What is a Run-of-River Project?

The type of hydroelectric project that is commonly used today in British Columbia is the run-of-river project. It is deemed as a significant contributor to green power because it requires little or no storage to generate the electricity that is needed. Unlike large hydro projects that have been built traditionally in B.C., no large dam, reservoir or flooding will result from the Ashlu project. The energy produced will come from the naturally flowing mountain waters.

Here is how the Ashlu Creek Project would work:

Weir and IntakeLocated 8 kilometres upstream of the confluence with the Squamish River, a 3 metre high inflatable rubber weir sitting on top of an approximately 3

metre high sill will divert some of the water from Ashlu Creek into an intake structure, which subsequently directs the water into an underground tunnel. The rubber weir is inflated to slow down the water in the creek so that some of the water can be diverted into the tunnel. A fish ladder will be installed at the weir to allow any fish to pass upstream of the weir.

Intake structure at Rutherford Creek

TunnelA 4 metre diameter, underground tunnel will be built through solid granite. It will transport the diverted water over 4 kilometres downstream to the powerhouse. The tunnel will be built entirely underground so that there is no disturbance to wildlife.

Soo River Hydro Electric Project Powerhouse

PowerhouseInside the powerhouse, the incoming water from the tunnel will turn the turbines to generate electricity. The powerhouse is the size of a large, residential house and is well insulated to minimise any noise. There is only a minimal amount of lighting on the outside of the powerhouse; there are lights on the inside for a worker to monitor the turbines. Lights and noise from the Ashlu powerhouse will not be visible nor audible from the Squamish Valley.

Turbine Generator

Water Return ChannelAfter passing through the turbines, the water returns, clean and unchanged, through a channel and back into the natural creek. The returning water is several hundreds of metres upstream of the salmon habitat area on the Ashlu delta to ensure no disturbance to the salmon during spawning season. There is no net loss of water to the creek as all of the diverted water is returned to the creek.

PowerlineAn overhead powerline will be installed and will follow the existing logging road for 2.5 kilometres to connect to BC Hydro's existing powerlines from the Cheakamus Generating Station. By tying into the existing power lines, there is no new power line down the Upper Squamish Valley and no visual impact to the local area residents.

Green Power Advantages

Ashlu Creek Green Power Project Backgrounder

"Leadership in Green Power"

The Ashlu Creek Green Power Project is a 49 megawatt run-of-river project that is located approximately 35km northwest of Squamish. It is situated near BC Hydro's Cheakamus Generating Station and several kilometres from the nearest residents of the Upper Squamish Valley. The project will produce enough electricity for 23,000 homes each year and 100% of the electricity is sold to BC Hydro.

Continue reading “Ashlu Creek Green Power Project Backgrounder”

Green Power Project Criteria

BC Hydro has stated in 2001 that over the next ten years its goal is to ensure that 10% (on average) of all new energy resources required to meet incremental growth will be from green energy sources. For IPPs to contribute in achieving this goal, green standards were developed so that BC Hydro can acquire energy from new, high quality projects.

Continue reading “Green Power Project Criteria”

10 Steps to Developing a Waterpower Project

Step 1 - Submission of Application (Complete)The proponent officially submitted an application to Land and Water British Columbia (LWBC) with information required under the Water Act and Land Act. The application required that the proponent would work with qualified professionals to ensure that the information in the submission was complete and to the satisfaction of LWBC. The following information was included in the application for a waterpower project:

1. Completed application forms for the Crown land tenures and a water

license;

2. Maps and plans of the project;

3. Title certificates and legal plans;

4. Preliminary project definition;

5. Certificate of incorporation; and

6. Application fees

Step 2 - Review of Application by LWBC (Complete)The information submitted by the proponent was then reviewed by LWBC. The application was deemed to be complete, the applicant was notified in writing and discussions between the proponent and LWBC over the schedule for completing the project then began. This Notification by LWBC was not an indication that the application would be either refused or accepted.

