UNIT – II

Non Conventional energy sources & Hydroelectric power

plant.

The non conventional sources may be renewable or non-

renewable.

The renewable energy sources are those which are

inexhaustible.

The hydroelectric power plant is the only conventional

power plant which is renewable.
Various non conventional energy sources are given below.

1. Solar thermal energy.

2. Wind energy.
3. Tidal energy.
4. Solar PV conversion.
5. Fuel cell.
6. MHD generator.
7. Geothermal energy.
8. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC).
 WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM
Wind or atmospheric air motion possesses kinetic energy
that can be utilized to produce electricity by windmill.

The wind farm is a cluster of several windmills located side

by side in a suitable wind swept locations.

The wind power supplies about 0.6% of the world

electricity demand today.

Earlier sailors used to sail their ships by wind power.

Later people built and used windmills for pumping water.

Windmill

We might have seen paper fans available during festivals

or fairs.

The windmill works in a similar fashion.

Windmills or wind turbines convert the kinetic energy of

the wind to mechanical energy which may be then
converted to electrical energy by connecting the wind mill
to generator through a step up gear box.
Different types of HAWT

i. Multi-blade Type.
ii. Sail Type.
iii. Propeller Type.
The multiblade type is similar to paper fan available
during festivals has more number of blades (12 to 20)
made of sheet metal or aluminium.

The width of blade increases from centre to the

periphery.

The diameter of rotor usually ranges from 2 to 5m.

It has advantages of simplicity and low cost and is

normally used for pumping water.
The blade surface of sail type is made from plastic or
cloth arranged in mast and pole or sail wings.

Both the multiblade and sail type run at low speeds of 60

to 80 rpm.

The propeller type has two or three long aerofoil blades

of glass fibre reinforced plastic and runs at speeds of 300
to 400 rpm.
VERTICAL AXIS WIND TURBINE (VAWT)
A vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) is a type of wind
turbine where the main rotor shaft is set transverse to the
wind (but not necessarily vertically) while the main
components are located at the base of the turbine.
This arrangement allows the generator and gearbox to be
located close to the ground, facilitating service and repair.
VAWTs do not need to be pointed into the wind which
removes the need for wind-sensing and orientation
mechanisms.
A vertical axis wind turbine has its axis perpendicular to
the wind streamlines and vertical to the ground.
A more general term that includes this option is
"transverse axis wind turbine" or "cross-flow wind
turbine.“
The Darrieus type looks like an egg beater and has two
or three blades shaped like aerofoil.

The fixed pitch blades are curved and attached to hubs

on vertical shaft at both ends.

The curved blade has the shape like the rope during
skipping.

It requires much less surface area.

The savonius type works like a cup type anemometer.

It consists of a hollow circular cylinder sliced in half , the

two halves being fixed to a vertical axis with a gap in
between.

Two halves of cylinders are fixed in such a manner that

they face in opposite directions and have an almost S-
shaped cross section.

The force of the wind on cupped face is greater than on

the rounded face.
Torque is produced by the pressure difference between
the two sides of the half facing the wind.

The wide gap between the two inner edges of the halves
of cylinder allows the air to flow around the forward
moving cupped face and then around the inside of
backward moving face.

The design is efficient but requires large area.

Site selection for Wind Turbine:
1. WECS should be installed at sites where the annual
average speeds are known to be moderately high .
It is desirable to have average wind speeds of about
3.5 to 4.5 m/sec.
2. It is desirable to install WECS at higher altitudes
because the winds tend to have higher velocities at
higher altitudes.
3. Site should be near to users.
4. Site should be near to road or railway facilities.
5. The land cost should be low.
TIDAL ENERGY
Tide is periodic rise and fall of water level of the sea.

In about 24 hours there are two high tides and two low
tides.

The rise and fall of water level follows a sinusoidal curve.

The difference between high and low water levels is called

the range of the tide.

Tide occurs due to the attraction of sea water by the moon.

These tides can be used to produce electric power which is

tidal power
SELECTION OF LOCATION OF TIDAL
POWER PLANT
1. The tidal range at the desired location should be
adequate throughout the year.

2. Site should be free from wave attack of sea.

3. No appreciable change in tidal pattern at the proposed

site.

4. It should not have excessive sediment load.

 CLASSIFICATION OF TIDAL POWER
PLANTS
1. Single basin system
i. One way system
ii. Two way system.
iii. Two way with pump storage.

