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 Energy Resources and Technologies
Energy exists freely in nature as the gift to mankind. Energy is the need for all kinds of work done by
human beings and nature. Energy is also defined as the ability or the capacity to do work. Human
transforms the food into energy to do work. Similarly, various machineries also transform energy into
work. Work means moving or lifting something, warming or lighting something. There are many sources
of energy that help to run different machines. Some of them exist infinitely (never run out), are called
Renwable Energy sources. The rest that are available in finite amounts and they took millions of years
to form where as possible to run out one day, are called Non-renewable Energy Sources.

Non-renewable energy is energy from fossil fuels such as coal, crude oil, natural gas and uranium. Fossil
fuels are mainly made up of Carbon. The good thing about fossil fuels is that unlike many renewable
sources of energy, fossil fuels are relatively less expensive to produce. But, fossil fuels when they are
burned (used) they produce a lot of carbon compounds (carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases) that
hurt the environment in many ways. Air, water and land pollution are all consequences of using fossil
fuels.

Energy sources are also categorized as Conventional and Alternative Sources of Energy. The
conventional sources are basically non-renewable such as coal, petroleum, natural gas etc. Alternative
sources are mainly renewables e.g. wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, tidal and hydro (small hydro).
Nuclear and large hydro power are not considered renewable because of various environmental hazards
even though they do not pollute the air. Renewable energy sources are essentially flows of energy,
whereas the fossil fuels are in essence stocks of energy. Sun is the main source of all types of energy.

World Energy Scenario

The world energy scenario is a major concern in the present time. The adverse effects on environment
caused by the production and consumption of energy have resulted in severe environmental impacts
across the globe. Energy consumption is high in most developed countries. On the other hand, developing
countries need to consume more energy to ensure economic growth.

Source: IEA, 2008

Major energy sources in the world are coal, natural gas, oil, hydro and nuclear energy. Contribution of
renewable sources has been significantly increasing because of improved technological growth and

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reduced cost of generation. In 2011, renewable contributed 2.4% in total power generation scenario of the
world whereas it was only 0.52% in 2002. Germany has become so far the top renewable power producer
in the world.

Nepal relies heavily on traditional biomass. Commercial energy need is mainly contributed from
petroleum product apparently in urban areas. Electricity supply accounts below 2% of total energy
consumption. Still above 50% of the people has no electricity supply.

Hydropower

The basic principle of hydropower is that if water can be piped from a certain level to a lower level, the
resulting water pressure can be used to move a mechanical component that converts potential energy of
the water into mechanical energy. In concrete form, hydro turbines convert water pressure into
mechanical shaft power, which can be used to drive an electricity generator. Below 20% of today’s
electricity need of the world is from hydropower. Nepal’s electricity is almost all from hydropower except
diesel generator occasionally used during peak time of the day.

The theoretical power (P) available in hydroelectric project is

∝ .

Q = water discharge (m3/s) H = head of water (m)

That means, electric power output is proportional to flow of water and the available head from where the
water can be dropped down. More the discharge and higher the head, more power is obtained. E

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However, a project with high head but smaller discharge is economical than the same with lower head and
higher discharge.

As we know, potential energy of water per unit volume = ρgH = 10 HQ (kW)

ρ = density of water (kg/m3) which is ~ 1000 kg/m3

g = acceleration due to gravity (m/s2) i.e. 9.8 m/s2

If η be the conversion efficiency

P = ηgHQ ≈ 10 η HQ (in kW)

Hydroelectric power generation is by far the most efficient method of large scale electric power
generation. The conversion efficiency (η) depends mainly on the type of water turbine employed and can
be as high as 95% for large installations. Smaller plants with output power less than 5 MW may have
efficiencies between 80 and 85 %.

Hydroelectric power plant requires various components for generating electrical power. Some of the
major components in hydroelectric power plants are: Reservoirs, Dam, Trash Rack, Forebay, Surge Tank,
Penstock, Spillway, Prime Mover, Generator, Draft Tube and so on.

The reservoir is built by constructing a dam across the river. The water from the reservoir is drawn by the
forebay through an open canal or tunnel. Forebay acts as regulating reservoir to temporarily store water
during change of electric load. The water intake from the dam or from the forebay are provided with trash
rack that prevents the entry of any debris. The water from the forebay is supplied to the water prime
mover through the penstock which is located at the much lower level than the height of the water in the
reservoir. Thus potential energy of water stored in reservoir is converted into kinetic energy and made to

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rotate the turbine. Turbine shaft is connected to synchronous generator or alternator for generating
electricity. This generated power is stepped up using step-up transformer and delivered to load centers or
grid. The regulation of water flow to the turbine depending on the electrical load demand is carried out by
the governor system.

Besides, surge tank reduces the water hammering effect during water surges caused in the penstok due to
sudden loading and unloading of the generator. The function of spillway is to provide safety of the dam
by discharging major floods without damage to the dam. The draft tube is a part of the reaction turbine.
The tube is a diverging discharge passage connecting the running with tailrace. It is shaped to decelerate
the flow with a minimum loss so that the remaining kinetic energy of the water coming out of the runner
is efficiently regained by converting into suction head thereby increasing the total pressure difference on
the runner.

Advantages of hydropower

 Operating cost is negligible since no fuel is required.

 If electricity is not needed, the sluice gates can be shut in no time, stopping electricity generation.
 The water can be saved for use another time when electricity demand is high.
 Dams are designed to last many decades and so can contribute to the generation of electricity for
many years / decades.
 The lake that forms behind the dam can be used for water sports and leisure / pleasure activities.
Often large dams become tourist attraction.
 The lake's water can be used for irrigation purposes. The build up of water in the lake means that
energy can be stored until needed then the water is released to produce electricity.
 They do not pollute the atmosphere.

Disadvantages

 They are very capital intensive.

 The flooding of large areas of land means that the natural environment is destroyed.
 People living in villages and towns that are in the valley to be flooded, must move out. This
means that they lose their farms, businesses and cultural importance of the place.
 The building of large dams can cause serious geological and ecological damage.

Thermal Power

Thermal power station utilizes the calorific values of fuels as the source of energy. The conversion of
such energy is carried out by turbo-generator. Turbo generator is run by steam turbines. The steam is
obtained from high pressure boiler. The fuel burnt in the boiler can be either solid (e.g. coal), liquid (e.g
petroleum) and gaseous (natural gas) as well. Conventionally, the thermal generation means steam power
plant using coal as fuel. The diagram of a Thermal Plant is shown below.

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 Fig. Schematic Diagram of Thermal Power Plant

In the boiler, the fuel (coal) is burnt and the water is converted into high pressure steam which is further
superheated in a super heater. Inside the boiler there are various heat exchangers: Economiser,
‘Evaporator, Super Heater’ and so on. In Economiser, the feed water has been heated to considerable
amount by the remaining heat of flue gas. The superheated steam is passed in the turbine to rotate the
turbine blades, thus it converts the heat energy to mechanical energy. The pressure of steam decreases and
its volume increases, after imparting energy to the turbine rotor. The low pressure steam passes into
condenser. This condensed water is then further supplied to low pressure water heater where the low
pressure steam increases the temperature of feed water. Thermal power technology also requires
tremendous amount of water for steam generation as well as for cooling purpose.

The turbine actually is the prime mover of an alternator that generates electricity. The alternator is
connected to bus bar then to grid via transformers and protection devices. The overall efficiency of the
thermal power plant using coal as fuel is in the range 20% to 26% depending upon the capacity of the
plant. Higher the capacity, relatively higher will be the efficiency.

Thermal generation covers a massive and greatest portion of total energy consumption of the world. As a
result, environmental problems are being the challenges. Over 90% of greenhouse gas production is due
to fossil fuels basically to meet the energy need of the today’s industrialized and commercialized world.

Advantages:

 Economical for low initial cost than any other generating plant.
 Land required is less than hydro power plant.

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  Since coal is main fuel & its cost is quite cheap than petrol/diesel so generation cost is relatively
economical.
 Maintenance is easier.
 Thermal power plant can be installed in any location suitable according to load center (only fuel
transportation facility & bulk of water need to be available).

Disadvantages:

 The running cost for a thermal power station is comparatively high due to fuel cost, maintenance
cost etc.
 Large amount of smoke causes air pollution. The thermal power station is responsible for Global
warming.
 The heated water that comes from thermal power plant has an adverse effect on the lives in the
water and disturbs the ecology.
 Overall efficiency of thermal power plant is low i.e. less 30%.

Diesel Power

A diesel engine acts as prime mover that obtains its energy from a liquid fuel (diesel oil) and converts that
into mechanical work. An alternator or DC generator mechanically coupled to it converts the mechanical
energy into electrical energy. The major difference between a steam turbine and diesel engine is that in
diesel engine the chemical energy of combustion of fuel is released inside a cylinder but in steam turbine
the energy developed during combustion of fuel is first transformed into steam and this in turn develops
mechanical power.

The diesel engines are most popular with small generating stations and with consumers who would like to
have their own power supply for emergency reasons. They are also used in medium sized installations for
peaking loads for a utility. The efficiency of diesel generator ranges from 30% to 40%. Electricity cost is
quite costlier and it pollutes the atmosphere massively.

Advantages of Diesel Power Station

 This is simple in design point of view.

 Required very small space.
 It can also be designed for portable use.
 It has quick starting facility, the small diesel generator set can be started within few seconds.
 It can also be stopped as required, even easier than it’s starting
 As these machines can easily be started and stopped, there may not be any standby loss in the
system.
 Cooling is easy and requires smaller quantity of water.
 Initial cost is less than other types of power station.
 Thermal efficiency of diesel is quite higher than of coal.
 Space involvement is less than steam power station.

Disadvantages of Diesel Power Station

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 As mentioned already, the cost of diesel is very high compared to coal. This is the main reason for which
a diesel power plant is not getting popularity over other means of generating power. The plant is generally
used to produce small power requirement. Cost of lubricants is high. Maintenance is quite complex and
costs high. They emit significant pollutants such as greenhouse gases.

Nuclear Power Plant

The basic principle of nuclear power station is same as steam power station. Only difference is that,
instead of using coal, heat is generated due to nuclear fission for producing steam from water in the
boiler. This steam is used to drive a steam turbine, actually the prime mover of the alternator. Although,
the availability of nuclear fuel is not plenty but very less amount of nuclear fuel can generate huge
amount of heat energy. This is the unique feature of a nuclear power plant. One kg of uranium is
equivalent to 4500 metric tons of high grade coal. This is why, although nuclear fuel is much costlier, but
nuclear fuel cost per unit electrical energy is still lower than that of coal.

In fission process, the nuclei of heavy radioactive atoms such as Uranium (U235) or Thorium (Th232) are
broken into parts. During this breaking of nuclei, huge quantity of energy is released. This release of
energy is due to mass defect. That means, the total mass of initial product would be reduced during
fission. This loss of mass during fission is converted into heat energy as per famous equation E = mc2,
established by Albert Einstein. Efficiency of conventional nuclear plant is around 33%.

Fig. Nuclear Power Plant

Advantages of Nuclear Power Station

 No GHG is emitted.
 Quite low amount of fuel requirement in comparison to other fuel based power generation
method.
 Occupies much smaller space compared to other conventional power station of same capacity.
Relatively less water amount is required.

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  Fuel transportation is not a problem since the amount of fuel is quite small.

Disadvantages of Nuclear Power Plant

 The fuel is not easily available and it is very costly.

 Initial cost for constructing nuclear power station is quite high.
 Erection and commissioning of the plant is much complicated and sophisticated than other
conventional power station.
 The fission by products is radioactive in nature, and it may cause high radioactive pollution.
 The maintenance cost is higher and the man power required to run a nuclear power plant is quite
specially trained people.
 Sudden fluctuation of load cannot be met up efficiently by nuclear plant.
 As the byproducts of nuclear reaction is high radioactive, it is very big problem for disposal of
such byproducts. It can only be disposed deep inside ground.

Wind Technology

Wind is air in motion. It is produced due to uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. Since earth’s
surface is made of various land and water formations, it absorbs the sun’s radiation unevenly. During day
time, the air above the land heats up more quickly than the air above water. The warm air above the land
expands and rises and the heavier cooler air over the water moves into take its place, creating local winds.
At night, the process is reverse.

The kinetic energy of the wind is used for electricity generation by wind machines. The wind flows over
airfoil-shaped blades causing them to turn. The blades are connected to a shaft that drives the generator to
produce electricity. For wind mill to be economical there must be winds that blow consistently above 10-
14 miles/hour.

History of Wind Machines

Wind machines were used in Persia as early as 200 BC. First practical windmills were built is Sistan, a
region between Afghanistan and Iran from the 7th century, which were vertical axle windmills, basically
used to grind corn and draw up water. The first electricity generating windmill operated was a battery
charging machine installed in Scotland by James Blyth (1887). The first electricity generating windmill in
United States was built in Cleveland in 1888. A forerunner of modern horizontal-axis wind generators
was in service at Yalta, USSR in 1931, which was of 100kW and connected to 6.3kV distribution system.
The first utility grid-connected wind turbine operated in UK was built in Orkney Island in 1954. It has an
18m diameter, three-bladed rotor and a rated output of 100kW.

Electrical Output of Wind Turbine

Wind turbines work by converting the kinetic energy in the wind first into rotational kinetic energy in the
turbine and then electrical energy that can be supplied for any purpose. The energy available for
conversion mainly depends on the wind speed and the swept area of the turbine. When planning a wind
farm it is important to know the expected power and energy output of each wind turbine to be able to
calculate its economic viability.

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With the knowledge that it is of critical economic importance to know the power and therefore energy
produced by different types of wind turbine in different conditions, rotational kinetic power produced in a
wind turbine at its rated wind speed is calculated. This is the minimum wind speed at which a wind
turbine produces its rated power.

Let

E = Kinetic Energy (J) ρ = Density (kg/m3)

m = Mass (kg) A = Swept Area (m2)

v = Wind Speed (m/s) Cp = Power Coefficient

P = Power (W) r = Radius (m)

dm/dt = Mass flow rate (kg/s) dE/dt = Energy Flow Rate (J/s)

The kinetic energy of an object having mass ‘m’ and velocity ‘v’

E = ½ mv2

The power in the wind is given by the rate of change of energy:

dE/dt = P = ½ v2 dm/dt = ½ v2 ρAv

So, P = ½ ρAv3

A German physicist Albert Betz concluded in 1919 that no wind turbine can convert more than 16/27
(59.3%) of the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy turning a rotor. To this day, this is
known as the Betz Limit or Betz' Law. The theoretical maximum power efficiency of any design of wind
turbine is 0.59 (i.e. no more than 59% of the energy carried by the wind can be extracted by a wind
turbine). This is called the “power coefficient”. Also, wind turbines cannot operate at this maximum
limit. The coefficient is unique to each turbine type and is a function of wind speed that the turbine is
operating in. Once we incorporate various engineering requirements of a wind turbine - strength and
durability in particular - the real world limit is well below the Betz Limit with values of 0.35-0.45
common even in the best designed wind turbines. By the time we take into account the other factors in a
complete wind turbine system - e.g. the gearbox, bearings, generator and so on - only 10-30% of the
power of the wind is ever actually converted into usable electricity. Hence, the extractable power from the
wind is given by:

Pavailabe = ½ ρ Av3 Cp

The swept area of the turbine can be calculated from the length of the
turbine blades using the equation for the area of a circle:

A = πr2

Where, the radius is equal to the blade length as shown in the figure.

