Analysis of the Influence of Hydraulic and Hydrological Factors on the Operating Conditions of a Small Hydropower Station on the Example of the Stary Młyn Barrage on the Głomia River in Poland

Mateusz Hämmerling (), Natalia Walczak and Tomasz Kałuża
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Mateusz Hämmerling: Department of Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Natalia Walczak: Department of Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Tomasz Kałuża: Department of Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-22

Abstract: The operation of water structures causes various problems. They are related, for example, to the material carried by the water, hydrological conditions, range of operation of hydroelectric turbines, or water elevations at the lower position of the hydroelectric power plant. Among the various operational problems, this article focuses mainly on the impact of the backwater of Gwda river on the water level elevations at the lower station of the Stary Młyn hydropower plant in Dobrzyca. The power plant is located on Głomia river. The analysis was carried out for different flow variants in both the Gwda and Głomia rivers. The effect of characteristic flows on the water surface level at the lower station of the hydropower plant was examined. It was found that the water surface level at the lower station of the hydropower plant is strongly influenced by flows higher than the average high flow on Gwda river. Due to the extent of the backwater in current operating conditions, the hydroelectric power plant is shut down from flows on Gwda river of 30–28 m 3 /s (flows that are not much higher than the multi-year average SSQ). The modeling results were confirmed by an analysis of power plant shutdowns of normal operation especially in wet years, when the plant did not operate for almost half of the year (188 days), with losses of 203 MWh. It was also shown that even a small additional damming of water, e.g., of the order of 0.2 m, can extend the operating time of a power plant up to 249 days even under unfavorable hydrological conditions. Factors related to climate change are beginning to play an increasingly important role in the current operating conditions of small lowland hydroelectric power plants. They can contribute to a reduction in electricity production. The proposed solution related to the possibility of greater water retention on dammed-up water barrages allows one to partially offset these problems as well.

Keywords: small hydropower plant; HEC-RAS; operating conditions of SHPP; hydrological factors; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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