Electricity production opportunities from multipurpose dams (case study)

The hydropower is the leading source of renewable energy. It provides more than 97% of all electricity generated by renewable sources. The main advantage of hydro systems is elimination of the cost of fuel. Hydropower on a small-scale is in most cases "run-of-river", with no dam or water storage, and is one of the most cost-effective and environmentally benign energy technologies to be considered both for rural electrification in less developed countries and further hydro developments in Europe. Multipurpose dams, like Porsuk Dam in Eskisehir, are constructed with the aim of supplying domestic, irrigation and industrial water except electricity generation. Porsuk basin has suitable valley in upstream of existing Porsuk Dam for realizing of small reservoirs. The discharge capacity of Porsuk River is appropriate only to install Small Hydropower Plants (SHPs). For the sustainable management of Porsuk River water, except existing Porsuk Dam, it is required to construct a few new dams on this river. The valley of Porsuk River is suitable to construct concrete faced rockfill dams (CFRDs). For this propose, initially, historical data of inlet and outlet of Porsuk reservoir has been investigated. Historical data have been analyzed on a monthly basis for 32 years. It has been calculated that the electricity generation using this potential is 20.69 GWh/year with 4.2 MW installed capacity from Porsuk Dam. For the evaluation of all the Porsuk River water potential, it is required constructing at least two new dams in the hilly Porsuk basin. It is calculated that the total electricity generation from these two will reach up to 37.79 GWh/year with 2 x 2.8 MW installed capacity. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.