Step 3 - Preparation of Development Plan (Complete)The Development Plan was prepared by the proponent to provide LWBC with the information that fully defined the project and identified the impacts from the construction and operation of the project. This information formed the basis for the official decision to approve the application under the Water Act and Land Act. The Development Plan consisted (as is required) of two sections: the Project Definition and the Impact Assessment. The first section provided the definition of the project in terms of location and physical characteristics and was not significantly different from what was submitted in Step 1. The second section of the report identified all impacts of the construction and operation of the project and includes a communication plan for public consultation. During the preparation of the second section it was the proponent's responsibility to contact all other parties that may be affected by the impacts of the projects. The following list shows the different parties that were contacted:

1. Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Canadian Coast Guard)

2. Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Habitat Protection

Branch)

3. District of Squamish

4. Environment Canada (Pacific Yukon Region)

5. Environment Canada (Canadian Wildlife Service)

6. Ministry of Forests (Squamish Forest District)

7. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection

8. Ministry of Energy and Mines

9. Ministry of Transportation

10. Provincial Agriculture Land Commission

11. Squamish-Lillooet Regional District

12. Squamish Nation

13. Whitewater Kayaking Association of British Colombia

14. Upper Squamish Valley Residents

Step 4 - Review of Development Plan by LWBC (Complete)The Development Plan was then reviewed by LWBC. This review was not a determination of the adequacy of the mitigation and compensation proposed by the proponent, nor was it a decision about the granting of the applications under the Water Act and Land Act. The information provided by the proponent was reviewed to ensure that it was reasonably complete and that the best information was made available to other parties for input under Step 5.

Step 5 - Review of the Project (Almost Complete)The review of the project was initiated to give agencies, interested parties, and First Nations and opportunity to provide LWBC with information to determine the impacts and potential effects of the project on the rights people have under the Water Act and Land Act and also to determine the potential for infringements on aboriginal rights or title over land and water resources. The information is also being used to determine the appropriate mitigation and compensation measures to address the impacts.

Step 6 - Preparation of Summary Report (In Progress)The Information from Step 5 was gathered by the proponent and is currently being compiled into a Summary Report. It is a condensed form of the Development plan and summarizes the information from the assessment of impacts received from all parties. Conclusions on the assessment of impacts

and the proposed mitigation and compensation measures by the affected parties will be clearly stated.

Step 7 - Decision on the Application (Expected July 2004)LWBC will review all information related to the waterpower project, and make a decision to grant or refuse the application under the Water Act and Land Act. Upon acceptance of the waterpower project the proponent is offered tenure to the Crown land and is provided with a draft water license. LWBC issues the land tenure and water license when the proponent accepts the offer.

Step 8 - Construction of Project (Commence Fall 2004)The water License will include conditions that require the licensee to submit criteria for the design of the project and plans for its construction. Such criteria include:

1. the preparing, to the satisfaction of the engineer under the Water Act,

of an environmental management plan (EMP) for the management and

mitigation of construction impacts;

2. the retaining of an independent engineer to provide information and

reports on the design and construction of the works to the engineer under

the Water Act; and

3. the retaining of an independent environmental monitor to provide

information and reports on the compliance of construction with the EMP.

Step 9 - Operation of Project (Commence Spring 2007)The procedures for the operation of the project will be submitted to LWBC in the form of a report prepared by the licensee. LWBC will review the report and issue directions for the commencement of the operation of the project.

Step 10 - Monitoring of ProjectThe proponent will be required to submit information on the quantity of electricity generated by the project and other information on the compliance with the water license and land tenures. The proponent will also be required to implement a monitoring program to confirm that particular impacts will have been satisfactorily addressed. In the case of the Ashlu Project, five years of post-construction monitoring has been planned.

Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation whereby the natural flow and elevation drop of a river are used to generate electricity. Power stations of this type are built on rivers with a consistent and steady flow, either natural or through the use of a large reservoir at the head of the river which then can provide a regulated steady flow for stations down-river (such as the Gouin Reservoir for the Saint-Maurice River in Quebec, Canada).

Chief Joseph Dam near Bridgeport, Washington, USA, is a major run-of-river station without a sizeable reservoir.

[edit] Concept

Run-of-River projects are dramatically different in design, appearance and impact from conventional hydroelectric projects. Power stations on rivers with great seasonal fluctuations require a large reservoir in order to operate during the dry season, resulting in the necessity to impound and flood large tracts of land. In contrast, run of river projects do not require a large impoundment of water.[1] Instead, some of the water is diverted from a river, and sent into a pipe called a penstock. The penstock feeds the water downhill to the power station's turbines. Because of the difference in relief,

potential energy from the water up river is transformed into kinetic energy while it flows downriver through the penstock, giving it the speed required to spin the turbines that in turn transform this kinetic energy into electrical energy. Additionally, there is no alteration of downstream flows, since all diverted water is returned to the stream below the powerhouse.

