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Customer(s)

Customer:

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Underpinning knowledge

Sources of funding

NERC core funding.

Similar cases

None listed.

Peer reviewed papers

Charles E. L. Malcolm, Andrew R. Young, Ellen R. Willmott, Matthew G.R. Holmes and Richard D. Gosling. Can we give up gauging? A comparison of statistical certainty of gauged and modelled flows. Proceedings BHS Eleventh National Hydrology Symposium. Hydrology for a Changing World, Dundee, 9-11 July 2012 doi: 10.7558/bhs.2012.ns31

Young, A.R., Grew R. & Holmes M.G.R. 2003. Low Flows 2000: a national water resources assessment and decision support tool. Water Science & Technology Vol 48 No 10 pp 119-126

Young, A.R., Gustard, A., Bullock, A., Sekulin, A.E., Croker, K.M. 2000. A river network based hydrological model for predicting natural and influenced flow statistics at ungauged sites, 12pp. Sci.Tot.Environ. 251/252, pp. 293-304.

Further articles

Holmes M.G.R. & Young, A.R. 2002. Estimating seasonal low flow statistics in ungauged catchments. Proceedings of the BHS Eighth National Hydrology Symposium, University of Birmingham, 8-11 September 2002. 97-102.

Young, A.R., Grew, R. & Holmes, M.G.R. 2002. Low Flows 2000: A national water resources assessment and decision support tool. Proceedings of the IWA 9th International Conference on River Basin Management, 11 13 September 2002, Edinburgh, UK (selected papers to be published within Water Science and Technology)

Home > WaterR2B > Sectors > Energy > Is river flow sufficient for a hydropower scheme to be viable?

Is river flow sufficient for a hydropower scheme to be viable?

The challenge

The Environment Agency estimates that in England and Wales hydropower schemes of all sizes could increase from 350 at present to 1200 by 2020, while an analysis of Scotland’s untapped hydropower potential suggests over 2,000 potential schemes in the 100-500kW range.

However, building a business case for small-scale hydropower schemes requires detailed assessment of likely river flow rates throughout the year, since this determines the optimum size and overall economic viability of a proposal.

The solution

Building on many years of R&D, researchers at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) developed Low Flows 2000, a software-based decision support tool designed to estimate river flows at ungauged sites and to aid the development of catchment and regional water resources. This software was licenced in 2004 to Wallingford HydroSolutions Ltd (WHS), a spin-off company set up by the CEH researchers that developed the software models.

 

small-hydropower2.jpg

Example of a small scale hydropower scheme


WHS has continued to build on, and further develop the earlier academic research, releasing new versions of the LowFlows 2000 software (now called LowFlows Enterprise) that deliver both scientific and functional advances.  In parallel with this core activity the company has also created a full suite of commercial software products for use by small-scale hydropower developers, including LowFlows 2 (a simplified version of Low Flows Enterprise), HydrA2 (a redevelopment of energy estimation tools within an earlier academic program, HydrA, used in conjunction with LowFlows 2) and CatchmentsUK (for estimating catchment boundaries both for import into LowFlows 2 and many other environmental consultancy applications.)

As a suite, CatchmentsUK, LowFlows 2 and HydrA 2 now provide developers with the resources necessary to simulate and estimate the outputs that can be generated by a proposed hydropower scheme for a variety of turbine configurations, operating conditions, and possible trends in UK regulation. 

Resulting benefits

LowFlows2 is widely licensed by WHS to hydropower developers and consultants and is typically used in the planning of ‘run of river’ hydro schemes in the 100-500kW range. The company believes that flows estimates are used in assessing the feasibility and potential design for the majority of new UK hydropower schemes in this range. Such schemes are typically located in ungauged catchments, where flow data is not available.

Future directions

The 100-500kW hydropower sector in Scotland alone is predicted to provide an extra 4,800-6,800 man years employment in construction, and 130-175 FTE jobs in maintenance and operation, with potential schemes having an estimated total power rating of 487MW. The suite of WHS software programs is continually updated to meet emerging needs of UK hydropower developers.

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