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Example: Given that: Blade length, l = 52 m Wind speed, v = 12 m/sec Air density, ρ = 1.23 kg/m3 Power
Coefficient, Cp = 0.4

A = π * 522 = 8495 m2

P = ½ *1.23*8495*123*0.4 = 3.6 MW

Advantages of Wind Technology

 The wind is free and with modern technology it can be captured efficiently.
 It does not produce green house gases or other pollutants.
 Although wind turbines can be very tall each takes up only a small plot of land. This means that
the land below can still be used. This is especially the case in agricultural areas as farming can
still continue.
 Remote areas that are not connected to the electricity power grid can use wind turbines to produce
their own supply.
 Wind turbines are available in a range of sizes which means a vast range of people and businesses
can use them. Single households to small towns and villages can make good use of range of wind
turbines available today.

Disadvantages
 Power output depends on wind speed which is very unpredictable.
 Wind turbines are very noisy.
 There occurs pollution during manufacture of wind turbines.
 A large wind farm is needed even to feed power to a small community.
 Can affect life of birds or insects.

Solar Energy Technology

Sun radiates continuously an enormous amount of energy. Only a tiny portion of radiant energy comes to
strike the earth. Yet this amount is enough to meet the world’s needs, if it could be harnessed. The radiant
light and heat from the sun has been harnessed by human since ancient times using a range of over-
evolving technologies. Solar radiation along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and
wave-power, hydroelectricity and biomass accounts for most of the available energy on earth. Only a
minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used so far.

Solar radiant energy application include day lighting, solar hot water system, solar cooking, space heating
and cooling through solar architecture, high temperature process heat for industrial purposes and
electricity generation. Solar powered electricity generation relies either on heat engines (solar thermal
technology) or photovoltaic technology.

1. Solar Thermal Power Plant

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A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight. A collector is a device for capturing solar
radiation. Solar radiation is energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation from the infrared (long) to the
ultraviolet (short) wavelengths. The quantity of solar energy striking the Earth's surface averages about
1,000 watts per square meter under clear skies, depending upon weather conditions, location and
orientation.

The term "solar collector" commonly refers to solar hot water panels, but may refer to installations such
as solar parabolic troughs and solar towers; or basic installations such as solar air heaters. Solar power
plants usually use the more complex collectors to generate electricity by heating a fluid to drive a turbine
connected to an electrical generator. Simple collectors are typically used in residential and commercial
buildings for space heating.

Parabolic Trough

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 (Dewar tube) or heat pipe,
placed at the focal point, containing coolant which transfers heat from the collectors to the
boilers in the power station.

Parabolic dish

With a parabolic dish collector, one or more parabolic dishes concentrate solar energy at a single focal
point, similar to a dish antenna focuses radio waves. This geometry may be used in solar furnaces and
solar power plants. Dish/engine system captures large amount of heat from sun and heats up the working
gases (helium or hydrogen) that drives the piston of external combustion engine which ultimately runs the
generator.

Power Tower

A power tower is a large tower surrounded by tracking mirrors called heliostats. These mirrors align
themselves and focus sunlight on the receiver at the top of tower, collected heat is transferred to a power

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station below. This design reaches very high temperatures. High temperatures are suitable for electricity
generation using conventional methods like steam turbine or a direct high temperature chemical reaction
such as liquid salt. By concentrating sunlight current systems can get better efficiency than simple solar
cells. A larger area can be covered by using relatively inexpensive mirrors rather than using expensive
solar cells. Heat storage for power production during cloudy and overnight conditions can be
accomplished, often by underground tank storage of heated fluids.

2. Photovoltaic Technology

Photovoltaic comes from the words photo (light) and volt, a measurement of electricity. Photovoltaic cells
are also called PV cells or solar cells. PV cell is made of two thin pieces of silicon, the substance that
gives it a tendency to attract electrons. The other piece of silicon has a small amount of phosphorous to it,
giving it an excess of free electrons. When two pieces of silicon are placed together, an electric field
forms between the layers. When PV cell is placed in the sun, the radiant energy energizes the free
electrons. If a circuit is made, electron flows from n-layer to p-layer, producing electricity.

Typical power output form a cell is in a range a watt. Individual cells are connected together to form a
solar panel or module. Panel can be connected in series or parallel to form solar arrays according to its
purpose. Photovoltaic systems are designed for many applications varying in size and complexity. Some
are isolated from ac power lines. Remote systems include navigational aids along coastlines, remote
homes, isolated villages in developing countries and so on. Some photovoltaic systems have ac power
designed for water pumping stations, for supplying power to TV and communication equipment, village
power, auxiliary power for heating and cooling private homes and industrial applications.

PV tracking system is an alternative to fixed, stationary PV panels. The tracking mechanism orients PV
panel to follow the sun as it moves through the sky. The tracking mechanism runs entirely on its own
power and can increase output by 40%. Battery backup provides power of sunny day on night or in
cloudy days.

Fig. Components of Solar System

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Efficiency of the PV system is less than 10% as estimated below in diagram.

Solar Panel Calculation:

1. Estimation of total load

E.g Lighting 6 lamps x 11W used for 4 hrs per day = 264Wh per day

Television 1 x 80W used 6 hrs per day = 480Wh per day

Total Load = 744Wh per day

To account for energy losses, add 20% to the load

Total Load + 20% Energy Losses = 892.8Wh per day.

2. Sizing the Solar Panel

Let us use 5 hrs of Peak Sunshine. The weather conditions of the area affect the size of the panel or array.

Required solar panel input = (892.8 Wh / 5h) = 178.5W. We need solar panels that will generate 178.5
watts..

3. Selecting the Solar Panel and Regulator

Select the solar panels to provide a minimum of 178.5 or 200W. Always round to the nearest 10.

Any combination of solar panels can be used to provide the required 200W

1 x 200W or 2x100W solar panels that provide an output of 200W [Pmax].

Inverter efficiency 80%

Inverter input = 892.5/0.8 = 1115 Wh

Battery efficiency = 80%

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 Battery input = 1115/0.8 = 1395 Wh

System voltage = 12V

Battery size = 1395/12 = 120 Ah

Geothermal Power Plant

Geothermal energy is the earth’s natural heat available inside the earth. Deep below the Earth’s crust lies
a layer of molten rock called magma where heat is continually produced. This heat can be used as an
energy source in a large complex power station or a smaller pumping station. Geothermal power has been
used for thousands of years in both heating baths and cooking food, and is still used today.

By 2010, United States, the world leader for geothermal electricity generation had installed capacity 3086
MW. The Philippines was the second highest producer, with 1904MW of capacity.

Fig. Geothermal Power Plant

The schematic of a single-flash geothermal power plant is shown in Figure. The geothermal liquid is
withdrawn from the production well and is flashed (steam released). The resulting vapor is separated from
the liquid in a separator and directed to the turbine. The low pressure steam or hot water from the turbine
is condensed and routed to a reinjection well along with liquid coming off separator.

Major impacts of Geothermal Power Technology

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1. Geothermal power is a renewable source that requires no fuel (except for pumps) but capital costs are
highly significant.
2. Exploration and drilling remains expensive and risky.
3. The plant must be situated near by the reservoir or any other source of water. It is not practical to
transport steam or hot water.
4. Harmful gases can escape from deep within the earth. Possible gases e.g. CO2, H2S, CH4 and NH3
are prone to global warming or acid rain.
5. The hot water from geothermal supply may hold in some toxic chemicals e.g. Hg, B etc. and they
may precipitate as the water cools and can cause environmental damage if released.

Tidal Energy

Tides rise and fall in eternal cycles. Tides are changes in the level of the oceans caused by the
gravitational pull of the moon and sun and the rotation of the earth. Tidal power is a form of hydropower
i.e. the generation of electricity from tides is similar to hydroelectric generation, except that tidal water
flows in two directions. The simplest generating system for tidal plant involves a dam, known as barrage,
across an inlet. Sluice gates on the barrage allow the tidal basin to fill on the incoming high tides and to
empty through the turbine system on the outgoing tide, known as the ebb tide. Flood generating system
that generate power from the incoming tide are possible but are less favored than ebb generating systems.
Two way generation systems which generate electricity on both the incoming and ebb tides are also
possible.

In ebb generation, the basin is filled through the sluices until tide. Then the sluice gates are closed (at this
stage there may be pumping to raise the level further). The turbine gates are kept closed until the sea level
falls to create sufficient head across the barrage, and then are opened so that the turbines generate until
the head is again low. Now the sluices are opened, turbines disconnected and the basin is filled again. The
cycle repeats itself.

In flood generation, the basin is filled through the turbines, which generates at tide flood. This is less
efficient than ebb generation.

Another configuration is Two Basin Schemes. One is filled at high tide and the other is emptied at low
tide. Turbines are placed between the basins. Such scheme may generate power more continuously but
expensive to construct dual basins due to extra length of barrage.

Tidal fences can also harness the energy in the tides. A tidal fence has a vertical axis turbine mounted
within a fence structure called a caisson that completely blocks a channel, forcing all of the water through
it.

Energy available from a barrage is dependent on the volume of water. The potential energy contained in a
volume of water is = ℎ

Where, h = vertical tidal range

A = horizontal basin area

ρ = density of sea water (~ 1025 Kg/m3)

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 g = acceleration due to gravity

Because the available power varies with square of the tidal range, a barrage is best placed in a location
with very high amplitude tides.

Example: Estimate the power output from a tidal project that has tidal range of approximately 10m. The
surface area of tidal harnessing plant is 3 km x 3 km. Consider that there are two high tides every day.
Assume power conversion efficiency as 30%.

Potential energy contained /tide = = 3000 ∗ 3000 ∗ 1025 ∗ 9.8 ∗ 10 = 4.5 ∗ 10

∗
Mean power potential = / s = 104
∗ ∗

Considering 30% conversion efficiency, daily average power generated,

P = 0.3 * 104 MW = 31 MW (approx.)

France is the country that has significantly harnessed tidal energy. Due to environmental impact, there is
reluctant on such technology. The placement of barrage into an estuary has a considerable effect on water
and on ecosystem. Economically, tidal power schemes have a huge capital cost and very low running
cost. It is obviously an excellent renewable energy resource.

Cogeneration

Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a thermal power station to simultaneously
generate electricity and useful heat. This is the technique for thermodynamically efficient use of fuel. In
separate production of electricity, some energy must be discarded as waste heat such as condensation loss
of cooling tower, heat associated with flue gas or by other means. But in cogeneration this thermal energy
is put to use usually for heating purposes e.g. in process industries or in district heating system.

Fig. CHP Plant

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Process industries such as Pulp and Paper industry or other forest based industries, sugar mills etc. those
using raw material as bio-products e.g. wood, straw or sugarcanes, usually use their byproduct, which is a
form of biomass, as a source of energy. Pulp and paper industry uses black-liquor for heat and power
burning the liquor in recovery boiler. Bagasse is good energy biomass in sugar industry. Further bagasse
is a good fuel of pulp as well.

In case of combined cycle usually when the fuel used is natural gas, the first will be the gas turbine.
Rather than wasting the flue gases from the gas turbine, the flue gases are directed into boiler again
generating steam to run steam turbine, hence increases the thermal efficiency.

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 Power System Expansion Planning

Electricity is so basic to the world economy that certain electricity indices are used to express a
country's economic standing (e.g. consumption or production of electricity per capita).
Moreover, electricity supply has special characteristics which make the service unique as
compared to other types of industry. The end product has to be delivered instantaneously and
automatically upon the consumer's demand (exceptions are ‘pumped storage plants’ and ‘electric
batteries’). No technologies have been developed that can
 produce electricity economically at uniform rates,
 hold electricity in storage in large quantities, and
 deliver electricity under convenient schedules;

Insufficient capacity (shortage) or excessive capacity (idle capacity) has negative effects on the
economy. The close interrelation with economic and social factors imposes labor, environmental,
financial and other constraints on the problem. Careful planning of the electric sector is therefore
of great importance since the decisions to be taken involves the commitment of a huge resources,
with potentially serious economic risks for the electrical utility and the economy of the country
as a whole.

Power system planning is part of a more general problem, that of energy and economic
development planning. Its objective is therefore to determine a minimum cost strategy for long-
range expansion of the generation, transmission and distribution systems adequate to supply the
load forecast within a set of technical, economic and political constraints.

Traditionally, power system planning has been mainly related to generation expansion planning.
This is due mainly to the fact that investment in transmission lines is a relatively small fraction
of the investment in the construction of power stations. Furthermore, the investment in the
distribution of electric energy to customers, although sizeable, is to a large extent independent of
the generation and transmission system.

The main steps in power system planning may be summarized as follows:

 Study of the electric load forecast 5 to 30 years into the future, based on the most reliable
information.
 Evaluation of the energy resources available in the future for electricity generation and
the foreseeable trends in technical and economic developments.
 Evaluation of the economic and technical characteristics of the existing system of
generating units and of the plants that are considered as potential units for system
expansion.
 Determination of technical and cost characteristics of the plants available for expansion.
 Determination of the economic (e.g. discount rate) and technical parameters (reliability
required) affecting decisions in generating stations.
 Choice of a procedure to determine the optimal expansion strategy within the imposed
constraints.
 Qualitative review of the results to estimate the viability of the proposed solution.

Generation Expansion Planning

Generation expansion planning (GEP) problem is defined as a problem of determining the best
size, timing and type of generation units to be built over the long term planning horizon, to
satisfy the expected demand. Before the deregulation of the power industry, the generation
expansion planning is conducted together with the transmission & distribution expansion
planning by a centralized decision maker.

A generic form of GEP problem is to minimize cost of generation technologies subjected to

various constraints such as reliability measure (LOLP), environmental emissions etc.

Fig. Generation Expansion Planning Procedure

Transmission Expansion Planning

In early years of electricity industry, transmission planning was the responsibility of vertically
integrated utilities that met their native loads from their own generation. The planning process in
deregulated utility structure is significantly more difficult than traditional vertically integrated
utilities because decisions about the installation of new generators are the result of market forces
rather than centralized planning.

The primary purpose of Transmission expansion planning (TEP) is to determine, on the least-
cost basis, the best transmission additions to provide the load with sufficient energy and facilitate
wholesale power marketing with a given criteria. Most new lines can help improve local voltage
quality and improve system reliability, as well as enabling new generation units to served area
load and increasing capability for longer-distance transaction. The benefits of a transmission
upgrade changes over time as the result of the changes of loads, generation and grid topology. In
the regulated environment, the vertically integrated utilities operate the whole electric system
and make investment decision for both generation and transmission additions. Transmission
expansions can be justified if there is a need to build new lines to connect cheaper generators to
meet the current and forecasted demand or new additions are required to enhance the system
reliability so some reliability criteria can be fulfilled, or both.