Most run-of-river power plants consist of a dam across the full width of the river to utilize all the river's water for electricity generation. Such installations have a reservoir behind the dam but since flooding is minimal, they can be considered "run-of-river".[citation needed]

[edit] Advantages

Flooding the upper part of the river is not required as it doesn't need a large reservoir. As a result, people living at or near the river don't need to be relocated and natural habitats are preserved, reducing the environmental impact as compared to reservoirs.[citation needed]

[edit] Disadvantages

The output of the power plant is highly dependent on natural run-off. Spring melts will create a lot of energy while dry seasons will create relatively little energy. While there is no flooding, there is still negative environmental impact through clearing for power lines, roads, and a water diversion which may affect fish stocks. A run-of-the-river power plant has little or no capacity for energy storage[citation needed] and hence can't co-ordinate the output of electricity generation to match consumer demand.

RUN OF THE RIVER HYDRO POWER

PROS AND CONS

Run of the river hydro power relies on the natural flow of a waterway. If the water

flow in a stream is reduced, so is the available power output of a hydro turbine

placed in the stream.

[You will need the Free Adobe Reader to access some of the documents on this

page.]

Run of the river hydropower involves placing small, mini, or micro hydro turbines into

waterways without large dams. There are a number of ways to do this as shown in

this European Union Hydropower Document . (This is a big file, over 11 MB, so it

takes a bit to open.)

Another good resource is this Small Hydro Project Analysis Manual from the Canadian

Ministry of Natural Resources in collaboration with the U.S. National Aeronautics and

Space Administration.

Run of the river hydro projects can involve small dams, but they are done in a way

that doesn’t flood massive amounts of land or interfere greatly with marine life. Other

hydro turbines operate without dams.

Some projects involve running a pipe down the stream. This pipe becomes a

Penstock that creates a head pressure, which allows a hydro turbine to run

efficiently.

And some methods simply place a water turbine in a strong current area of a river in

a manner that involves no visible structure at all. They lay quietly under the surface

of the river, out of sight, with minimal environmental impact, and generate power

from the natural flow of the river.

Run of the river hydropower turbines are much smaller than those found on large,

dammed reservoir projects. While there is no defined standard for size, several terms

are in general use.

Small hydro power plants range in size from about 1 MW (Megawatt or one million

Watts) to 50 MW.

Hydropower turbines in the 100 KW (Kilowatt or thousands of Watts) to 1 MW size

range are referred to as mini hydro plants.

Micro hydro turbines refer to anything less than 100 KW in size.

_________________________________________________________________

ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLINESS -

Run of the river methods are inherently more environmentally friendly than big

dams. These methods do not flood land or obstruct rivers in ways that adversely

restrict marine life movement.

Since no new land is flooded, existing forests are left in place to continue the process

of absorbing greenhouse gasses.

New hydro turbine designs and conservation minded construction eliminate fish kills

and many of these ideas are in the process of being retrofitted to larger dams.

_________________________________________________________________

COST –

Generating costs depend on the amount of flow, the degree of drop across a short

distance, and the technology used. Hundreds of these projects are being installed

annually and most operate on a competitive basis with fossil fuel powered generating

plants. It’s only a matter of placing the generators at suitable locations in a flowing

stream. _________________________________________________________________

AVAILABILITY –

Because run of the river systems take advantage of much smaller water flow

volumes, they are far more widely available than power dams.

Some of these systems are so small that they can be economically used in a small

creek to reliably generate electricity for just one home.

Run of the river hydropower can be extraordinarily reliable and offer continuous

power around the clock, 365 days a year.

But because stream flows do vary from month to month. The big key to high

reliability levels is a combination of good site selection and hydro turbine sizing that

is compatible with the stream in which it is placed.

_________________________________________________________________

If you live by a stream of any size, these Department of Energy sites can help

determine if your site is suitable for this type of hydro electric power, and what kind

of equipment will best serve your needs:

NREL Run of the River Hydro

DOE Hydropower Prospector

_________________________________________________________________

AESTHETICS –

All run of the river hydropower systems are restricted to existing river areas and

some are entirely underwater. Many of the surface structures will exist in areas that

are already industrialized.

These small hydropower systems should never pose aesthetics problems like wind

turbines that noisily dot the countryside, or stack gas emissions coming from fossil

fuel fired power plants. There won’t even be a vapor flume from a cooling tower.

Any way you look at this form of hydropower, it comes up a winner.

Small hydro

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Micro hydro in North-West Vietnam

1895 hydroelectric plant near Telluride, Colorado

Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale serving a small community or industrial plant. The definition of a small hydro project varies but a generating capacity of up to 10 megawatts (MW) is generally accepted as the upper limit of what can be termed small hydro. This may be

stretched to 25 MW and 30 MW in Canada and the USA. In contrast many hydroelectric projects are of enormous size, such as the generating plant at the Hoover Dam (2,074 megawatts) or the vast multiple projects of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Small hydro can be further subdivided into mini hydro, usually defined as less than 1,000 kW, and micro hydro which is less than 100 kW. Micro hydro is usually the application of hydroelectric power sized for small communities, single families or small enterprise.

