Hydropower

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Chapter 4 Screening Renewable Energy
Alternatives

• Hydropower

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Topics

• 1998 site-based resource assessment
• Web assess to 1998 resource assessment state
  reports
• 2004 stream-based resource assessment
• Virtual Hydropower Prospecting Tool
• 2005 U.S. water energy resource site feasibility
  assessment
• Hydropower project cost and generation estimating
  tools
• Other resource and project analysis tools
• International Small-Hydro Atlas
• RETScreen

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Site-based Resource Assessment

• Conducted at INEEL between 1989 and 1998
• Initial undeveloped site information taken from
  Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions Hydropower
  Resource Assessment (HPRA) database
• State energy and water resources agencies
  reviewed and revised initial list of sites in
  their state
• Sites divided into three categories
• Undeveloped (no existing dam)
• Dams without power (dam without power house)
• Dams with power (hydroelectric plant with
  additional capacity potential)

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Site-based Resource Assessment (Continued)

• Total U.S. sites and capacity
• 5,766 sites
• 70,000 MW
• Site development likelihood was evaluated based
  on 19 legal, institutional, and environmental
  attributes
• Suitability factor ranging from 0.1 to 0.9
  assigned for each attribute
• Project Environmental Suitability Factor (PESF)
  assigned based on suitability factor set for each
  site
• PESF x Project Capacity yielded hydropower
  potential (intended to reflect hydropower
  potential of a group of projects not an
  individual project)

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Site-based Resource Assessment (Continued)

• Total U.S. sites and hydropower potential
• 5,766 sites
• 30,000 MW
• Documents
• U.S. Hydropower Resource Assessment Final Report,
  DOE/ID -10430.2, December 1998.
• Uniform Criteria for U.S. Hydropower Resource
  Assessment, DOE/ID-10338, Rev. 1, June 2002.
• Web accesshttp//hydropower.inel.gov/resourceasse
  ssment/
• U.S. Hydropower Resource Assessment Final Report
• Hydropower Evaluation Software

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Site-based Resource Assessment (Continued)

• State resource assessment reports at
  http//hydropower.inel.gov/resourceassessment/
• Appendix A Hydropower capacity summary
• Appendix B Sites listed by
• river basin
• Appendix C Sites listed by
• FERC number
• Appendix D Site data sheets
• FERC number
• Owner
• Location
• Capacity
• Environmental suitability factors
• Project Environmental Suitability Factor

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Stream-based Resource Assessment

• Principal accomplishments
• Estimate of power potential of all U.S. natural
  stream water energy resources
• Resources categorized by power class (high power
  1 MW, low power lt 1 MW, high head 30 ft, low
  head lt 30 ft) and technology class (conventional,
  unconventional, microhydro)
• Shows relative concentrations of resources in
  each power class
• Provides resource information by hydrologic
  region and by state

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Stream-based Resource Assessment (Continued)

• Methodology
• Mathematical analog of every U.S. stream reach (2
  mi. average length)
• Hydraulic head - difference between elevations at
  upstream and downstream ends of the reach
• Annual mean flow rate - region-specific
  regression equations derived from stream gauge
  data predict flow using climatic data and
  drainage basin area
• Reach power potential estimated based on reach
  hydraulic head and flow rate
• Account for developed power and reach power in
  exclusion zones to determine available power
  potential

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Stream-based Resource Assessment (Continued)
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Stream-based Resource Assessment (Continued)
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Stream-based Resource Assessment (Continued)
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Stream-based Resource Assessment (Continued)

• Water Energy Resources of the United States with
  Emphasis on Low Head/Low Power Resources,
• DOE/ID-11111, April 2004.
• Body nationwide
• Appendix A each of 20 hydrologic regions
• Appendix B each of 50 states
• Appendix C brief validation study
• Web access
• http//hydropower.inel.gov/resourceassessment/
• Available upon request
• Report in pdf format on CD
• State excerpt in hardcopy

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Virtual Hydropower Prospecting Tool
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Virtual Hydropower Prospecting Tool (Continued)

• Geographic information system (GIS) tool designed
  to display water energy resource sites in context
• Pilot version for Pacific Northwest Region
  August 2004
• Web-based version for entire U.S. May 2005
• Features displayed
• Water energy resource sites (by power
  technology classes)
• Hydrography
• Topography
• Exclusion zones
• Cities
• Roads

• Railroads
• Power plants (all types)
• Transmission lines
• Substations
• Federal land use

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Virtual Hydropower Prospecting Tool (Continued)
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Virtual Hydropower Prospecting Tool (Continued)
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Virtual Hydropower Prospecting Tool (Continued)

• Functionality
• Standard GIS (zone, pan, measure distance)
• Complete attribute list for selected feature
• Attribute value for any feature having that
  attribute
• Search by keyword (highlight, insert pin, pan to
  feature, zoom to feature)
• Search by proximity to selected feature
• Printing displayed map
• Copying displayed map to clip board

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Water Energy Resource SiteFeasibility Assessment

• Identifies prime low power and small hydro
  development sites based on feasibility criteria
• Estimates site hydropower potential based on
  realistic development criteria
• Report comparable to stream-based resource
  assessment focusing on prime candidate sites
  fall 2005

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Project Cost Generation Estimating

• Cost estimating tools for 1 MW or greater
  capacity projects based on plant historical data
• Licensing
• Construction
• Mitigation
• Fish and wildlife
• Recreation
• Historical and archeological
• Water quality
• Fish passage
• Fixed operating and maintenance
• Variable operating and maintenance
• Turbine and generator upgrades

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Project Cost Generation Estimating (Continued)

• Different estimating tools depending on plant
  type
• Undeveloped (no existing dam)
• Dams without power (dam without power house)
• Dams with power (hydroelectric plant with
  additional capacity potential)
• Generation estimating based on state average
  plant factors by month and by year
• Estimation tools applied to 2,155 sites
  identified in 1998 resource assessment produced
  INEEL Hydropower Resource Economics Database
  (IHRED)

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Project Cost Generation Estimating (Continued)
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Project Cost Generation Estimating (Continued)

• Estimation of Economic Parameters of U.S.
  Hydropower Resources, INEEL/EXT-03-00662, June
  2003.
• Web access
• http//hydropower.inel.gov/resourceassessment/
• Upon request IHRED database in Excel format
• Site characteristic data
• Estimated site development costs
• Estimated site OM costs
• Estimated site generation

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Other Resource And Project Analysis Tools

• International Small-hydro Atlas
• Web access http//www.small-hydro.com/
• RETScreen International
• Web access http//www.retscreen.net/