Fig. Transmission Expansion Planning Procedure

In the traditional transmission planning model, the capital investments are often justified by
fulfilling the reliability requirements to serve the current and forecasted load. As costs is often
used as a criterion to select the alternative investment plan and various reliability criteria are
used to constrain the decision making problem, the traditional transmission planning problem
normally formulated as cost minimization problem with reliability as constraint.

Distribution Planning

Distribution network expansion planning is one of the important activities in distribution control
centers. Mainly the planning is focused to allocation of substations and feeders.Several
evaluation items such as new equipment installation cost, equipment utilization rate, reliability of
the target distribution system, and loss minimization should be evaluated considering increase of
network loads and newly installed large customer loads when planning.
 Electric Load Forecasting
The objective of power system planning is to determine an economical expansion of the
equipment and facilities to meet the customers' future electric demand with an acceptable level of
reliability and power quality. Accurate demand forecasting plays an essential role foe electric
power system planning. . An expensive overestimation of load demand will result in substantial
investment for the construction of excess power facilities, while underestimation will result in
customer discontentment. Accurate forecasts lead to substantial savings in operating and
maintenance costs, increased reliability of power supply and delivery system, and correct
decisions for future development. Electricity as a product has very different characteristics
compared to a material product. For instance, electricity energy cannot be stored as it should be
generated as soon as it is demanded. Unfortunately, it is difficult to forecast load demand
accurately over a planning period of several years. This fact is due to the uncertain nature of the
forecasting process. There are a large number of influential that characterize and directly or
indirectly affect the underlying forecasting process; all of them uncertain and uncontrollable.

Electric Power Load Forecasting (EPLF) is a vital process in the planning of electricity industry
and the operation of electric power systems. The EPLF is classified in terms of the planning
horizon’s duration as follows.

Short-term forecasting

It corresponds to the forecasting duration up to 1 day to a week ahead. Short-term forecasts are
used to schedule the generation and transmission of electricity.

Medium term load forecasting

It corresponds to forecasting duration from a week to a year. Medium-term forecasts are used to
schedule the fuel purchases.

Long term forecasting

It extends the forecasting duration more than 1 year ahead. Long-term forecasts are used to
develop the power supply and delivery system (generation units, transmission system, and
distribution system) i.e. system expansion planning.

Longer the time horizon, more the inaccuracy in forecasting. Any long term load forecasting by
nature is inaccurate because
 Peak demand is very dependent on temperature
 The economic and weather data may not be available
 It is almost impossible to store electric power
 Power generation and transmission projects require a great amount of investment and
take several years to construct.
Generally, long-term load demand forecasting methods can be classified in to two broad
categories: Parametric methods & Artificial intelligence based methods.

I. Parametric Methods

The parametric methods are based on relating load demand to its affecting factors by a
mathematical model. The model parameters are estimated using statistical techniques on
historical data of load and it's affecting factors. Parametric load forecasting methods can be
generally categorized under three approaches:

Trend Analysis

Trend analysis extends past rates of electricity demand in to the future, using techniques that
range from hand-drawn straight lines to complex computer- produced curves. These extensions
constitute the forecast. Trend analysis focuses on past changes or movements in electricity
demand and uses them to predict future changes in electricity demand.

The advantage of trend analysis is that, it is simple, quick and inexpensive to perform. The
disadvantage of a trend forecast is that it produces only one result, future electricity demand. It
does not help analyze why electricity demand behaves the way it does, and it provides no means
to accurately measure how changes in energy prices or government polities influence electricity
demand.

End-Use Models

The end-use approach directly estimates energy consumption by using extensive information on
end users, such as applications, the customer use, their age, sizes of houses, and so on. End-use
models focus on the various uses of electricity in the residential, commercial, and industrial
sector. These models are based on the principle that electricity demand is derived from
customer's demand for light, cooling, heating, refrigeration, etc. Thus, end- use models explain
energy demand as a function of the number of applications in the market.

Ideally, this approach is very accurate. However, it is sensitive to the amount and quality of end-
use data. End-use forecast requires less historical data but more information about customers and
their equipments. The disadvantage of end-use analysis is that most end-use models assume a
constant relationship between electricity and end-use (electricity per appliance). This might hold
for over a few years, but over 10 or 20-year period, energy saving technology or energy prices
will undoubtedly change, and the relationships will not remain constant.

Econometric Models

The econometric approach combines economic theory and statistical techniques for forecasting
electricity demand. The approach estimates the relationship between energy consumption
(dependent variables) and factors influencing consumption. The relationships are estimated by
the least-square method or time series methods. One of the options in this framework is to
aggregate the econometric approach, when consumption in different sectors (residential,
commercial, industrial, etc.) is calculated as a function of weather, economic and other variables,
and then estimates are assembled using recent historical data. The advantage of econometrics are
that it provides detailed information on future levels of electricity demand, why future electricity
demand increases, and how electricity demand is affected by all the various factors.

II. Artificial Intelligence Based Methods

Artificial Neural Networks

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have succeeded in several power system problems, such as
planning, control, analysis, protection, design, load forecasting, security analysis, and fault
diagnosis. The last three are the most popular. The ANNs ability in mapping complex non-linear
relationships is responsible for the growing number of its application to load forecasting. Most of
the ANNs have been applied to short- time load forecasting.

Fig. Feedforward Neural Network Model

To use the ANN in electric load forecast problems, distribution engineers should decide upon a
number of basic variables such as:
 Input variable to the ANN (load, temperature…etc)
 Number of classes (weekday, weekend, season…etc)
 What to forecast: hourly loads, next day peak load, next day total load …etc
 Neural network structure (Feedforward, number of hidden layer, number of neuron in the
hidden layer…etc)
 Training method and stopping criterion
 Activation functions
 Size of the training data
 Size of the test data
Expert systems

Expert systems are new techniques that have come out as a result of advances in the field of
artificial intelligence (AI) in the last two decades. An expert system is a computer program,
which has the ability to act as an expert.

Expert System
Knowledge Base
Expert (Set of rules)
(Knowledge

I/O Interface
Inference Engine
(Rule Interpreter)

User
Data Base
(Set of facts)

Fig. An expert system

The load forecast model is built using the knowledge about the load forecast domain from an
expert in the field. The "Knowledge Engineer" extracts this knowledge from load forecast
(domain) expert. This knowledge is represented as facts and rules by using the first predicate
logic to represent the facts and IF-THEN production rules. The search for solution or reasoning
about the conclusion drawn by the expert system is performed by the "Inference Engine"
component of the expert system.

Fuzzy logic

It is based on the usual Boolean logic which is used for digital circuit design. In Boolean logic,
the input may be the truth value in the form of “0” and “1”. In case of fuzzy logic, the input is
related to the comparison based on qualities. For example, we can say that a transformer load
may be “low” and “high”. Fuzzy logic allows us to deduce outputs form inputs logically. The
advantage of fuzzy logic is that there is no need of mathematical models for mapping between
inputs and outputs and also there is no need of precise or even noise free inputs. Based on the
general rules, properly designed fuzzy logic systems are very strong for the electrical load
forecasting. There are many situations where we require the precise outputs. After the whole
processing is done using the fuzzy logic, “defuzzification” is done to get the precise outputs.
Fig. Fuzzy Expert System

Genetic Algorithm
Support Vector Machine
Comparison and usefulness of various forecasting methods

The method for short-term forecasting are similar day approach, various regression models, time
series, neural networks, statistical learning algorithms, fuzzy logic, and expert systems. Similar
day approach is based on searching historical data of days of one, two or three years having the
similar characteristics to the day of forecast. Regression is the one of most widely used
statistical techniques.

The methods for long- and medium-term forecasting are trend analysis, end-use and econometric
approach. The advantage of trend analysis is that it is quick, simple and inexpensive to perform
and does not require much previous data.
 Power System Security
The Power System needs to be operationally secure, i.e. with minimal probability of blackout
and equipment damage. An important component of power system security is the system’s
ability to withstand the effects of contingencies. A contingency is basically an outage of a
generator, transformer and or line. Its effects are monitored with specified security limits.

The power system operation is said to be normal when the power flows and the bus voltages are
within acceptable limits despite changes in load or available generation. From this perspective,
security is the probability of a power system’s operating point remaining in a viable state of
operation.

System security can be broken down into TWO major functions that are carried out in an
operations control centre:
 Security assessment
o It gives the security level of the system operating state.
 Security control.
o It determines the appropriate security constrained scheduling required to
optimally attaining the target security level.

A power system may be identified to be operating in a number of states.

Fig. Operating states of Power System

The preventive state is actually the normal state. The term ‘preventive’ was used to stress the
‘Security’ aspect of the normal operation. The operation of a power system is usually in a normal
state. Voltages and the frequency of the system are within the normal range and no equipment is
overloaded in this state. The system can also withstand any single contingency without violating
any of the limits.

The system transits into the emergency state if a disturbance occurs. Many system variables are
out of normal range or system frequency starts to decrease . Emergency control actions can
restore the system. Economic considerations become secondary at this stage. The emergency
control actions include fault clearing, excitation control, fast valving, generation tripping etc.The
extreme emergency state is a result of the occurrence of an extreme disturbance or action of
incorrect of ineffective emergency control actions. The power system is in a state where
cascading outages and shutdown of a major part of power system might happen. The system is in
unstable state. The control actions, such as load shedding of the most unimportant loads and
separation of the system into small independent parts, are required.

Restorative state is the condition when some parts (or whole) of the system has lost power. The
control objective in this state is to steer the system to a normal state again by taking appropriate
actions.

Major components of security assessment

 System monitoring
o Measurement devices dispersed throughout the system help in getting a picture of
the current operating state.
 Contingency analysis
o Contingency Analysis procedures are used to predict effects of outages.
Thousands of outages may have to be studied before they occur. A Security
Analysis procedure run at an Energy Control Centre must be very fast. The C.A
procedure tests lines and voltages against their respective limits

 Preventive and corrective actions

o Preventive and corrective actions uch as switching of VAR compensating devices,
changing transformer taps and phase shiftersgeneration scheduling etc. are needed
to maintain a secure operation of a system or to bring it to a secure operating
state.

Interconnection of Utilities

Electric utilities across regions are many times interconnected to allow for a variety of
advantages.
 It is the fact that electric utilities benefits from its nature of being large and
interconnecting utilities allows for economies of scale.
 Utilities can draw power from generator reserves from a different region in order to
ensure continuing, reliable power and diversify their loads.
 Interconnection also allows regions to have access to cheap bulk energy by receiving
power from different sources. For example, one region may be producing cheap hydro
power during high water seasons, but in low water seasons, another area may be
producing cheaper power through wind, allowing both regions to access cheaper energy
sources from one another during different times of the year. (how about tie up in
between Nepal and India?).
 Neighboring utilities also help others to maintain the overall system frequency and also
help manage tie transfers between utility regions.

Reserve Capacity
For reliable operation of power system, reserve capacity is needed. It is an additional installed
capacity than the required demand. More reserve means less efficient expansion planning.

In electricity networks, the operating reserve is the generating capacity available to the system
operator within a short interval of time to meet demand in case a generator goes down or there is
another disruption to the supply. Most power systems are designed so that, under normal
conditions, the operating reserve is always at least the capacity of the largest generator plus a
fraction of the peak load.

The operating reserve is made up of the spinning reserve as well as the non-spinning or
supplemental reserve:
 The spinning reserve is the extra generating capacity that is available by increasing the
power output of generators that are already connected to the power system. For most
generators, this increase in power output is achieved by increasing the torque applied to
the turbine's rotor.
 The non-spinning reserve or supplemental reserve is the extra generating capacity that is
not currently connected to the system but can be brought online after a short delay. In
isolated power systems, this typically equates to the power available from fast-start
generators. However, in interconnected power systems, this may include the power
available on short notice by importing power from other systems or retracting power that
is currently being exported to other systems.
Short notes PPD

Spinning Reserve

Generation capacity that is online but unloaded and that can respond within 10 minutes to compensate
for generation or transmission outages. Frequency Responsive spinning reserve responds within 10
seconds to maintain system frequency. Spinning reserve are the first type used when shortfalls occur.

Supplemental Reserve

Unlike spinning reserve, supplemental reserves capacity is not synchronized with the grid. They are used
after all spinning reserves are online.

Distributed storage

Electricity storage located in the utility distribution system, at or near the load center.

Loss of Load Probability (LOLP)

It is a measure of the reliability of an electrical grid. It is the probability that there is insufficient
generating supply to support electrical demand.
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 Selection of Optimal Turbine for Hydropower
For the cost effective and efficient project, it is worthy to study the optimal selection of hydro turbine. The turbine
is an assembly consisting of a nozzle or stator, runner, and shaft that collectively convert momentum and pressure
in a water flow into rotational mechanical work. The mechanical work is transferred by the shaft to a generator.

TYPES OF TURBINE

Hydro turbines are classified into two categories.

Impulse Turbines

In impulse turbine, pressurized water from the penstock is converted to high-speed water jets that transfer the
kinetic energy of the jet by impacting the turbine blades or cups causing rotation. Examples of impulse turbines
include the Pelton wheel, Turgo wheel, and cross-flow turbines. Turgo wheel has been developed to be a simple
impulse type machine with a higher specific speed than a Pelton. The design therefore allows a larger jet of water
to be directed at an angle onto the runner. Impulse turbines generally operate best with medium or high head
(above 10 m).

Reaction Turbines

Reaction turbines operate under pressure in an internal flow regime. Water passes the stator, which takes the form
of spiral casings or guide vanes, to introduce swirl into the flow. The flow is then redirected by the runner blades.
The angular momentum of the water forces rotation in the runner. In contrast to impulse turbines, the water
pressure drops at the stator and the runner. Examples of reaction turbines include Propeller, Kaplan, and Francis.
Reaction turbines often have complex blade geometries and housings, which make them more difficult to
manufacture at smaller scales. However, reaction turbines can perform well even in the low head range (less than
10 m).

SELECTION OF TURBINE

Hydro power designer has to make a choice on the type of turbine that can be adopted for a particular project. The
capacity of the plant should be fixed as high as possible with adequate care on efficient running and low initial
costs, and available transport and shipping facilities. The size should not be so high so that turbine would run at
low efficiency at the time of lean season.

Basically there are two methods which help in selection of turbine.

Thumb Rule

Different types of turbines can be selected to best suit given head and flow conditions. The optimum turbine
selection for a given hydraulic duty and site application is dependent on many parameters. For preliminary
selection, the table below can be used.

Adhikari YR, IOE Pulchwok

 However chart below provides a quick guide to the operating range of the main turbine types. It can be seen that
there is a substantial overlap of the duties covered by the different turbine types.

(http://www.gilkes.com)

For smaller head, the chart below gives a clear view.

Adhikari YR, IOE Pulchwok

Scientific Method

One of the important parameters of a turbine is the Specific Speed. It is the speed in rpm at which a turbine would
operate with unity meter head to give a unit power output. It is denoted by ns. It is given by the following relation
as below.

