Sustainable design and operation of hydro power plants exposed to high sediment yield

Den globale utviklingen av vannkraft er et viktig skritt mot et lavkarbonsamfunn. Til tross for sin globale potensialet, er det utfordret av både sosiale og økologiske hensyn. Derfor er utviklere og investorer tvunget til å fremme bærekraftige tilnærminger for fremtidig kraftutbygging. Det foreslåtte prosjektet spesifikt adresserer disse problemene som mål å samle ny kunnskap som kreves for å garantere bærekraftig og effektiv global kraftutbygging. I regioner med store vannkraftpotensialet for eksempel Sør-Øst-Europa, Asia, Afrika og Sør-Amerika ulike sedimenttransportprosesser, f.eks sedimentering, er kjerne utfordringer som må tas opp og endret for å sikre en bærekraftig kraftutbygging. Sedimenteringsprosesser har vist seg å være teknisk, økonomisk og sosio økologisk utfordrende (f.eks reduksjon av reservoar levetid eller virkninger på nedstrøms økosystemer). I tillegg er klimaendringer forventes å forårsake økt transport av sediment i nedbørsfelt, påvirker drift og vedlikehold av vannkraftanlegg og dermed energiproduksjon. For å møte disse utfordringene er det viktig å utvikle kostnadseffektive metoder for sedimenthåndtering. Gjennomføring av slike funn vil redusere nedstrøms sosiale og økologiske konsekvenser i en bærekraftig måte. For kraftbransjen, design av hydrauliske strukturer, flushing teknikker og målinger av sedimenter pålitelige er sentrale kunnskaps domener for fremtidig utvikling.

The main outcome of this project is that we developed a methodology on how to quantify suspended and bed load in rivers. We increased the knowledge when using light weight material in a physical scale model. We improved the design of a Francis turbine runner and we got one step further to include ecological aspects into the operation of hydro power plants. The German federal institute of hydrology will use the method for bed load in their daily routine and the method for suspended load measurements will be included in Statkraft daily routine. The methods developed in WP2 are applied in a daily basis routine in HydroLab in Nepal as well as in the hydraulic laboratory at NTNU. The project overall had a impacts so that we got several spin-off projects granted which were a direct follow up or were simply inspired by SediPASS: FME HydroCEN, IPN Strivan, JPI AXIS DirtX, H2020 HYPOS, ADCPX BfG Germany, 2nd phase Statkraft R&D sediments and internal funding.

The present proposal is about the sustainable design and operation of hydro power plants exposed to high sediment yield. The global development of hydropower is an important step towards a low-carbon society. Despite its global potential, it is challenged by both social and ecological considerations. Consequently, developers and investors are forced to promote sustainable approaches for future hydropower. The project specifically addresses these issues aiming to accumulate knowledge to guarantee sustainable and efficient global hydropower development. In regions with large hydropower potential, such as South-East Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, sediment transport processes are core challenges that need to be addressed to ensure sustainable hydropower development. To meet these challenges it is essential to develop cost-effective methods and technology for sustainable sediment handling. It is imperative that the implementation of such findings will reduce downstream social and ecological impacts in a sustainable way. For hydropower operators, the design of hydraulic structures, flushing techniques and reliable sediment measurements are key knowledge domains for future development. Hence, the proposed project will focus on four distinct areas of knowledge needs. 1) Development of reliable and cost effective techniques to measure sediment transport in rivers and at hydraulic structures, 2) Improvement of physical scale modelling, 3) Quantification of sediment erosion on turbine components and the development of effective methods to minimize damage, 4) Identification of environmental impact on downstream river environment due to flushing of sediments. To solve the aforementioned issues concerning the sustainable design and operation of hydro power plants, the generated knowledge is linked via cross-disciplinary approaches, with close collaboration between the fields of ecology, hydrology, technical design and production planning, to obtain an optimal solution.