2. Double basin system

iv. Simple double basin system.
v. Double basin with pumping.
In this plant a basin is allowed to get filled during the
flood tide and during ebb tide.

The water flowing from the basin to the sea through the
turbine and generates power.

The power is available for a short duration during ebb

tide.
In this arrangement the power is produced during flood
tide as well as ebb tide.

This power generation is also intermittent but

generation period is increased compared with one way
cycle.

The peak power obtained is less than the one way cycle.

The main difficulty with this arrangement is the same

turbine must be used as a prime mover as ebb and tide
flows pass through the turbine in opposite direction.
In this system power is generated during flood and ebb
tides.

Complex machines capable of generating power and

pumping the water in either directions are used.

A part of energy produced is used for introducing the

difference in the water levels between the basin and sea
at any time of the tide and this is done by pumping
water into the basin up and down.
In double basin tidal power plant, two basins at different
levels are made and a dam is provided in between them.

Inlet and outlet sluice gates are made in the dam.

The water level in upper basin is maintained above the

level of water in the lower basin.

The upper basin is filled with water during high tide and the
lower basin is evacuated during the low tide.

Therefore, a permanent head is produced between upper

and lower basins.
When a sufficient head is created, the turbines of the power
plant are started. The water flows from upper basin to
turbine which discharges into the lower basin and electrical
power is generated.

When the water level in upper basin is maximum during high

tide, the inlet sluice is closed and the level of the water in
lower basin keeps on rising due to the discharge of water by
the turbine.

When the level of water in lower basin equals during the low
tide, the outlet sluice is opened and it is closed when the
water level reaches to its minimum level. In this system, the
power can be produced continuously during emptying and
filling of basins.
Advantages:
 
It is pollution free.
Energy is freely available.
Power is ensured around the year.
It is unaffected by the unpredictability of monsoon.

Disadvantages:
 
The capital cost of the plant is high.
Every location is not suitable for installing such a system.
Sedimentation of basins is a problem.
Sea water is very corrosive.
Marine life is affected.
FUEL CELL
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device which converts chemical
energy of a fuel into electrical energy without involving a
combustion cycle.

First fuel cell was developed in 1839 by Sir William Grove in

England.

The application of fuel cell was first demonstrated in 1959 by

Francis T Bacon which generated around 5kW at 24V.

In 1960 the US space program chose fuel cell over nuclear fuel
and solar energy.

In INDIA fuel cell laboratory of BHEL developed in 1987.

This fuel cell uses hydrogen as a fuel and oxygen as an oxidiser.

There are two chambers. In one chamber hydrogen is introduced and

in other chamber oxygen is introduced and the gases are at high
temperature.

The two chambers are separated by an electrolyte which may be

solid or liquid.

The various electrolytes used are Potassium hydroxide, Zirconia

oxide.

Fuel cell electrode are made porous in order to provide large number
of pockets where the gas, electrolyte and electrode are in contact for
chemical reaction.
When the temperature are high the electrolyte material acts as
sieve and the hydrogen ions can migrate through the material.
The electrical load is connected between anode and cathode.

Hydrogen ions are produced by the dissociation of hydrogen

molecules at the anode interface.

2H2 ------ 4H + + 4e -
The electrons so formed return to fuel cell at cathode leaving a
positive charge at anode.

The hydrogen ions diffuse through electrolyte and when they

reach cathode they combine with electrons and oxygen molecules
and form water.
 4H + + O2 + 4e - --------- 2H2O

Electrochemical reactions coupled with movement of hydrogen

ions through the electrolyte generate electric potential which
causes electric current to flow through the load.
Advantages:

1. It is simple.

2. It has high power to weight ratio.

3. Theoretical efficiency as high as 90% can be expected

but it is possible only at light loads.
Disadvantages:

1. Its cost is high.

2. It has relatively short life particularly at high

temperature.

3. It is very essential to select proper materials for

components so that the reactions cannot attack them.
MHD GENERATOR
The MHD generation also known as magneto
hydrodynamic power generation is a direct energy
conversion system which converts the heat energy
directly into electrical energy, without any intermediate
mechanical energy conversion.

The principal of MHD power generation is very simple

and is based on Faraday’s law of electromagnetic
induction, which states that when a conductor and a
magnetic field moves relative to each other, then voltage
is induced in the conductor, which results in flow of
current across the terminals.
In conventional generator or alternator, the conductor
consists of copper windings or strips while in an MHD
generator the hot ionized gas or conducting fluid
replaces the solid conductor.