√
/

Where, n = seed of turbine

H = head available (m)

P = output power (kW)

Once the specific speed (ns) is determined, the chart given below may be used to determine the type of turbine
that may be adopted for the particular project.

Adhikari YR, IOE Pulchwok

The rationale used for the preliminary selection of turbine technology type for a project informally followed the
multi-criteria analysis. The criteria covered can be as below.

 Efficiency
 Constructability
 Maintenance and serviceability
 Portability (manageable for transportation)
 Cost

The efficiency of turbine types based on design discharge is shown in the figure below.

Adhikari YR, IOE Pulchwok

From the efficiencies comparison chart, it is evident that Pelton and Kaplan turbines retain their high efficiencies
when running below design flow, but the efficiency of cross flow and Francis turbines falls sharply as they are
operated below half of their design flow.

Adhikari YR, IOE Pulchwok

Generator Criteria for Hydropower Project
Almost all of the hydraulic- turbine-driven generators used in
powerhouses are synchronous alternating-current machines, which
produce electrical energy by the transformation of hydraulic energy. The
electrical and mechanical design of each generator must confirm to the
electrical requirements of the power distribution system to which it will
be connected, and also to the hydraulic requirements of its specific plant.
Since waterwheel generators are custom designed to match the hydraulic
turbine prime mover, many of the generator characteristics (e.g., short-
circuit ratio, reactance) can be varied over a fairly wide range,
depending on design limitations, to suit specific plant requirements and
power distribution system stability needs.
Deviations from the nominal generator design parameters can have a
significant effect on cost. So, a careful evaluation of special features
should be made and only used in the design if their need justifies the
increased cost.
Electrical Characteristics
1. Capacity and power factor

Generator capacity is commonly expressed in kilovolt-amperes

(kVA), at a given (“rated”) power factor. The heat generated
within a machine is a function of its kVA output and power factor.
The power factor, the generator will be designed for, is determined
from a consideration of the electrical requirements of the power
distribution system it will be connected to. These requirements
include a consideration of the anticipated load, the electrical
location of the plant relative to the power system load centers, and
the transmission lines, substations, and distribution facilities
involved.

A generator operating on an HV transmission system with

relatively short transmission distances will typically be required to
supply reactive power (i.e. in an overexcited condition), due to the
inductive characteristic of the unloaded transmission line. A
generator operated on a long, uncompensated EHV transmission
line will typically be required to absorb reactive power (i.e. an
under- excited condition), due to the capacitive characteristic of the
unloaded transmission line. The effect of power factor rating on
machine capability is illustrated in Figure below. Over-excitation
limit is intended to protect the generator from overheating due to
prolonged field over current. Under-excitation limit is intended to
prevent reduction of generator excitation to a level where steady-
state stability limit or stator core end-region heating limit is
exceeded.
 Fig. Typical Hydro-generator capability curve

2. Generator power output rating

The kilowatt rating of the generator should be compatible with the

power rating of the turbine. The most common turbine types are
Pelton, Francis and propeller. Each turbine type has different
 operating characteristics and imposes a different set of generator
design criteria to correctly match the generator to the turbine.

3. Generator voltage.
The voltage of large, slow- speed generators should be as high as
the economy of machine design and the availability of switching
equipment permits. Generators manufacturing practices generally
dictate an upper voltage limit of 13.8 kV for machines up to 250
MVA rating.

Larger voltages means less current for the same rating, but it also
means larger voltage difference between turns and with earth
requiring expensive insulation and space. So economic design
should be left to manufacturers, while specifying only the
performances by the Power Plant designer. Based on required
generator reactances, size, and Wk2, a lower generator voltage,
such as 6.9 kV, is proven to be more economical than higher
voltages.

If the generators are to serve an established distribution system at

generator voltage, then the system voltage will influence the
selection of generator voltage, and may dictate the selection and
arrangement of generator leads also.

Generators of less than 5MVA should preferably be designed for

480 V, 2.4 kV, or 4.16 kV, depending on the facilities connecting
the generator to its load. However, after 1kV, the general trend is
to select higher side voltage 11kV. The typical voltage level of
generator is given below in Table.
 mininum rated output (kW or kVA) Rated Voltage (kV)
100 1.0 ↔ 3.0
150 3.0 ↔ 6.0
800 6.0 ↔ 11.0
2500 11.0 ↔ 15.0

4. Insulation.

The generator stator winding is normally supplied with either Class

B or Class F insulation materials, with the insulation system
meeting the temperature limits. The choice of insulation system
types depends on machine size, how the machine will be operated,
and desired winding life. Modern hydro units are subjected to a
wide variety of operating conditions but specifications should be
prepared with the intent of achieving a winding life expectancy of
35 or more years under anticipated operating conditions.

The choice between Class B or Class F insulation systems for the

stator winding will depend on the expected use of the generator. If
it will be operated continuously at or near rated load, or has a high
probability of operating overloaded for longer than 2 hr at a time,
then the Class F insulation system should be specified. For
generators that can be expected to be operated below rated load
most of the time, and at or near full load for only limited periods, a
Class B insulation system would be satisfactory.

5. Short-circuit ratio:
The ratio of the field current required to generate rated voltage on
open circuit required to circulate rated armature current during
short circuit is termed as short circuit ratio (SCR).
Based on open circuit characteristics (OCC) and Short circuit
characteristics (SCC), the ratio is determined as

The short-circuit ratio is also the reciprocal of the per unit value of
the saturated synchronous reactance.

The short-circuit ratio of a generator is a mea sure of the transient

stability of the unit. Higher the ratios, greater be the stability. SCR
that is higher than nominal values can be obtained without much
increase in machine size. But, increasing SCR above nominal
values increases the generator cost and decreases the efficiency as
well as the transient reactance. Table below lists nominal short-
circuit ratios for generators. Additionally it also shows the
expected price additions to the generator basic cost along with
 reductions in efficiency and transient reactance when higher than
nominal short-circuit ratio values are used.

6. Reactance

Transient and steady state reactances of a salient-pole generator are

needed in design, testing, and in stability analysis. Both rated
voltage values of transient and subtransient reactances are used in
computations for determining momentary rating and the
interrupting ratings of circuit breakers.

A low net reactance of the generator (and step-up transformer

combination) is desirable for system stability as far economics
allows. The economic study must include a consideration of space
and equipment handling requirements, since a reduction in
reactance may be accomplished by an increase in generator height
or diameter, or both. Typical values of transient reactances for
 large water wheel generators in accordance with best industry
practices are indicated in Figure below.

7. Efficiencies

The value of efficiency to be used in preparing the generator

specification should be as high as can be economically justified
and consistent with a value manufacturers will guarantee in their
bids. Speed and power factor ratings of a generator affect the
efficiency slightly, but the selection of these characteristics is
governed by other considerations.
 TotalLoss 
  1  
 Input 

For a generator of any given speed and power factor rating, design
efficiencies are reduced by the following:

 Higher Short-Circuit Ratio

 Higher Wk2
Mechanical Characteristics

Specification of a hydroelectric generator is pertinent with turbine

characteristics.
1. Speeds.
Hydraulic requirements fix the speed of the unit within rather
narrow limits. Generators below 360 r/min and 50,000 kVA and
smaller are nominally designed for 100 percent overspeed.
Generators above 360 r/min and smaller than 50,000 kVA are
generally designed for 80 percent overspeed. Generators larger
than 50,000 kVA, regardless of speed, are designed for 85 percent
overspeed.
2. Flywheel effect.
The flywheel effect (Wk²) of a machine is expressed as the weight
of the rotating parts multiplied by the square of the radius of
gyration. The Wk² of the generator can be increased by adding
weight in the rim of the rotor or by increasing the rotor diameter.
Sufficient Wk² must be provided to prevent hunting and afford
stability in operation under sudden load changes. The index of the
relative stability of generators used in electrical system
calculations is the inertia constant, H (i.e. stored energy per kVA),
which is proportional to Wk². The amount of Wk² required for
speed regulation is affected by hydraulic conditions (head, length
of pen- stock, allowable pressure rise at surge tank, etc.) and the
rate of governor action.
Increasing the Wk² increases the generator cost, size, and weight,
and lowers the efficiency.
3. Cooling.
 Losses in a generator appear as heat which is dissipated through
radiation and ventilation. The genera- tor rotor is normally
constructed to function as an axial flow blower, or is equipped with
fan blades, to circulate air through the windings.
Open cooling systems are normally adequate for small- and
medium-size generators (less than 10 MW).
An enclosed air housing with a recirculated air cooling system with
air/water heat exchangers is preferred for units of 10 MW and
larger.
4. Weights and dimensions.
The contemplated speed, Wk², short-circuit ratio, reactance, and
over-speed are the usual factors that have the greatest effect on
weight variation. Where a high value Wk² is required, a machine of
the next larger frame size with consequent increase in diameter
may be required.
Dimensions of the rotor and the method of assembling the rotor
and the shaft in the generator have an important bearing on crane
clearances. The number and location of air coolers and the shape of
the air housing on a generator with the closed type of cooling
system should be studied for their effect on the dimensions of the
generator room.
Other Considerations

 Stator core stamping and Frame

 Rotor and shaft assembly
 Breaks and Jacks
 Temperature sensing devices
 Fire suppression system
  Excitation system
 Neutral grounding
 Surge protection

Fig. Construction of Synchronous Machine

Specification of a typical Generator
S. No. Particulars Rating and Quantity
1. Type Synchronous Generators with brushless excitation
2. Number of unit Two (2)
3. Output in kVA 3000 kVA
4. Output in kW 2500 kW
5. Rated Voltage 6.6 kV
6. Rated power factor Cos Φ = 0.85 (lag)
7. Rated frequency 50 Hz
8. Rated speed 750 RPM
9. Runaway speed 1350 RPM [Not exceeding 2.0 times rated speed)
10. Moment of inertia Natural (Preferred) or separately flywheel
11. Insulation Class Class 'F'
12. Form of Protection IP 54
13. Incoming cooling water max.temperature 40 deg. C
14. Rise in temperature over cooling water/air at rated output Stator Class B Temperature rise
Rotor Class B Temperature rise
15. Type of duty Continuous
16. Type of control Manual / Auto
17. Temperature rise limit Class 'B' insulation temperature rise limit
18. Range of voltage variation
between phases for rated output ± 20%
19. Range of frequency variation ± 5%
20. Stator winding connection Three (3) phase star connected neutral brought out
21. Short circuit ratio One (1) Minimum
22. First critical speed 30% higher than maximum runaway speed
23. Cooling Self ventilated type through rotor mounted fans
24. Excitation Brushless
25. Design conformation Tropical temperature of 40 deg. C
26. Stator neutral Earthing Resistance earthed through an isolating switch
27. External cable For 6.6 kV; 3 x 1 CORE, XLPE copper, For 600 V; PVC cable
28. Shaft orientation Horizontal
29. Direction of rotation Clockwise when viewed from the generator side
30. Standards applicable IEC 34-1, IEC 34-2, IS-4722, IS – 4889, IS – 4029,S. No. Particulars Rating and
Quantity IS-325, IS-1271, IS-4729, IS-4691
31. Sound emission < 90 dB (A)
Various Features of Generator Step Up (GSU) Transformers

Type: Step-up transformers for use with main units should be of the oil
immersed type for outdoor operation, with a cooling system.

Three-phase transformers: In the majority of applications, three-phase

transformers should be used for generator step-up (GSU) applications
for the following reasons:

 Higher efficiency than three single-phase units of equivalent

capacity.
 Smaller space requirements.
 Lower installed cost.
 Lower probability of failure when properly protected by surge
arresters, thermal devices, and oil preservation systems.
 Lower total weight.
 Reduction in weights and dimensions making larger capacities
available within practical weight and size limitations.

Regardless of winding configuration, for any given voltage and kVA

rating, with normal temperature rise, the following features should be
analyzed for their effect on transformer life cycle costs:

 Type of cooling.
 Insulation level of high-voltage winding.
 Departure from normal design impedance.

Transformer construction:

There are two types of construction used for GSU transformers. These
are the core form type and the shell form type.
  Core form transformers generally are supplied by manufacturers
for lower voltage and lower MVA ratings. The core form unit is
adaptable to a wide range of design parameters, is economical to
manufacture, but generally has a low kVA-to- weight ratio. Typical
HV ranges are 230 kV and less and 75 MVA and less.
 Shell form transformers have a high kVA-to-weight ratio and find
favor on EHV and high MVA applications. They have better short-
circuit strength characteristics, are less immune to transit
damage, but have a more labor intensive manufacturing process.

Rating:

The full load kVA rating of the step-up transformer should be at least
equal to the maximum kVA rating of the generator or generators with
which they are associated.

Minimum possible size is

STR = ηTRSG – Saux

Where

STR = GSU Transformer rating

SG = rating of generator

Saux = auxiliary load of powerhouse plus local distribution

ηTR = efficiency of transformer

Cooling:

 Transformers should be sited in power house so that unrestricted

ambient air circulation is allowed on it. The transformer rating is
 based on full use of the transformer cooling equipment. The use
of forced-air cooling will increase the continuous self-cooled
rating of the transformer.
 In determining the transformer rating, consideration should be
given to the temperature conditions at the point of installation.
High ambient temperatures may necessitate increasing the
transformer rating in order to keep the winding temperature
within permissible limits.
 Class OA/FA and Class FOA meet all the usual requirements for
transformers located in hydro plant switchyards.

Electrical Characteristics

Voltage

 High-voltage rating should be suitable for the voltage of the

transmission system to which it will be connected,
 Low-voltage winding rating should match the generator voltage
rating

High-voltage BIL

 BIL (Basic Impulse Insulation Level) is the measure of dielectric

test requirement. With the advent of metal oxide surge arresters,
significant economic savings can be made in the procurement of
power transformers by specifying reduced BIL in conjunction with
the application of the appropriate metal oxide arrester for
transformer surge protection.

Impedance
 Impedance of the transformers has a material effect on system
stability, short-circuit currents, and transmission line regulation,
and it is usually desirable to keep the impedance at the lower limit
of normal impedance design values. In fact, the impedance of
transformer is direct function of its transformer rating.

A range of design values of impedance for various voltage system is

illustrated below in Table.

 With an additional cost, transformers can be furnished with

lower or higher values of impedance than its standard range.
 The value of transformer impedance should be determined
giving consideration to impacts on selection of the
interrupting capacities of station breakers and on the ability
of the generators to aid in regulating transmission line
voltage.
 Transformer impedances should be selected based on
system and plant fault study results.

Transformer efficiency
  Transformer losses represent a considerable economic loss over
the life of the power plant. A study should be made to select
minimum allowable efficiencies for purposes of bidding.

Vector group

 The vector group indicates the phase difference between the

primary and secondary sides. Based on the windings’ connection,
the vector group of a transformer is determined. For parallel
operation of transformers, vector group of each should
compatible. The transformer vector group is indicated on the
Name Plate of transformer by the manufacturer.

