Hydraulic power plant: operation and types

Hydraulic power plant

Today we come to talk about another renewable energy in depth. It is about hydropower. But we are not going to talk about it itself, but about the hydraulic power plant where it is generated and carried out. A hydroelectric plant is of great importance for the generation of renewable energy from the reservoirs of water. In addition, it has multiple other uses and benefits for the population.

In this article we will discuss all the advantages and disadvantages of hydroelectric power plants and we will see how they work. Do you want to know more about it? Keep reading.

What is a hydroelectric plant

Operation of hydraulic power plants

When we put a hydroelectric plant into operation, what we hope is to be able to generate energy from the water stored in the reservoirs. The first thing to do is generate mechanical energy and transform it into electrical energy.

The water collection system is manufactured to create an unevenness that originates an accumulated potential energy. That water is dropped to get energy through the difference of gravity. When the water passes through the turbine, it generates a rotary movement that drives an alternator and transforms mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Benefits of the hydroelectric plant

Disadvantages of a hydroelectric plant

As you can see, this brings great benefits to the population and not only at the energy level. Let's group these advantages to analyze them one by one:

  • It is a renewable energy. In other words, it does not run out in time like fossil fuels can. Water in itself is not unlimited, but it is true that nature constantly brings us rain. In this way we can recover and continue using it as a source of energy.
  • Being totally natural and renewable, it does not pollute. It is a clean energy.
  • As we have said before, it not only benefits us in the energy contribution, but it is also combined with other actions such as protection against floods, irrigation, water supply, generation of roads, tourism or landscaping.
  • Despite what you think, both operating and maintenance costs are low. Once the dam and the entire catchment system have been built, maintenance is not complex at all.
  • Unlike other types of energy exploitation, the works carried out to take advantage of this type of energy have a long useful life.
  • The turbine is used to generate energy. A turbine is quite simple to use, very safe and efficient. This means that production costs are lower and that it can be started and stopped quickly.
  • Barely requires surveillance on the part of the workers, since it is a simple position to carry out.

Just the fact that it is a renewable and clean energy with low costs already makes it a competitive energy in the markets. It is true that it has some disadvantages as we will see below, although the benefits obtained are much more relevant.

Disadvantages of hydroelectric plants

Unsurprisingly, this type of power is not all advantages. It has some drawbacks when it comes to being generated and they should also be taken into account if it is to be placed to supply a population or, at least, to contribute to covering energy demand.

We are going to analyze the disadvantages of this type of energy:

  • As expected, a hydroelectric plant requires a large area of ​​land. The site where it is placed must have natural characteristics that allow the energy to be properly exploited.
  • The construction costs of the hydroelectric plant are usually highSince you have to prepare the land, build the electricity transmission system and energy is lost in this entire process that cannot be recovered.
  • Compared with other plants or other types of renewable energy, the construction of the plant takes a long time.
  • Depending on the rainfall patterns and the demand of the population, the generation of energy is not always constant.

The latter occurs with many types of renewable energy. It is one of the problems that most have to be covered in the renewables sector. Like wind power requires winds and the solar After many hours of sunshine, hydraulics need abundant rainfall to generate good waterfalls.

To make this disadvantage less, you have to know how to choose the location very well. For example, it is not the same to place the plant in an area where rainfall is very scarce and the climate is generally dry than to put it in an area with a lot of rain. By doing this, energy production will be much cheaper and more abundant.

Types of hydraulic power plants

There are different types of hydroelectric plants depending on the way in which they work.

Run-of-the-river hydraulic power station

Run-of-the-river hydraulic power station

It is a type of plant that does not accumulate large amounts of water in the turbines, but rather take advantage of the available flow in the river there is at that time. As the seasons of the year go by, the flow of the river also changes, making it impossible for excess water to be wasted by overflowing the dam.

Hydroelectric plant with reserve reservoir

Hydraulic power plant with reservoir

Unlike the previous one, this one does have a reservoir where the reserve water is stored. The reservoir allows the amount of water that reaches the turbine to be regulated in a more efficient way. The advantage it offers over the previous one is that, by always having dammed water as a reserve, it can produce electrical energy throughout the year.

Hydroelectric pumping station

Hydraulic pumping station

In this case we have two reservoirs located at different levels. Depending on the demand for electrical energy, they increase their production or not. They do this like a conventional exchange. When the water that is stored in an upper reservoir falls, turn the turbine and, when necessary, the water is pumped from the lower reservoir so that, again, it can restart the movement cycle.

This type of central has the advantage that it can be regulated according to the demand for electricity.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about hydroelectric plants.


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