A pressurized, electrically conducting fluid flows through

a transverse magnetic field in a channel or duct. Pair of
electrodes are located on the channel walls at right angle
to the magnetic field and connected through an external
circuit to deliver power to a load connected to it.

The MHD generator develops DC power and the

conversion to AC is done using an inverter.
The MHD cycles can be of two types, namely

Open Cycle MHD.

Closed Cycle MHD.
In open cycle MHD system, atmospheric air at very high
temperature and pressure is passed through the
combustor.

Coal is first processed and burnt in the combustor at a

high temperature of about 2700oC and pressure about 12
ATP with pre-heated air .

Then a seeding material such as potassium carbonate is

injected to the plasma to increase the electrical
conductivity.
The resulting mixture having an electrical conductivity of
about 10 Siemens/m is expanded through a nozzle, so as
to have a high velocity and then passed through the
magnetic field of MHD generator.

During the expansion of the gas at high temperature, the

positive and negative ions move to the electrodes and
thus constitute an electric current.

The gas is then made to exhaust through the generator.

Since the same air cannot be reused again hence it
forms an open cycle and thus is named as open cycle
MHD.
For closed cycle operations noble gases and liquid metal
are considered as fluid.

In closed cycle, the fluid is heated in an heat exchanger

by using the heat energy of any combustion source.

In this system, helium or argon gas seeded with cesium

is heated in a nuclear reactor passed into MHD duct and
then into the steam generating system.
The hot helium gas is passed through a nozzle to increase
its velocity and then supplied to MHD duct to produce DC
power. Here, some part of the internal energy of the gas is
directly converted into DC power.  

In next step, the gas is passed through the heat exchanger

(i.e. steam generator) to convert feed water into steam.

Now, this steam is used in a conventional steam power

plant to generate electricity.  
The exhausted helium gas from steam generator is cooled
in the cooler and compressed in the compressor.
Thereafter, it is supplied back to the nuclear reactor and
complete cycle is repeated again.
A solar collector is a device that collects or
concentrates solar radiation from the sun.
These devices are primarily used for active solar heating
 and allow for the heating of water for personal use.
 These collectors are generally mounted on the roof and
must be very sturdy as they are exposed to a variety of
different weather  conditions.
The use of these solar collectors provides an alternative
for traditional domestic water heating  using a water
heater, potentially reducing energy costs over time. As
well as in domestic settings, a large number of these
collectors can be combined in an array and used to
generate electricity in solar thermal power plants.
Flat Plate Collectors

These collectors are simply metal boxes that have

some sort of transparent glazing as a cover on
top of a dark-coloured absorber plate.

The sides and bottom of the collector are usually

covered with insulation to minimize heat losses to
other parts of the collector.

Solar radiation passes through the transparent glazing

material and hits the absorber plate
This plate heats up, transferring the heat to either
water or air that is held between the glazing and
absorber plate.

Sometimes these absorber plates are painted with

special coatings designed to absorb and retain heat
better than traditional black paint.

These plates are usually made out of metal that is a

good conductor - usually copper or aluminium.
Line focus collector use highly reflective materials to
collect and concentrate the heat energy from solar
radiation.
These collectors are composed of parabolically shaped
reflective sections connected into a long trough.
A pipe that carries water is placed in the centre of this
trough so that sunlight collected by the reflective material
is focused onto the pipe, heating the contents. These are
very high powered collectors and are thus generally used
to generate steam for solar thermal power plants and are
not used in residential applications. These troughs can be
extremely effective in generating heat from the Sun,
particularly those that can pivot, tracking the Sun in the
sky to ensure maximum sunlight collection.
POINT FOCUS COLLECTOR
This type of collector is generally used in solar power
plants. A trough-shaped parabolic reflector is used to
concentrate sunlight on an insulated tube or heat pipe,
placed at the focal point, containing coolant which
transfers heat from the collectors to the boilers  in the
power station.

With a parabolic dish collector, one or more

parabolic dishes concentrate solar energy at a single focal
point, similar to the way a reflecting telescope focuses
starlight, or a dish antenna focuses radio waves. This
geometry may be used in solar furnaces and solar power
plants.
HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT
Water is the cheapest source of power.

It served as source of power to our civilization in the

earlier days in the form of water wheels.

A hydro electric power plant is aimed at harnessing

power from water flowing under pressure.

Hydro or water power is important only next to thermal

power.