 Winding connection designations

First Symbol: for High Voltage: Always capital letters.

D=Delta S=Star N=Neutral

Second Symbol: for Low voltage: Always Small letters.

d=Delta s=Star n=Neutral.

Third Symbol: Phase displacement, the clock hour number

(multiple of 300 phase lag)

For example,
Other Accessories

 Terminals

Where low-voltage leads between the transformer and

generator are of the metal-enclosed type, it is desirable to
extend the lead housing to include the low-voltage terminals
of the transformer. This arrangement should be indicated on
the specification.

 Oil preservation systems

 Oil flow alarms
 Temperature detector
 Fire suppression system
 Surge arrestor
Power Transformer specifications generally covers the followings:

 KVA Rating
 Rated Voltage
 Number of phases
 Rated frequency
 Connections (star or delta)
 Tappings (if any)
 Type of core (core or shell)
 Type (Power or Distribution)
 Ambient tempr. (usually 400)
 Type of Cooling (cooling medium: air, oil or water and circulation
type: natural or forced, simple/mixed cooling)
 Temper rise above ambinent tempr (insulation class)
 Voltage regulation (at full load and 0.8 pf lag,
impedance/reactance in p.u or %)
 No load current (or % of rated current at rated voltage and
frequency)
 Efficiency (at full load, half load, ¾ load)
 INTRODUCTION TO EXCITATION SYSTEM
It is necessary to provide constancy of the alternator terminal
voltage during normal small and slow changes in the load. For
this purpose the alternators are provided with Automatic
Voltage Regulator (AVR). The exciter is a separate source to
provide DC field current to the alternator. It is one of the
main components in the AVR loop.
It must have adequate power capacity and sufficient speed
of response (rise time less than 0.1 sec.)
Hence, the basic function of an excitation system is to provide
necessary direct current to the field winding of the
synchronous generator. The excitation system must be able
to automatically adjust the field current to maintain the
required terminal voltage.
 Fig.1 General Components of Excitation System
1. Exciter: The DC power provider to field of alternator.
2. Regulator: Processes and amplifies input control signal to
level and form appropriate to control exciter.
3. Voltage Transducer: It senses terminal voltage of
alternator, rectifies and filters it to dc quantity and
compares with reference value that denotes desired
terminal voltage.
4. Power System Stabilizer (PSS): It provides an additional
input signal to regulator to damp power system
oscillation.
5. Limiters and Protective Circuits: They include a wide
range of control and protective functions such as not to
exceed the capability limits such as field current limiter,
maximum excitation limiter, volts per Hertz limiter etc.

The excitation systems have taken many forms over the years
of their evolution. The modern trend in interconnected
operation of power systems for the purpose of reliability and
increasing size of generators for the purposes of economy are
mainly responsible for the evolution of new excitation
schemes. The excitation systems practiced so far are the
following.
1. DC excitation systems
2. AC excitation systems
3. Brushless AC excitation systems
4. Static excitation systems

1. DC EXCITATION SYSTEMS
In DC excitation system, the field of the main synchronous
generator is fed from a DC generator, called exciter. Since the
field of the synchronous generator is in the rotor, the
required field current is supplied to it through slip rings and
brushes. The DC generator is driven from the same turbine
shaft as the generator itself. One form of simple DC excitation
system is shown in Fig.1.
Fig. 1 DC Excitation system
DC excitation system has slow response. Normally for 10 MVA
synchronous generator, the exciter power rating should be
nearly 1% of the main generator, for which we require a huge
DC generator. For these reasons, DC excitation systems are
gradually disappearing.
2. AC EXCITATION SYSTEMS
In AC excitation system, the DC generator is replaced by an
alternator of sufficient rating, so that it can supply the
required field current to the field of the main synchronous
generator. In this scheme, three phase alternator voltage is
rectified and the necessary DC supply is obtained. Generally,
two sets of slip rings, one to feed the rotating field of the
alternator and the other to supply the rotating field of the
synchronous generator, are required. Basic blocks of AC
excitation system are shown in Fig. 2.

Fig.2 AC excitation system

3. BRUSHLESS AC EXCITATION SYSTEMS
Old type AC excitation system has been replaced by brushless
AC excitation system wherein, inverted alternator (with field
at the stator and armature at the rotor) is used as exciter.
A full wave rectifier converts the exciter AC voltage to DC
voltage.
The armature of the exciter, the full wave rectifier and the
field of the synchronous generator form the rotating
components.
The rotating components are mounted on a common shaft.
Its AC armature voltage is rectified in diodes mounted on the
rotating shaft and then fed directly into the field of the main
synchronous generator.
This kind of brushless AC excitation system is shown in Fig. 3.
 Fig. 3 Brushless AC Excitation system
4. STATIC EXCITATION SYSTEMS
In static excitation system, a portion of the AC from each
phase of synchronous generator output is fed back to the
field windings, as DC excitations, through a system of
transformers, rectifiers, and reactors. All components on this
system are static or stationary and supply dc directly to the
field of the main generator through slip rings. The power
supply to the rectifiers is from the main generator or the
station auxiliary bus.
Fig. 4 Static Excitation System
For the initial build-up of the generator voltage, a field-
flashing equipment is required. A field breaker is selected
such that it carries the full load excitation current and also
breaks the max. field current when the three phase short
circuit occurs at the generator terminals. Over voltage
protection along with current limiting resistor is used to limit
the over voltage across field winding.

Among the variety of exciter types, older power plants usually

consisted of a DC generator driven by the main shaft. This
arrangement requires the transfer of DC power to the
synchronous generator field via slip rings and brushes.
Modern exciters tend to be of either brushless or static
design.
RATING OF THE EXCITER
Under normal conditions, an approximate exciter rating will
be in the order of 0.3% to 0.6% of generator rating. Its rating
is also expressed in 10A to 15A (approx.) per MW at normal
load.
Comparison between Brushless and Static Excitation System
Fast Response
• Response is defined as the rate of increase (or decrease)
of the excitation system output voltage which can be
seen from the excitation voltage time response curve.
• Response ratio, a measure of response, is the numerical
value which is obtained when the excitation system
response in volts per sec. measured over first 0.5 sec.

• Brushless System -Generally not very fast. However, high

initial-response performance of brushless excitation can
be achieved by special design of the ac exciter and high
voltage forcing of the exciter stationary field winding.
Response Ratio is about ‘2’.
• Static System -Fast response and plays important part in
system stability. Fast response is obtained due to both
 positive and negative field forcing capability. Response
Ratio is in order of ‘3’ to ‘5’.
• For power plants which have to play important role for
system stability, Static excitation system is generally
preferred.
• Power Source and Auxiliaries -Brushless system requires
less number of auxiliaries than static system
Maintenance & Outage
• Brushless System - Due to the absence of slip rings and
carbon brushes, brushless system requires less
maintenance and its outage time is less.
• Static System -Carbon brush needs to be replaced
frequently and the carbon particles when comes in
contact with generator winding, creates problems.
Overall Cost –
• Brushless System - Since number of auxiliaries needed is
less and low maintenance, its overall cost is less
• Static System - 100% redundant thyristor banks, higher
rating excitation transformer and high maintenance cost,
leads to overall high cost.

Among the above, static excitation system plays a very

important role in modern interconnected power system
operation due to its fast acting, good response in voltage
& reactive power control and satisfactory steady state
stability condition. For the machine above 500MW and
fire hazards areas, Brushless Excitation System is
preferred due to larger requirement of current and plant
safety requirements.
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 Power Plant Design

Generator Grounding

The principle objective of grounding synchronous generator system is the

protection of the generator and associated equipment against damage
caused by abnormal electrical conditions.

The main objectives of protection in of generator are as follows:

1. Minimizing damage for internal ground fault.
2. Limiting mechanical stress in the generator for external faults.
3. Limiting temporary over voltage and transient over voltage on the
generator insulation.
4. Providing a means of generator system ground fault detection.
5. Coordinate the protection of generator with the requirements of other
equipment connected at generator voltage level.

A system is said to be grounded if intentionally one point is connected to

ground. Typically a neutral of a generator or transformer is grounded either
directly or through an impedance of suitable value. Even a system is
ungrounded, that means there is no intentional connection to ground.

A system is furthermore solidly grounded if no intentional impedance is

inserted between the neutral and ground.

Equipment grounding and system grounding

At this point we need to make a distinction between equipment grounding

and system grounding as this article discusses the issue of system neutral
grounding.

A. Equipment grounding means how the frame or enclosure of

electrical equipment is connected to earth.
B. System grounding means how the electric neutral is connected to
earth.

Methods of system neutral grounding to achieve the above objectives can

broadly be categorized as follows:
1. Ungrounded

1
 2. Solidly grounded
3. Low reactance grounded
4. Resonant (Arc suppression coil) grounding.
5. Low resistance grounded
6. High resistance grounded

1. Ungrounded systems

As mentioned earlier, a system is ungrounded when there is no intentional

connection to ground. Nevertheless, the term ungrounded is a little
misleading as there is a connection to ground through the distributed
capacitances of the equipment connected cables, transformers, generators,
and so on.

In a balanced three-phase system, the vector sum of the capacitive phase

currents will be equal to zero, and the vector sum of the phase voltages will
also be zero, and thus the neutral will be held at approximately ground
potential.

If one phase of the system (phase B) becomes connected to ground due to a

fault, then that phase and the ground will have the same potential (ground
potential). The voltages in the two healthy phases will then rise to the
system phase to phase voltage. The fault current is restricted by the system
(healthy lines) capacitance to ground current.

In reality a fault is seldom solid, but often intermittent in nature (arcing or

re-striking) and there is a danger of transient over voltage. The transient
voltage can reach very high levels (~ six times) the normal phase-to-phase
voltages, which can give cause to insulation failure of one of the healthy
phases. This results in short circuiting. There is also a danger of a resonance
condition if the fault path includes an inductive reactance equal, or
approximately equal, to the capacitive reactance to ground.

Advantages:
 Low fault current limited by the system’s capacitance to ground.
 The system can be operated, at least for a limited period of time, with
one ground fault present if correctly designed, providing high service
continuity.

2
Disadvantages:
 In case of fault, voltages on the healthy phases are equal to line-to-
line voltages, thereby affecting the rating of the surge protective
devices.
 Danger of very high over voltages with an intermittent fault.
 Difficult to achieve selective ground fault protection.

2. Solidly grounded systems

A solidly grounded system is a system where the neutral of a power source

is connected directly to ground without any intentional impedance. This
method seems appropriate in low voltage system and extra high voltage
system. For low voltage, the fault current will also small. For extra high
voltage (above 66 kV) system, the significant capacitive current of healthy
phases would offset the load current via neutral. Solid grounding of
medium voltage (>1000 V) generator systems are generally not
recommended due to the fact that for generators, the zero sequence
reactance (Xo) is much less than the positive sequence sub-transient
reactance (X”d). Xo is typically half of the X”d value, which means that the
ground fault current exceeds the value of a three-phase short circuit current
by two times.

As the fault current is high, ranging from hundreds of ampere up to tens of

kilo ampere, the application of protective devices and the detection of fault
currents are relatively straightforward, and ordinary over current sensing
devices (fuses, relays) can be applied.

Advantages:

 Good control of over voltage, both transient and temporary.

 Allows the application of lower rated surge protective equipment
(surge arrestors or capacitors).
 Easy and selective fault detection possible.

Disadvantages:
 Very high and potentially destructive fault currents for internal faults.
 May cause voltage gradient problems.
 Causes high stress on the equipment for external faults.
3
  May cause 3rd harmonic voltage1 circulation problems.

3. Low reactance grounded systems

Low reactance grounded systems are made by intentionally inserting an

inductance between the neutral and ground. In power generation, such
systems, are almost exclusively used when there is a need to provide
generation directly to medium voltage distribution, and where the loads are
single phase and grounded. There are many concerns related to the
application of generation grounding for low reactance grounded systems.
The choice of having the transformers solidly grounded in the distribution
system, also limits the choice of methods for the generation system
grounding. The generators must be grounded with a system that provides
similar characteristics as the distribution system.

Typically, medium voltage generators are grounded using low inductance

to limit fault current. Because of direct feeding to the distribution network,
the generators are exposed to the capacitance of the system, and thus there
is also a risk of voltage resonance.

Advantages:
 Limits transient and temporary over voltage to values close to those of
a solidly grounded system. Allows the use of lower rated surge
protective equipment.
 Lower ground fault current compared to solidly grounded systems.

Disadvantages:
 Ground fault current levels, while limited, are still high, with
potentially destructive fault currents.
 Low reactance systems may experience circulation of a 3rd harmonic
current.
 Resonance conditions might occur. Need of surge protection.
 Care should be exercised in rating neutral point equipment
 Relatively expensive neutral point equipment.

4. Resonance Grounding
1
The voltage of generators has a low content of 3rd harmonic voltage due to the uneven physical distribution of stator-
windings in the generator, which do not produce a fully sinusoidal voltage. The generators should be designed for
minimized 3rd harmonic voltage content by utilizing a 2/3 winding pitch. On the other hand, this usually means over
sizing of the generator and potentially reduced efficiency.
4
It operates on the principle that if an inductance of appropriate value is
connected in parallel to the capacitance, the fault current can be reduced
significantly if operates at resonance. Hence the inductance required
depends on capacitive current to ground. The arc suppression coil is an iron
core tapped reactor connected to neutral to ground connection. The tap
setting should be such that it should be tuned to system capacitance. To
some extent, it acts same as ungrounded system.

5. Low resistance grounded systems.

Low resistance grounding is carried out by inserting a low resistance

between the equipment neutral and ground. Although the resistance value
can have various values, it is often chosen to restrict the ground fault
current to a value of 50-1000 A. The advantage of low resistance grounding
versus solidly grounded systems is the limitation of ground fault current,
from several kA to values lower than one kA, while providing good control
of temporary and transient over voltage. Still during a fault, it is a high
level of current and it might cause considerable damage.

This method of grounding is generally used where two or more generators

are bussed at generator voltage and connected to a system through one step
up transformer or where the generator is connected directly to a distribution
system.

Advantages:
 Lower ground fault current compared to solidly grounded systems.
5
  Good control of temporary and transient over voltages.
 Easy and selective fault detection.

Disadvantages:
 Ground fault current are still at a comparably high level to cause
possible damage.
 Care should be exercised in the selection of surge protective
equipment. Low impedance systems may experience the circulation of
a 3rd harmonic current.
 Relatively expensive neutral point equipment.

Chilime HPP, Trishuli HPP, Kulekhani II have used such grounding.

6. High resistance grounding

High resistance grounding is carried out by inserting a high resistance

between the equipment neutral and ground. The absolute resistance value
can differ from case to case but is often chosen to restrict the ground fault
current to a value of 5-10 A. The main advantage of high resistance
grounding, versus low impedance and solidly grounded systems, is the
limitation of ground fault current while still providing good control of
temporary and transient over voltage. In order to dampen the temporary and
transient over voltage to acceptable levels, the resistance value of the
neutral grounding resistor has to be chosen carefully. A value of the
resistive current equal to or slightly higher than the system capacitive
current to ground should be chosen. This condition is met when the ohmic
value of the resistance (Rn) is equal to or slightly lower than, the three-
phase capacitive reactance to ground (Xcg).

