish communicative and coordinative relation among friends,
teachers, staffs, and stakeholders on project matters.

12
3. Literature Review
 Hydropower or "water power;" can be defined as the potential energy contained in
water at a height. Water constantly moves through a vast global cycle ,
evaporating from lakes and oceans, forming clouds, precipitating as rain or snow,
then falling back to the ocean. The energy of this cycle can be tapped to produce
electricity or for mechanical tasks like grinding grain. One third of the solar
radiation reaching the Earth is responsible for running of the hydrologic cycle.
Therefore, the energy of water never fails to be replenished. Because the
hydrologic cycle is a never ending system, hydropower is considered a renewable
energy. Indeed, it is the largest renewable resource used for electricity generation.
Water may be utilized for power generation if it possesses enough potential energy.
As water flows from highlands to lower elevations, its potential energy is reduced by
evaporation, drop in elevation, friction, and turbulence. The remaining part can be
converted into mechanical energy by turbines and generators convert this mechanical
energy into electrical energy [4]

 Paper I
A CASE STUDY OF SMALL HYDROPWER
By: Karen Kellogg, Caroline Hobbs

 Paper II
STUDY OF HYDROELECTRICIRTY IN NEPAL

 Paper III
CASE STUDY OF NİKSAR HEPP, TURKEY

13
4. Objectives

Its specific objectives are:

 To update our theoretical and practical knowledge in hydropower projects in the

actual field conditions.
 To establish communicative and coordinative relation among friends, teachers,
staffs, and stakeholders on project matters.
 To know about the civil components of the hydropower project.
 To learn about the impact of the hydropower plant on society, economy, and
environment.
 To know about working principle for a generation, distribution, and transmission
of electricity.

14
5. Scope and Limitation

A. Scope
 We can know about the site selection of small hydropower its physical
structure and work ability.
 The study about this micro-hydropower provides information about its impact
on local people and society

B. Limitation
 At the intake, there were wood sediments and plastic bags in large amount.
Even at the forebay there was a lot of waste.
 Lack of proper solid waste management.
 The maintenance of the machine wasn't done properly.
 Repairing of machines take a lot of time due to lack of skilled man power.

15
6. Methodology

A. Group Discussion and Desk Study

 Discussed the important aspect with group member and coordinator
 Planned the questionnaire and topic to be learnt
B. Site Selection
 Selected Bijayapur-I Hydropower for our project study which could be shortly
accessed.
C. Site Visit
 Visited the Bijayapur-I hydropower to identify and evaluate its location, availability
of water, water storage, geological investigation, water pollution, sedimentation,
environmental effect
D. Survey
 Prepared a questionnaire to staffs and engineers of Bijayapur-I Hydropower.
 Gained a whole bunch of information consulting the engineers.

 Consoled with various books related to hydropower plants.

E. Documentation of Data
 All the data were compiled. After that, the documentation was carried out.

16
7. Result and Discussion

In this Hydropower study, the main focus was to collect all the information about the
process of electricity production and the quantity of the electric power produced by the
mini Hydropower. It was known that the Hydropower produces minimum of 2.11Mw in
Dry season and the maximum of 4.5 Mw in the wet season. We gained the knowledge
about the physical structure and workability of small hydropower. The river water was
collected in mini dam which consist of Diversion weir, sluice gates, Trash trap rack and
the Forebay. The Dam ensures the constant water supply to the Horizontal-Axis Francis
Turbine via Penstock Pipe. Electricity generated is converted by Transformer then is
supplied to Lekhnath Area. The major problem in the Hydropower seemed to be the
sediments coming from river and plastic trash. The machines also didn't seem to be well
maintained. The regular removal of trash and sediments is must and the workers also
should be given Well-Training. On further study it is found that the aquatic ecosystem of
this area is also affected by the Hydropower. But overall the Hydropower has a positive
impact on society. Not only the hydropower provides positive influence towards the local
people by creating employment opportunities but also it provides clean energy in
Lekhnath area. Seeing the head, construction of another plant is also possible.

17
8. Conclusion

The scenario of small hydropower project with the example of Bijayapur-I is clearly
depicted in this report. We gained knowledge about the physical structure, working
operation of the hydropower project along with the generation and transmission of
electricity. The type of scheme is Run-of-River (RoR) type with a gross head of 68m.
The maximum capacity of the plant is 4.5 MW. Average annual energy produced is 28.79
GWh. Such hydropower projects have proved to be very significant in society as these
have not only been generating electricity but also creating job opportunities for the local
people. Government should promote the construction and maintenance of such
hydropower projects in our country to resolve the energy crisis.

18
9. References

[1]http://www.ippan.org.np/HPinNepal.html,

[2] https://www.hydropower.org/country-profiles/nepal

[3] http://www.cecnepal.com.np/bijaypur.php

[4] CASE STUDY OF NİKSAR HEPP, TURKEY, BY REYHAN MUTLU

19