Nearly 30% of the total power of the world is met by

hydro-electric power.
Water power has some inherent advantages,

1. Running cost is low as compared to steam or nuclear

power plant.
2. Its reliability is greater than other power plants.
3. They can be put off and on in matter of minutes.
4. It has greater life around 50 years .
5. They have no ash disposal problem.
6. They have higher efficiency over a considerable range
of load.

• Although the capital investment of these plants are

high but the operating cost is minimum as compared to
other power plants.
Hydrology – It is the natural science that deals with the
distribution of water on land beneath the surface of
earth.

It deals with solid, liquid and vapour forms of water.

The various processes involved in the transfer of

moisture from the sea to the land and back to the sea
again constitute which is called hydrological cycle.

Hydrologic equation is expressed as,

P=R+E
P – Precipitation ; R – Run-off ; E – Evaporation.
Precipitation – it includes all the water that falls from
atmosphere to the earth surface. It is of two types,
i. Liquid precipitation (rainfall)
ii. Solid precipitation ( snow, hail storm)

Run off – It is that portion of precipitation which makes its

way towards streams, lakes or oceans. Run off occurs only
if the rate of precipitation exceeds the rate at which water
infiltrates into soil and after depressions small and large
on the soil surface get filled with water.

Evaporation – Transfer of water from liquid - vapour state.

Transpiration – Water is released to atmosphere by plants.

1. Hydrograph
2. Flow Duration Curve
3. Mass curve
4. Unit Hydrograph
Hydrograph – It is a graphical representation between
discharge through a river and time.

A hydrograph may be plotted for several weeks or even

months.

It indicates the power available from the stream at

different times of the day, week or year.

Hydrograph of stream of a river will depend on the

characteristics of the catchment and precipitation over
the catchment.

Hydrograph will assess the flood flow of rivers.

Unit hydrograph is a direct runoff hydrograph resulting
from one unit (one inch or one cm) of constant intensity
uniform rainfall occurring over the entire watershed.

For example, if one inch of excess rainfall produces a

direct runoff peak of 100 cfs then two inch of excess
rainfall with produce a direct runoff of 2 x 100 = 200 cfs.

Similarly if one inch of rainfall is followed by two inch of

rainfall, the hydrographs from both rainfall pulses are
simply added after accounting for the necessary time
lag.
Unit hydrograph – It represents a volume of inch of run
off resulting from rainfall of some unit duration .

Unit hydrograph of very large floods differ some what

from those of small rainfall.
Essential features of elements of hydro electric
power plant:

1. Catchment area
2. Reservoir
3. Dam and intake house
4. Inlet waterway
5. Powerhouse
6. Tail race or outlet waterway
1. Catchment area

The catchment area of a hydro electric power plant is the

whole area behind the dam, draining into a stream or
river across which the dam has been built.

The characteristic of the catchment area includes its size,

shape, surface, orientation, altitude, topography and
geology.

The runoff of water from the catchment area is more if

the catchment area is large, the slope of catchment area
is steep.
2. Reservoir
It is the basic requirement of hydro electric power plant.

It is used to store water which may be utilised to run the

turbines to produce electric power.

Reservoir may be natural such as lake.

Artificial reservoir can be built by erecting a dam across

the river.

Water held in upstream reservoir is called storage.

Water behind the dam is called pondage.

3. Dam
A dam is structure of masonry or some other material
built at a suitable location across a river.

The primary action of the dam is to provide head of water.

Economy and safety are the basic requirement of a dam.

Dam should be capable of resisting pressure of water and

should be stable under all conditions.

The foundation must provide stability under different

forces and must support its weight.
Foundation must be impervious to prevent seepage.

Failure of a dam is a catastrophe and hence a dam

has to satisfy tests of stability during high floods and
shock loads in case of an earthquake.

The site for the dam has to be the one where the
river valley has a neck formation.

Dams may be classified into following ways.

I. Based on function -- the dams may be classified into
storage dam, diversion dam and detention dam.

1. Storage dams are for storing water and use it

subsequently as and when required for various uses.

2. Diversion dams are constructed to raise the water

level and to divert the river flow in another direction.
These may not have large storage capacity.

3. Detention dams are primarily used to store flood

water.
II. Based on shape – There can be trapezoidal shape or
arch shape to suit the structural function.

III. Based on hydraulic design – Dams can be of overflow

type which allows water to flow over it, and the non over
flow type in which water is not allowed to flow over the
top of the dam.

IV. Based on construction material – Dam can be

constructed of earth, rock pieces, stone masonry,
concrete, RCC and even of timber and rubber.