6
 Fig. 1 Transient Voltage in percent of Rated Peak Line to Ground
Voltage

Advantages:
 Limits transient and temporary over voltage to safe values if correctly
designed.
 Ground fault currents limited to low values, with lower potential
damage for an earth fault.
 High enough resistance to inhibit circulation of a 3rd harmonic
current. Relatively inexpensive neutral point equipment.
 Easy and selective fault detection with modern relays.

Disadvantages:
 May not be applicable to all systems, as the ground fault current
maybe too low to be detected by older types of relays. The equipment
installed in an existing system (e.g. surge arrestors) may also have
voltage ratings that are too low.

Distribution Transformer for Grounding

High Resistance Grounding normally takes the form of a low ohmic value
resistor connected to the secondary of a distribution transformer with the
primary winding of the transformer connected from the generator neutral to
ground. The advantage of the distribution transformer resistor combination
is that the resistor used in the secondary of the distribution transformer is of
comparatively low ohmic value and of rugged construction as compared to
obtaining the same result by installing a high ohmic, low current resistor
directly in the generator neutral.

The primary voltage rating of the distribution transformer in the generator

neutral should be equal to or slightly greater than the generator phase to
neutral voltage. In general, a voltage rating of the nearest standard value
below the generator line to line voltage is used.

7
 Fig. Resistance grounding with Distribution Transformer

Utilities generally prefer solidly grounded systems for voltage levels from
69 kV upwards, for their transmission and sub-transmission systems. This
is primarily due to the control of Transient Over Voltages permitting the
use of lower rated insulation and surge protection. At 3.3-33 kV, practices
differ, even between utilities in the same country. Consideration has to be
given to a variety of factors; economics, loads (three-phase or single phase),
service continuity, control of over voltage, and even environmental
considerations. Industrial systems are often resistance grounded - high or
low resistance, or ungrounded for very critical processes. The primary goal
here is service continuity and equipment damage control.

Marsyandi HEP, KaliGandaki HEP use DT Resistance Grounding.

8
Calculation of Neutral Resistor:

Taking the reference of 13MVA, 11kV Synchronous Generator in Chilime

Hydro- power Plant,
Capacitance at Terminals of Generator with respect to Ground (Co) = 0.135
µF
Capacitance of Surge Capacitor w.r.t. ground (Cs) = 0.25 µF

And the Capacitance of Cable from generator terminal to CB, Unit Aux.
Transformer, and Generator Transformers can be neglected since they are
in the range of Pico Farad.
Cg = Co + Cs
= 0.385 µF
Xco = 1/ (2πfCg) = 8267.8 Ω

The Capacitive Reactance to Ground (Xcg) seem at the neutral is equal to

the parallel combination of the capacitive reactances to ground of all three
phases.
Xcg = Xco/ 3 = 2756.0 Ω

As Shown in Fig. 1, for the Restriking voltage not to exceed 2.5 times the
rated voltage, Rn should be equal to or greater than Xcg .

Hence,
Rn = Xcg = 2756.0 Ω

The value of Neutral Resistor calculated is in the range of High resistance

grounding. So a distribution transformer is also to be selected.

If we select a distribution transformer of ratio 11/ 3 : 0.240 kV,

Transformation Ratio (n) = 26.46
The neutral Resistor now to be inserted in secondary of the Distribution
Transformer so that the equivalent value reflected in the primary side will
be as calculated above.
R’n = Rn/n2 = 2756.0 / (26.46)2 = 3.94 Ω

9
Rating of Distribution Transformer:

During a sustained ground fault, current will flow in the secondary resistor.
The maximum neutral voltage is assumed to be phase to ground voltage.
Isec max = Vsec max / Rsec = 240/3.94 = 61.0 A

Since the Current rating of the calculated Grounding Resistor is high, it can
be significantly reduced by selecting the voltage ratio of the distribution
transformer high i.e. 11/ 3 : 0.480 kV

Transformation Ratio (n) = 13.23

The neutral Resistor now to be inserted in secondary of the Distribution

Transformer so that the equivalent value reflected in the primary side will
be as calculated above.
R’n = Rn/n2 = 2756.0 / (13.23)2 = 15.74 Ω

Rating of Distribution Transformer

During a sustained ground fault, current will flow in the secondary resistor.
The maximum neutral voltage is assumed to be phase to ground voltage.
Isec, max = Vsec max / Rsec = 480/15.74 = 30.5 A

This value is the current through the neutral device during a ground fault
condition. Grounding resistor must be rated to withstand the full thermal
current.
The thermal rating of the transformer is calculated using full transformer
voltage and the following equation:
kVA = Esec rated * Isec max = 14.64 kVA

Grounding transformer can be rated on a short time basis as in Table 1. The

table tspresen Permissible Short Time Overload Factors for Distribution
Transformers Used for Neutral Grounding.

Table 1. Permissible Short-Time Overload Factors for Distribution

Transformers Used for Neutral Grounding

10
 Duration of Overload Multiple of Rated kVA

10 Sec 10.5
60 Sec 4.7
10 min 2.6
20 min 1.9
2 hr 1.4

Considering 10 minute Duration, Overload factor following no load is 2.6

(from Table.1)
14.64/ 2.6 = 5.63 kVA
But the cost difference between the 5 kVA and 15 kVA is not so higher, it
is better to select the continuous rating rather than short time rating. Hence,
15 kVA, Dry type transformer is selected.

Now, the thermal rating of the resistor can be calculated with the
assumption:
if a solid fault occurs so Rfault=0, the power dissipated in the grounding
resistor, Pr, will be:
Pr = E2L-N / Rn = (11000/ 3 ) 2 / 2756.0 = 14.64 kW.

11
 Generator Lead
The term “generator leads” applies to the circuits between the generator terminals and the low- voltage
terminals of the Generator Step Up (GSU) transformers. The equipment selected depends upon the
distance between the generator and transformer, the capacity of the generator, the type of generator
breakers employed, and the economics of the installation. There are two general classes of generator
leads:

 Metal-enclosed buses
 Power cables.

Enclosed Bus Ducts are designed for use on circuits whose importance requires greater reliability than
power cables. Cables may be appropriate for some small generators or in installations where the GSU
transformer is located in the plant’s switchyard.

A. Metal-enclosed buses

There are three categories of metal-enclosed bus: nonsegregated-phase, segregated- phase, and isolated-
phase.

(1) Nonsegregated-phase buses

All phase conductors are enclosed in a common metal enclosure without barriers, with phase
conductors insulated with molded material and supported on molded material or porcelain insulators.
This bus arrangement is normally used with metal-clad switchgear and is available in ratings up to
4,000 A (6,000 A in 15-kV applications) in medium-voltage switchgear applications.

Adhikari YR
 (2) Segregated-phase buses

All phase conductors are enclosed in a common enclosure, but are segregated by metal barriers
between phases. Conductor supports usually are of porcelain. This bus arrangement is available in
the same voltage and current ratings as nonsegregated- phase bus, but finds application where
space limitations prevent the use of isolated-phase bus or where higher momentary current ratings
than those provided by the nonsegregated phase are required.

(3) Isolated-phase buses.

Each phase conductor is enclosed by an individual metal housing, which is separated from adjacent
conductor housings by an air space. Conductor supports are usually of porcelain. Isolated-phase bus is
available in ratings through 24,000 A and voltage level up to 35 kV.

B. Insulated Power Cables

Cables may be appropriate for some small generators or in installations where the GSU transformer is
located in the plant’s switchyard. In the latter situation, economic and technical evaluations should be
made to determine the most practical and cost-effective method to make the interconnection. Factors
to consider when selecting power cables as generator leads:

 Conductor (99% pure copper)

 Insulation requirement
 Mechanical protection
 Single core or three core
 Total length of cable required
 Interconnection requirement
 Overall Cost

Advantages of using Bus-bars over cables

 Simpler in design
 Safer (Due to a high short-circuit rating and minimal combustive energy)
 Quicker to install
 More flexible for modification and expansion

Protection provided for enclosed equipment (IP Code)

The degree of protection provided by an enclosure is indicated in the International Protection

(IP) code, recommended in International Electro technical Commission (IEC) 60529. Protection
is afforded against the following external influences:

 Penetration by solid bodies

 Protection of persons against access to live parts

Adhikari YR
  Protection against the ingress of dust
 Protection against the ingress of liquids

The description of IP code letters are given below in chart. If a characteristic numerical is not
required to be specified, the letter ‘X’ is used.

Adhikari YR
 Circuit Breaker Selection
Type

 Air Break Circuit Breaker

o Air Circuit Breaker
o Air Blast Circuit Breaker
o SF6 Circuit Breaker
o Vacuum Circuit Breaker
 Oil Circuit Breaker
o Bulk Oil Circuit Breaker
o Minimum Oil Circuit Breaker

Rated Voltage

The rated voltage indicates the upper limit of the highest voltage of systems for which the switchgear
and control gear is intended. It is the highest root-mean-square (rms) voltage for which the circuit
breaker is designed and is the upper limit for operation (e.g. 12 kV for 11 kV systems, 145 kV for 132 kV
systems and 72.5 kV for 66 kV systems).

Rated Current

The rms value of the current which the circuit breaker shall be able to carry at rated frequency and at
rated voltage continuously at normal working conditions.

Rated Frequency

The frequency at which it is designed to operate (e.g. 50 Hz for Nepalese power system).

Operating Sequence (Duty Cycle)

It consists of the prescribed number of unit operations at stated intervals. The operating sequence
denotes the sequence of opening and closing operations which the circuit breaker can perform under
specified conditions.

O– t – CO – t’ – CO
 O = opening operation of circuit breaker
 CO = closing operation immediately followed by an opening operation without
any intentional time delay.
 t = 3 min for circuit-breaker not intended for rapid auto reclosing & t = 0.3 s for
circuit-breaker intended for rapid auto reclosing.
 t’ = 3 min
 Instead of t’ = 3 min, other values such as t’ = 15s (for rated voltages less than or
equal to 52 kV) and t’ = 1 min are also used for circuit-breaker intended for
rapid auto-reclosing.
Breaking capacity

It is the highest rms value of shot circuit current that the circuit breaker is capable of breaking under
specified conditions of transient recovery voltage and power frequency voltage. Power frequency
withstand voltage and impulse withstand voltage are used to characterize the insulation level of circuit
breaker. Power frequency withstand voltage is designed for a minute duration. Impulse withstand
voltage is designed for only microsecond interval.

Making Capacity

There is always a possibility that the circuit breaker is closed under short-circuit condition. The making
capacity of the circuit breaker depends upon its ability to withstand the effect of electromagnetic forces
which are proportional to the square of the peak of value of the making current.

The rated value of making current = 2.55 * rated short-circuit breaking current.

Short time current rating

The current will be the maximum at the instant of occurring of fault, after which current decays. The CB
starts to operate after the initiation of fault. Hence actual current interrupted by CB is less than initial
short-circuit current. For this too small interval of time, CB should be able to hold this large current
without damage, this rms current carrying capability is Short-time current rating. This is expressed in kA
for a period of 1 s or 4 s.

Comparison for Circuit Breakers of Different Types

Arc quenching Voltage and Applications Remark

Type medium Breaking capacity
1. Air Circuit Air at at. Pressure 400 – 600 V, upto For medium and Have current
Breaker 35 MVA low voltage limiting feature
3.6-12kV, upto
500MVA
2. Oil circuit breaker Dielectric oil 3.6 kV – 12 kV, 500 Used upto 12 kV, Getting obsolete
(transformer oil) MVA 500 MVA now.
3. Minimum Oil
Circuit Breaker 3.6kV – 145 kV For metal enclosed Now suppressed by
preferably switchgear up to SF6
36kV, for outdoor
type between 36kV
to 245 kV
4. Air Blast Compressed air 245kV, 35GVA Suitable for all EHV Requirement of
application auxiliary
compressed air,
now suppressed by
SF6 Circuit Breaker
5. SF6 SF6 gas 12 kV, 1000MVA Most popular for Maintenance free
36 kV, 2000MVA wide range of
145 kV,7500MVA application
245 kV, 10,000MVA
420 kV, 40kA

6. Vacuum Vacuum Upto 36kV, 750 Suitable for 3.6 kV Modest

MVA to 36kV.Preferred maintenance, long
for indoor switch life, needs
gear. additional surge
arrestor to interrupt
low magnetizing
current.

Generator Circuit Breaker Selection

Medium voltage generation voltage level SF6 and Vacuum circuit breaker (VCB) seem suitable as
Generator Circuit Breaker (GCB). But, for 12 kV switchgear system, VCB is generally preferred because

 No emission of gases, pollution free and does not need filling of gas or oil.
 Non explosive and silent operation.
 Large number of operations on load or short circuit. Suitable for repeated operating duty. Long
life as compared to SF6 circuit breakers.
 Suitable for capacitor switching, cable switching, industrial load switching.
 As its interrupting medium is vacuum, breaking time is very short.

Oil circuit breaker are possible instead but may have following drawbacks

 More frequency of accidents.

 Probability of explosion if oil is not replaced timely.
 Bulky in size.

Air Blast Circuit breaker is suitable for very large current and generally used for outdoor high voltage
applications.

Standard rated voltages for GCB according to IEC are as follows.

3.6 kV 7.2 kV 12 kV 17.5 kV 24 kV 36 kV 52 kV

72.5 kV 100 kV 123 kV 145 kV 170 kV 245 kV.

Circuit Breaker for High Voltage Application (HV CBs)

 For 36 kV and above, outdoor circuit-breakers are preferred.

 Although Minimum Oil Circuit Breakers and Air Blast CBs exist for 145 kV, breakers for 69kV and
above generally are SF6 Circuit Breaker. For the same size of conductors, the current carrying
 ability of SF6 circuit-breakers is about 1.5 times that of air blast circuit-breakers because of
superior heat transfer ability of SF6 gas.
 Some of the demerits of SF6 circuit-breakers are:
o Sealing problems -> Imperfect joints lead to leakage of gas.
o Arced SF6 gas is poisonous and should not be inhaled or let out.
o The double pressure SF6 circuit breakers are relatively costly due to the type of
construction and complex gas system.
o Special facilities are needed for transporting the gas, transferring the gas and
maintaining the quality of gas. The deteriorating of quality of the gas affects the
reliability of the SF6 circuit breaker.

The interrupting rating of circuit breakers should be selected with the help of fault current.

Assignment: Compare VCB and SF6 CB on the basis of their uses and other techno-economic factors.

Fault Current Calculation

Fault occurrences in general are found to be distributed as below.

 Overhead Lines 50%

 Underground Cables 9%
 Transformers 10%
 Generators 7%
 Switchgears 12%
 CTs, PTs, Relays, Control Equipments 12%

Faults usually brings

 Damage of the equipments due to overheating and high mechanical forces from short circuit
current.
 Fire Hazards.
 Low Voltage in other circuits.
 Unbalance in network, can cause heating of rotating machines.
 System instability.