Small hydro plants may be connected to conventional electrical distribution networks as a source of low-cost renewable energy. Alternatively, small hydro projects may be built in isolated areas that would be uneconomic to serve from a network, or in areas where there is no national electrical distribution network. Since small hydro projects usually have minimal reservoirs and civil construction work, they are seen as having a relatively low environmental impact compared to large hydro. This decreased environmental impact depends strongly on the balance between stream flow and power production. One tool that helps evaluate this issue is the Flow Duration Curve or FDC. The FDC is a Pareto curve of a stream's daily flow rate vs. frequency. Reductions of diversion help the river's ecosystem, but reduce the hydro system's ROI. The hydro system designer and site developer must strike a balance to maintain both the health of the stream and the economics.

[edit] Growth

During 2008 small hydro installations grew by 28% over year 2005 to raise the total world small hydro capacity to 85 gigawatts. Over 70% of this was in China (with 65 GW), followed by Japan (3.5 GW), the United States (3 GW) and India (2 GW).[1] China plans to electrify a further 10,000 villages by 2010 under their China Village Electrification Program using renewable energy, including further investments in small hydro and photovoltaics.[1]

[edit] Generation

Hydroelectric power is the generation of electric power from the movement of water. A hydroelectric facility requires a dependable flow of water and a reasonable height of fall of water, called the head. In a typical installation, water is fed from a reservoir through a channel or pipe into a turbine. The pressure of the flowing water on the turbine blades causes the shaft to

rotate. The rotating shaft is connected to an electrical generator which converts the motion of the shaft into electrical energy.

Small hydro is often developed using existing dams or through development of new dams whose primary purpose is river and lake water-level control, or irrigation. Occasionally old, abandoned hydro sites may be purchased and re-developed, sometimes salvaging substantial parts of the installation such as penstocks and turbines, or sometimes just re-using the water rights associated with an abandoned site. Either of these cost saving advantages can make the ROI for a small hydro site well worth the use of existing site infrastructure & water rights.

[edit] Project design

Many companies offer standardized turbine generator packages in the approximate size range of 200 kW to 10 MW. These "water to wire" packages simplify the planning and development of the site since one vendor looks after most of the equipment supply. Since non-recurring engineering costs are minimized and development cost is spread over multiple units, the cost of such systems is improved. While synchronous generators capable of isolated plant operation are often used, small hydro plants connected to an electrical grid system can use economical induction generators to further reduce installation cost and simplify control and operation.

Micro-hydro plants may use purpose-designed turbines or use industrial centrifugal pumps, connected in reverse to act as turbines. While these machines rarely have optimum hydraulic characteristics when operated as turbines, their low purchase cost makes them attractive for micro-hydro class installations.

Regulation of small hydro generating units may require diversion of water around the turbine, since the project may have no reservoir to store unused water. For micro-hydro schemes feeding only a few loads, a resistor bank may be used to dissipate electrical energy as heat during periods of low demand. In a sense this energy is wasted but the incremental fuel cost is negligible so there is little economic loss.

Other small hydro schemes may use tidal energy or propeller-type turbines immersed in flowing water to extract energy. Tidal schemes may require water storage or electrical energy storage to level out the intermittent (although exactly predictable) flow of power.

Since small hydro projects usually have minimal environmental and licensing procedures, and since the equipment is usually in serial production, standardized and simplified, and since the civil works construction is also small, small hydro projects may be developed very rapidly. The physically small size of equipment makes it easier to transport to remote areas without good road or rail access.

Micro-hydro installations can also provide multiple uses. For instance, micro-hydro projects in rural Asia have incoporated agro-processing facilities such as rice mills - alongside standard electrification - into the project design [2].

[edit] Small scale DIY hydroplants

With a growing DIY-community and an increasing interest in environmentally friendly "green energy", some hobbyists have endeavored to build their own hydroeletric plants from old water mills, or from kits or from scratch.[3] Usually, the DIY-community uses decayed/abandoned water mills to mount a waterwheel and other electrical components.[citation needed] This approach has also been popularised in TV-series as It's Not Easy Being Green.[4] These are usually smaller turbines of ~5kW or less.[5][6][7] Through the internet, the community is now able to obtain plans to construct DIY-water turbines.[7][8][9][10] and there is a growing trend toward building them for domestic requirements. The DIY-hydroelectric plants are now being used both in developed countries and in developing countries, to power residences and small businesses.