Importance of Fault Current Calculation

 The short circuit value of bus bar fault gives the maximum current that flows from the system to
the earth through the bus.
 The earthing mat designed at the power house and switchyard is purely governed by the
maximum fault level.
 The short circuit current rating of overhead line conductor and cable should be such that it
should withstand its respective fault current.
  The interrupting rating of circuit breakers should be selected with the help of fault current.

The assumption made for fault calculation are

 The emfs of all generators are 1<0° per unit. This means that the system voltage is at its nominal
value before fault and load current is ignored.

 Shunt elements in the transformer model that account for magnetizing current and core loss are
neglected.

 Shunt capacitances of the transmission line are neglected.

 System resistance is neglected and only inductive reactance of the system is taken into account
i.e. X/R ratio is assumed to be high.

 Computation of Fault currents for electric systems is carried out in terms of per-unit values

Steps of Fault Calculation

 Sketch the Single Line Diagram of the given power system. For example consider a case as below
in figure.

 Select the Base MVA and Base kV for the System.

 Convert the impedance of generators, transformers, transmission lines etc. to per-unit values on
its respective bases.

 Sketch the impedance diagram of the system.

 Use Thevenin’s Equivalent Circuit to calculate the symmetrical fault currents.

 To obtain asymmetrical rms fault current, multiply the symmetrical fault current by a factor of
1.6.

 Based on fault current via CBs, determine the rating of CBs.

 Find the appropriate CB from the coordination vales using table given below.
(sub-clause 4.1.1 of IEC Publication 694 for Series I)

The Name plate of a CB used in Hydropower is given below.

Fig. Circuit Breaker @Marshyangdi HEP
 Bus Bars Layout

Types of Bus bar Scheme:

1. Single Bus
The schematic diagram of a single busbar system is presented in fig.1. Before discussing about this
system, some important concepts are defined below:

Source Feeder
Feeder Source

Fig 1: Single busbar System

The single busbar system presented in fig.1 uses two disconnects switches, and a circuit breaker
per feeder. In case of a feeder fault, the circuit breaker isolates the feeder. In the same way, the
breaker is used to switch on and off the loaded feeder. The disconnect switch on both sides of the
breaker are used to isolate the breaker for repair. The disconnect switches are similarly used for
bringing in the breaker to the dead feeder. The disconnect switch on the feeder side of the
breaker may be omitted, if there is no other source of generation, feeding the load, which is
receiving a parallel supply from the busbar under consideration.
The single busbar system has the following
Advantages
1. Simple design.
2. Relatively inexpensive.
3. Easily relayed (control).
4. Minimum real estate.
5. Cost index 1.0 (base) i.e. standard to compare other scheme.
6. Low availability.

1
 Disadvantages
a.) The supply from the busbar is interrupted during the routine maintenance of the busbar
system and disconnects switches connected to it.
b.) Feeder supply is lost during the repair and maintenance of the feeder, breaker, and the
disconnect switches.
c.) Short circuits in the busbar lead to the loss of supply to all the feeders.
d.) Feeder short circuits in case of circuit breaker failure lead to loss of supply to all feeders.

2. Main And Transfer Bus

Normally bus bar fault is very rare where as routine maintenance of circuit breaker has to be
carried out frequently. Similarly the problem in circuit breaker is also common. In this system, in
case of trouble in any one of the breakers, the standby breaker with combination of transfer bus
can be used for normal operation.

Fig 2: Main & Transfer busbar system

The main features of main and transfer bus are as follows:
Advantages
1. Medium cost.
2
 2. Flexible operation.
3. Breaker or line relays can be taken out of service at any time for maintenance and with
only slight modifications to line protection.
4. Potential device on main bus can be used for relaying.
Disadvantages
1. Unreliable (bus or breaker fault shuts down the substation).
2. Requires an extra breaker for bus tie.
3. Bus tie breaker relaying complicated since it may spare any line breaker.
4. Switching complicated when removing a breaker for maintenance.
5. Requires separate bus protection scheme.
6. Cost index 1.4.

3. Modified Main and Transfer bus system

In this scheme, even maintenance of busbar can be held without interruption. As the figure
shows load or source can be transferred to any bus as per the requirement. This system may be
regarded as double busbar system where both bus has equal importance.

Figure 3: Main and transfer bus with Modification

Advantages:
This scheme acquires all the advantages that of Main and Transfer bus scheme. Beside those,

3
 1. Load can be shifted to any bus during maintenance of other bus.
2. Even using the main or transfer bus one at a time, it need not to use the breaker of
bus coupler, i.e. the feeder uses it's own breaker when either bus is in operation.
Disadvantages:
1. The addition of one extra isolator increases the cost of the arrangement.
2. This system is somehow more difficult to arrange i. e. layout in switchyard.

4. Double-bus single breaker

The scheme is costlier but has higher reliability than other two schemes.
Bus-2

12 11 10 9 8

Bus
CB-5 coupler
3 4 6 7
5
Bus-1

CB-1 CB-2 CB-3 CB-4

1 2

Load
Source-1 Load Source-2

Fig 4: Double bus single breaker system

Suppose power flow is now in direction from source-1 to source-2. In this case bus-1 is charged
through CB-2, DS-1 and DS-4. If fault occurs in line of source -2, it is isolated by opening CB-4
and DS-2. Also in case of maintenance of Bus-1, Bus-2 is charged through bus coupler by
closing DS-5, DS-10 and CB-5 .Both the buses now are at same potential. Source-1 can supply
Bus-2 through DS-11 and also the load can be connected to bus-2 through DS-12 safely. Now
DS-3, DS-4, DS-5 and CB-5 can be opened. Similar operations can be performed at source-2
side. And hence maintenance at Bus-1 can be performed safely.
The main features of this scheme are as follows:

4
Advantages
1. Flexible operation.
2. Possibility of maintaining a busbar at a time without the loss of supply.
3. Breaker or line relays can be taken out of service at any time with only slight
modification of line protection.
4. Either main bus may be isolated for maintenance.
5. Has high availability.
Disadvantages
1. An extra breaker is required for the bus tie.
2. Fault in the tiebreaker disables both busbars
3. Complicated switching required when removing a breaker for maintenance.
4. Bus tie breaker relaying complicated since it must be able to spare any breaker.
5. Requires separate complicated bus protective scheme.
6. Has greatest exposure to bus faults.
7. Line breaker failure takes half of substation out of service.
8. Bus tie breaker failure takes entire station out of service.
9. Not convenient for Supervising Control & Data Acquisition (SCADA) control.
10. High cost.
11. Loss of supply of corresponding feeder during maintenance of that feeder.

A double bus bar scheme with addition of bypass isolator in circuit breaker is more reliable. It
resumes continuity of supply even during maintenance of breaker through the bypass isolator.
This system is as shown in figure below:

As shown in figure 5, it requires two additional isolators than that in simple Double bus single
breaker arrangement. The increased reliability will cause higher cost of the system. Its cost index
is 1.8.

5
 Bus-2

Bus-1

Bypass Isolator

Load Source Load Source

Fig 5: Double Bus single Breaker arrangement with bypass isolator

5. Ring Busbar system

This scheme of bus bar arrangement has higher degree of flexibility than the preceding
arrangements. This scheme requires lesser number of circuit breaker (which is one of the costlier
equipment in a substation) for the same number of source and feeder as in Main and Transfer bus
scheme or in double Bus Single breaker arrangement.

Fig. 6: Ring Bus Bar scheme

Advantages:
1. Low cost
2. Flexible operation region can be restored following line outage by opening line
disconnect.

6
 3. Any individual breaker can be taken out of service at any time
4. No complicated bus differential relaying scheme required
5. Breaker failure operation removes two circuits from service under normal operation
6. No main bus required
7. All switching is done by breakers
8. Cost Index 1.04
Disadvantages:
1. If a fault occurs during breaker maintenance, the system may be separated into two
sections
2. Automatic Reclosing is complicated
3. If single relay set used circuit must be taken out of service to maintain relay
4. since there is no definite potential point, potential devices must be provided on all circuits
5. Tripping matrix becomes complicated and may not be easy to understand.

7
 Station Service System
A complete station service supply and distribution system should be provided to furnish power for station,
dam auxiliaries, lighting, and other adjacent features of the project.

“Black start” capability is desirable at hydro plants. “Black start” capability is defined as the ability of the
plant, without an external source of power, to maintain itself internally and start generating units. The
plant must then resynchronize to the grid. At least one emergency power source from an automatic start-
engine-driven generator should be provided for operating governor oil pumps and re-establishing
generation after losing normal station service power. Figure below would be a scheme for station power
supply.

In case of large size power plant, two station service transformers (as shown below) with buses and
switching arrangement can be used. Now either of the transformers can be supplied from either the main
generators or the transmission system. Each transformer is supposed to be capable of supplying the total
station load.
The station service switchgear should have a sectionalized bus, with one section for each normal station
service source. Switching to connect emergency source power to one of the buses, or selectively, to either
bus should be provided. Three-phase, 480 V station service systems using an ungrounded-delta systems
are still preferred in hydro stations.

Main Distribution Board:

The main distribution board supplies power to sub distribution boards and to some feeders directly. It may
consist of four incomers, incomer 1 and incomer 2 from station transformers, incomer 3 from DG and
incomer 4 from emergency transformer situated outside the power house. Each feeder panel is protected
by appropriately rated MCCB and necessary auxiliary devices like indicator lamps, selector switches,
push buttons etc. For important feeders like unit sub distribution board, cooling waters, battery charger
etc. two feeder panels are located, one from each bus, for the reliability and uninterruptible supply to the
feeders.

Sub Distribution Boards:

Important consumers such as Unit Control Board, governor, excitation panel etc. have feeder control
crucible from both the LV buses. There should be provision for Main and Stand by selection. This ensures
operation of only one feeder at the time of supply resumption. It also helps in the load balancing of both
the station transformer. When the feeder designated as main fails, the standby feeder is operated
automatically.

Diesel Generator Supply:

During station supply interruption, DG should start automatically.

Feeder Panels and Motor Control Centers (MCC):

Most of the loads of the power plant are motor loads which may be in the form of Cooling water pumps,
governor oil pumps, ventilation motors etc. Majority of the motors used are of induction type. Depending
upon their size and their operation requirement they need different types of starters and protection system.

Capacity Ratings of Station Transformer (Estimation of total power consumption):

The maximum demand that is expected on the station service system is the basis for developing station
service transformer ratings. The expected demand may be determined from a total of the feeder loads with
an appropriate diversity factor, or by listing all connected loads and corresponding demand loads in kVA.
A diversity factor smaller than 0.75 should not be used. Demand factors used for developing station
service equipment capacities can vary widely due to the type of plant. For instance, the governor oil pump
demand for a Kaplan turbine will be greater than that for the governor oil pump demand for a Francis
turbine of the same output rating because of the additional hydraulic capacity needed to operate the
Kaplan turbine blades. If the plant is base loaded, governor oil pumps will not cycle as often as governor
oil pumps in a similar plant used for automatic generation control or peaking service. Station service
systems should be designed also to anticipate load growth.

Major auxiliary Loads

  Cooling system

• Generator cooling (stator, bearing), turbine bearing cooling, transformer cooling (OFWF)

 Compressed oil and hydraulic oil system

• Governor pumps- actuator control of Guide vane/Nozzle. Inlet valve, bypass valve etc

 Compressed air system

• service air for repair jobs and compressed air for pressurized oil tank

 Braking system for shutdown

 High Pressure Injection pump for start up

 Lubricating system

• Bearing , guide vanes

 DC distribution supply

• For control , field flashing etc

Ancillaries

 Ventilation System

 Air conditioning System

 Fire alarm system

 Lighting and power distribution

 Over Head crane system

 Elevator

 Telephone and communication System

 Diesel Generator

Experiences indicate that the station power consumption for hydropower station is below 1% of its
installed capacity. An example case for estimating total auxiliary load demand and hence the selection of
capacity of station transformer is shown below.

Connected load
Function KVA Demand KVA
Unit auxillaries for 2 units

Governor oil pump

pump#1bus#1 2@50hp 100 100

pump#2bus#2 2@50hp 100

pump#3bus#1 1@25hp 25 25

pump#4bus#2 1@25hp 25

Turbine bearing oil pump 2@2hp 2 2

Head cover pump

pump#1 bus#1 2@2hp 4 4

pump#2 bus#1 2@2hp 4

High Bay Light

bus #1 4@13kw 52 52

bus #2 4@13kw 52

Generator hosing heater 2@18kw 16

Transformer cooling water pumps

bus #1 2@2hp 4 4

bus #2 2@2hp 4

Transformer oil pump

bus #1 3@2hp 6 6

bus #2 3@2hp 6

ACB Air compressor 1@5hp 5 5

bus #1 1@5hp 5 5

bus #2

High pressure thrust Bearing Oil pump 2@10hp 20

Governor Air Compressor 1@15hp 15

General Auxiliaries

supply to Dam 600 200

Fire pump 25 25

HV A/C- heat pump 300 30

Transit oil processor 20 20

Transit oil pump 10 10

Battery charge no.1 10 10

Battery charge no.2 10

Elevator 25 25

Power house Crane 100

Air Compressor no.1 20 20

Air Compressor no.2 20

Filter paper oven 2 2

Lubricating oil purifier 14 14

Lubricating oil pump 5 0

Water heater 5 2

Switchyard

Cable tunnel ventilating fan 5 5

Power outlets 5

Lighting 38 30

Air compressors 2

Machine Shop

Largest Machine 15
 Total less heating 1465 618

Total demand with diversity factor of 75% 463.5kVA

Estimated total heating load 1000 kVA

Estimated total demand load with heating 1463.5 kVA

Recommended size of each ST. TR 1000 kVA

(Table above assumes 1 hp as the equivalent of 1 kVA and on lights and heaters uses the kW rating as the
kVA equivalent.)

DC Supply System

Different rated values of dc voltage have been used in power plant depending upon types of equipments
and their power requirements. The rated dc voltage for auxiliary equipments as per IEC 60694_2002 is
shown.

• 110V DC System:

– The rated 110V dc system is extensively used in Nepalese power plants for various
purposes such as switchgear operations, emergency lighting, generator field flashing,
relay panels, inverter supply, solenoids, annunciations, control and so on.

• 48V DC System:

– 48V dc system is another preferred value for electronic auxiliary equipments as per IEC
standard, usually used for communication system and PLC.

• 24V DC System:

– The rated 24V dc system is being used in electronic equipments which functions as
control units. It is extensively used in microprocessor based control units as its power
requirement and voltage level is low. It is also used in LED indicators, SCADA
equipments, solenoids control circuits etc.
 Batteries

Mainly Batteries are

 Lead Acid Battery

 Nickel Cadmium battery

Components of Battery

 Cell
– It is the basic unit of battery consisting negative and positive plate.
 Electrodes
– They are Metallic Plates made of active material e.g. Pb.
 Electrolytes
– They are the conducting medium in battery cell e.g. H2SO4
 Separator
– Porous insulating divider between plates that prevents electrical contact
between them
 Cell Vent
– It allows escaping of gases produced in battery.
 Case
– It is the outer body or frame that covers entire components of battery.

Some important concept regarding Battery

 Open-circuit voltage
o Depending upon sp. Gravity and type, generally 2.1 volts/cell for LeadAcid.
 Cut-Off voltage
o The lowest voltage allowed before recharging must be done. Capacity is defined
with discharge upto this voltage.
 Cycle
o Discharge to a given depth and recharge to full level.
 Allowable Depth of discharge (DOD)
o Percentage capacity that is withdrawn upto the cut-off voltage when compared to
fully charged capacity.
 Autonomy (for Solar)
o The time when a fully charged battery can supply the system load before a charge.
( The max no. of days or hours without sun expected for a stand-alone system).
 Self-discharge rate
o When left open circuit, there is losses due to internal discharges in the battery. It
is high in PbAcid batteries and low in NiCd cells.
 Efficiency or Charge Acceptance
o Energy available for draw out / Total recharge energy
 Energy density
 o Total charges in coulombs per unit area of plate. It determined the size of the
battery for a given Ah .

Charge modes

• Nomimal Charge – First charge including the dead cell charge which can not be
recovered (Constant current charging).

• Float / Trickle charge – After near to full charge, the maintaining charge – low current&
constant voltage

• Boost / Equalizing charge – After discharge, fast recharge is necessary, high and constant
current initially, and later constant voltage reducing current, switching over to Trickle
charge

Sulfation: It is a normal slow process in Lead Acid batteries operating in a partial charge state
due to growth of Lead sulphate crystals in the plates and that will reduce the active area and
capacity. So, the batteries should be charged to full when leaving for long duration.

Stratification: Electrolyte density is changing from bottom to top due to undercharging and lack
of agitation. This causes lower plate to deplete and reduce capacity while top portion is still
active. During charging, Equalizing charge or Boost charge should be done so the electrolyte is
agitated.

Ampere-hour or Capacity or Ampacity: 1Ah means1 Amp of current over a period of 1 hour.
Slower the discharge rate, higher the capacity. Energy-out depends upon depth of discharge, cut-
off voltage, temperature, and discharge rate (Ampere drawn out).

Temperature Correction: Lower Temperature lowers the capacity. Below 200c, a correction
factor has to be applied to maintain the capacity.

Battery Selection

• Selection of battery depends upon many of the parameters

• For energy storage from renewables as solar or wind, efficiency is more critical.

• For vehicles, energy density and DOD is more important for easy transport and limited space.

• For fixed travel vehicles, locomotives, energy efficiency may be more important (safa tempo)

• Operational pollution

• Cost
• Maintenance requirement etc.

• But for larger power storage, batteries are not suitable.

Battery Capacity Estimate

Firstly the battery duty cycle is observed according to load requirement. Consider a duty cycle as
in figure as an example case.
 • Battery reserve time: 8 hours

• Battery Capacity: 80*2 + 40*6 = 400 Ah

• For higher reliability and segregation of faults, the battery bank is constructed with two battery
bank with half the capacity i.e. 200 Ah each. However, considering the future load growth,
capacity factor and compensation for age of battery, each battery bank of 250 Ah is chosen.

Reference for 110V DC Battery Capacity:

• Battery capacity of 300Ah is used in Chilime HPP (22 MW).

• Battery capacity of 350Ah is used in Marsyangdi HPP (69 MW).

• Battery capacity of 500 Ah is used in Kali Gandaki ‘A’ HPP (144 MW)

Battery Charger

• It should be sufficient for supplying the continuous DC load while recharging the station battery
at the normal rate.

• 100% redundant system i.e. two chargers per battery bank.

Charging System

• Constant Current System - charging current is kept constant by varying the supply voltage.
Charging current is controlled by varying the rheostat or by controlling the firing angle of
thyristors. Takes longer time for charging.
 • Constant Voltage System - voltage is kept constant but it results in very large charging current
in the beginning. Charging time is almost reduced to half. It may not be applicable for Ni-Cd
battery system, whose voltage level does not decrease appreciable.

Voltage Regulation Method

• End Cell Voltage Regulation

• Diode Voltage Regulation

DC Short Circuit Current

Based on duty cycle and allowing the 20% growth for future expansion the designed capacity is estimated
e.g.

350+0.2*350=420Ah.
For greater reliability and segregation of faults we use two battery banks 210Ah.

Number of cell

Selected dc system= 110v

Permissible range for dc system=110+/-10%

Voltage regulation method, for the instance consider ‘Diode voltage regulation’

Maximum diode used=9

Voltage drop per diode=1.2 V

Total voltage drop=9*1.2=10.8 V

Battery bank is charged up to= 121+10.8=131.8 V

Assuming upper voltage limit per cell=2 V

Number of cells= 131.8/2= 65.9 = 66

For minimum voltage of 110 – 10.8 = 99 V

End of discharge voltage=99/66 =1. 5 V

But final cell voltage at full discharge=1.8 V for 10 hours discharging (according to supplier)

So, minimum battery voltage=66*1.8=118.8 V

Therefore we require 66 numbers of cells voltage ranging from 2.0 V at fully charged to 1.8 V as end of
discharger voltage at maximum discharge.

Battery room size

In order to safely put battery, better to provide one separate room or as compromise we can use area
enclosed with fence for protection against accident contact. Area should be well ventilated so that exhaust
air from the room does to enter any other room in the power plant. Rating of battery decrease with
temperature should be multiplied by correction factor below certain definite temperature. So, adequate
heat must be provided for full rated performance out of the cells. Battery charging equipments, contactors
and arc producing device and control are not in battery room. Thermostat for heater should be sealed. The
cells should be mounted in rows on racks.
Fig. Battery Bank

Referring to the catalogue of Battery Company

For 110V battery system ( i.e. Two battery banks of 210Ah capacity and 66 cells:)

Size of one cell (length*width*height) =151mm*170mm*325mm

Here, battery bank is arranged in six rows

Number of cells in each row = 66/6 = 11

Size of one battery bank (length*width) =(11*151)*(170*6)=1661mm*1020mm

Size of 110 V system having 960mm gap between the two banks=1661mm*(1020*2+960)

Length*Width=2m*3m

Total area for battery banks only: length = 3m, width = 2m

Total room area with 1m gap around the battery banks(length*width)=5m*4m

Battery Chargers

For backups there is battery chargers in the power plant. Battery chargers are used to convert ac to dc to
charge station batteries which helps in supplying power to dc loads during normal operation. Two sets are
generally preferred one for normal use while other for backup. The charger capacity should be sufficient
for supplying the continuous DC load normally carried while recharging the station battery at the normal
rate. The chargers should be of the “battery eliminator” type (additional filtering) allowing them to carry
station DC loads while the battery is disconnected for service.

Charger output current is estimated on the basis of continuous and non continuous DC load current.
Considering duty cycle as above in example case

Continuous and non continuous dc load current = 80 A

I1 = ILC + (1.1 x Q) / T (1)

Where,

I1 = the minimum required charger rated output (in amperes).

Q = battery capacity (Ah)

I2 = the minimum charger output (in amperes) that will supply the maximum operational load.

I3 = the recommended charger rated output (in amperes); i.e., the larger of I1 or I2.

ILC = the continuous dc load (in amperes), including future load growth.

ILN = the largest combination of non-continuous loads

I1 = 80 + (1.1 x 420) / 12= 118.5 = 120 A

I2 = ILC + ILN

= 80 + 0 = 80 A

Hence, the recommended value of charger output current is 120 A DC.

Figure: battery charger

DC Fault Current Calculation:

For battery cell, voltage of the cell = 2 volt

Internal resistance of the cell = 0.18 mΩ (provided by manufacturer)

The resistance of inter-connecting cables of battery cells = 10 mΩ (assumed)

Now, battery fault current = =6 kA
. .

Charger Fault current:

The maximum value of short circuit due the battery charger is limited by the current limiting circuit of the
charger to 1.5 times the output current

For our example, fault current of battery charger = 1.5 * 120 = 180 A

For the DC system as below in figure (a case of MBKHP), the dc fault current is

= 6 kA (Bank A) + 6 kA (Bank B) + 180 A (charger) = 12.18 kA

 EARTHING IN POWER SYSTEM
Earthing is the term used for electrical connection of equipment to the general mass of the earth.
The general mass of the earth is considered as infinite zero potential surface for designing the
insulation level of electrical equipment.
Types:
1. System earthing
2. Body earthing

1. System Earthing:
Earthing of the neutral of generators, generator, etc. are known as system earthing. It is
employed to restrict the voltage of live conductors with respect to the potential of general mass
of the earth to a value consistent with the insulation level.

Fig. system earthing

2. Body earthing:
It refers to the earthing of non-current carrying conductive part of electrical equipment.
Fig. Body earthing

 Purposes of earthing:
1. Earthing provides protection to the personnel and equipment by ensuring the operation of
protective device to isolate the faulty circuit in the following cases:
i. Insulation failure
ii. Accidental contact between HV and LV lines.
iii. Breakdown of insulation between HV winding and LV winding of a transformer.
iv. Lightning strokes.
2. To ensure safe value of step potential and touch potential in the substation yard during
the fault period.

Grounding system design of substation yard:

The grounding system for s/s yard is quite different from the grounding of individual equipment
or domestic consumer earthing. The grounding system for s/s yard shall be designed for safety of
person touching the body of various electrical equipment installed at the s/s.
Before going into detail design procedure, we shall have the knowledge of step potential and
touch potential.
Step potential (Foot to foot contact) and Touch Potential (Hand to feet contact)
Step potential is defined as the potential difference between two feet of a person standing on the
ground during fault condition. Touch potential is defined as the potential difference between
hand& both feet of a person touching the metallic structure during the fault-period. If the current
is allowed to flow through the human body for more than few seconds, 9 mA current is harmless
and currents of order of 9mA to 25 mA may be painful and may result in lack of muscular
control and the person may loose control to release the energized object. The current greater than
25 mA makes breathing difficult. Further higher current may cause a physical condition known
as “Ventricular fibrillation” which refers to complete loose of control and damage to the heart of
human body which may cause the death of the person.

A threshold current of Ventricular fibrillation is100 mA for 3 seconds however, more higher
current can be tolerated without Ventricular fibrillation, if the duration of current flow is very
short. The safe value of current through a human body is given by:
.
=
√

Where Ik = rms value of current through human body

t = time duration of electric shock in seconds.
This equation is only applicable when t is less than 3 sec and it should be used to calculate the
current that the human body can withstand. A fast operating circuit breaker is ensured to operate
the circuit breaker within a time less than 3 sec for safe operation.
(tolerable) = ( +2∗ )*
(tolerable)= ( + )∗
 Where
Rk = body resistance (usually considered about 1000Ω).
Rf = contact resistance between foot and earth = 3*ρs (considered for practical purpose)
Ik = current through human body for the situation
= resistivity of the surface soil
( ∗ )∗ .
(tolerable) =
√
.
(tolerable) = (1000+ 1.5 ∗ )*
√

The operation of C.B. is expected in less than 3 sec. For sustained fault, Ik is taken as 9mA.
(tolerable) = (1000+6∗ )*0.009

&
(tolerable) = (1000+ 1.5 ∗ )* ∗ 0.009

Procedure of earthing system design

1. Measure Soil resistivity at site – given and )
( 1 )
Some typical values of soil resistivity are given below:

Clay 50 ohm-mm-m
Sandy clay 100 ohm-m
Sand 2000 ohm-m
Rock 10,000 ohm-m
Megger is used to determine soil resistance and soil resistivity is calculated as
ρ = 2.π.S.Rg
Where S = separation between electrode (see figure below)
Rg = soil resistance measured from Megger.
2. Choose fault clearing time:
The fault clearing time is determined from the system stability consideration and it depends upon
the type of circuit breaker. The circuit breakers are usually specified by their operating time in
terms of number of cycles. For e.g. two cycles C.B., 4 cycle C.B. etc. in order to increase the
safety, the fault clearing time shall be taken as 3 second for grounding system design.
3. Calculation of tolerable step potential and touch potential. E.g. assuming an average soil
resistance as 3000Ω,
(tolerable) =(1000+6*3000)*0.165/√3

=1810 V

(tolerable) = (1000+1.5*3000)* 0.165/√3

=524 V
The and calculated from the geometry mat design should be ≤ (tolerable) and
(tolerable) respectively.
4. Determination of maximum fault current at site:
Single line to ground fault current usually occurs most in the power system and its magnitude is
more than the other types of fault current. Therefore, maximum single line to ground fault
current shall be taken for grounding system design.
5. Determination of size of grounding conductor:
For thermal consideration, minimum cross sectional area of the grounding conductor is given by:

=K* *√

Where
= fault current in KA

t= fault duration in sec.

Then, will be in sq. mm.
K= a constant whose value depends on the types of conductor and types of joint
K=12.2 for steel with welded joint
K=15.8 for steel with bolted joint
K=4.7 for copper with welded joint
K=8.4 for aluminum

6. Preliminary layout of grounding mat:-

i. With reference to the area covered by the substation and the location of various
equipments in the substation, a preliminary arrangement of grounding mat shall be
decided.
ii. The grounding conductors shall be buried horizontally at a depth of 0.5 m to 1m from the
surface of the ground.
iii. A continuous grounding conductor should surround the substation perimeter.
iv. The minimum no of parallel conductors is given by:

Eg. = 5 KA = 5000 A
5000
∴ = = 10.
500

Fig. Electrode mat used for s/s earthing

Maximum potential gradient on ground during fault condition is given by:

∗ 1 1
= +
2ℎ ( − 1) + ℎ

Were, n= no. of parallel conductors

∴ at site = *S

Where, S= max distance between two feet of man

=1 m
∗
( )= +∑ ( ) )

= Ks* ∗ I

Where, Ks = *[ +∑ ( )
]

= step factor
h = depth at which the grounding mat is buried below the ground level
D = distance between two main conductors
Taking irregularity factor into consideration,
Estep (at site) = Ki*Ks* ∗ I

Where,
Ki= irregularity factor = 0.657+0.172n (for n≤ 10)
= 0.2+0.22n (for n> 10)
Touch potential at site is given by :-
∗ ∗
∴ (site)= *log + ∗ log ∑ [ ]
∗ ∗ ∗ ( )

∴ (site)= ∗ ∗

Where,

= *log + ∗ log ∑ [ ]
∗ ∗ ∗ ( )
(site)= ∗ ∗ ∗

(site)≤ (tolerable)
 (site)≤ (tolerable)

Check for minimum length of buried conductor

∗ ∗ ∗I ∗√
=
. ∗

If the length of the grounding conductor is less than Lmin, then layout shall be modified and
closer mesh should be adopted to achieve the safe potential gradient.
The grounding resistance of mat is calculated as:

= +

Where,
r=radius of the circle having same area as the area of the s/s yard
L=total length of conductors
Maximum Grid Potential = If × Rmat
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