Publications related to Hydropower

On the prediction of the induced damage by the start-up sequence of Francis turbines: On operational resilience framework

Mario Paolone, Christophe Nicolet, Elena Vagnoni, Martin Seydoux

The number of transient operations in hydraulic machinery connected to power grid, notably start-ups and shut-downs, has observed a substantial increase in recent decades, primarily driven by the global shift toward intermittent renewable energy sources. S ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

A comprehensive review on geomembrane systems application in hydropower

Giovanni De Cesare, Samuel Luke Vorlet

Geomembrane systems have been used at hydropower plants as rehabilitation and mitigation technology for several decades and are now used worldwide. In the context of planning an energy transition that promotes the sustainable use of water resources for ene ...

2024

Study of flexible operating conditions in variable-speed hydraulic turbines : advanced models and experimental validation

Martin Seydoux

The global imperative to transition from fossil fuel-based energy sources to renewable alternatives has become increasingly urgent in the pursuit of sustainable and renewable power generation. This paradigm shift necessitates innovative approaches to manag ...

EPFL2024

Advanced control strategies to exploit the hydropower potential enhancing ancillary services provision to the power system

Francesco Gerini

The European Union's Green Deal aims for a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. To reach this goal, a massive integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) into the power grid is necessary. As RES become a large part of the electricity genera ...

EPFL2024

The need for a unified European hydropower voice

Anton Schleiss, Javier García Hernández

The new EU proect ETIP Hydropower (September 2022 - August 2025) will closely link the EERA Joint Programme Hydropower to the new European Technology and Innovation Platform (ETIP) for hydropower. It succeeds the HYDROPOWER EUROPE project (2018-2022) which ...

2023

Dynamic environmental flows using hydrodynamic-based solutions for sustainable hydropower

Giovanni De Cesare, Paolo Perona

Water diversions from rivers and torrents for anthropic uses of the resource alter the natural flow regime. As a measure, environmental flows have been prescribed and often are enforced by law to follow policies (e.g., minimal flow, proportional redistribu ...

CRC Press/Balkema2023

The energy crisis in Europa reveals the importance of reliable hydropower as a catalyst and enabler for the clean and safe energy transition

Anton Schleiss

Hydropower has a long tradition in Europe, contributing significantly during the first half of the last century to the welfare and industrial development of most countries across the continent. Today, reaching nearly 650 TWh of annual generation in an aver ...

2023

The importance of young professionals for dam engineering in Switzerland

Samuel Luke Vorlet, Valentina Favero

In Switzerland, hydropower is the main energy source and contributes to about 58.3% of the total production. The 2050 energy strategy aims to increase this share in the coming decades. This increase is a challenge for hydropower plants. The maintenance and ...

CRC Press/Balkema2023

Importance of hydropower reservoirs and dams in Europe to mitigate the energy crisis and to serve as a catalyst and enabler for the Green Deal

Anton Schleiss

Hydropower has a long tradition in Europe and contributed significantly during the last century to industrial development and welfare in most of the countries in Europe. The ambitious plan for an energy transition in Europe now seeks to achieve a lowcarbon ...

CRC Press/Balkema2023

Structural impact of the start-up sequence on Pelton turbines lifetime: Analytical prediction and polynomial optimization

Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Aldo Leonardo Alerci

Hydropower plants play a crucial role in the power system facing ambitious renewable energy targets. Due to their inherent controllability, they are well suited to provide flexibility to the grid. However, an increased flexibility provision leads to a prol ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2023

Flexible Operation of Variable Speed Direct-MMC in Hydropower Applications

Drazen Dujic, Philippe Alexandre Bontemps

This paper presents a flexible and grid code complying operation of the matrix modular multilevel converter used in a variable speed drive pumped hydro storage power plants. A hardware-in-the-loop platform, where the control algorithm is deployed on the AB ...

2022

Discretization Uncertainties of Flow and Fatigue Damage Simulations of a Reversible Francis Pump-Turbine at Off-Design Operation in Turbine Mode

Drazen Dujic, Philippe Alexandre Bontemps, Daniel Biner

In the framework of the XFLEX HYDRO H2020 European Project, a 5 MW reversible Francis pump-turbine prototype, equipped with an industrial full size frequency converter, is investigated to demonstrate enhanced grid regulation capacities of variable speed hy ...

SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG2022

Development of a Semi-distributed Hydrological Model for Glaciated Punatshangchu Basin in Bhutan

Giovanni De Cesare, Pedro Filipe De Almeida Manso, Jessica Zordan, Vasker Sharma

Hydropower plays a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of Bhutan where water resource is abundantly available and therefore several hydropower plants are being planned and a few under construction. However, with the presence of several potential ...

2021

Improving frequency containment reserve provision in run-of-river hydropower plants

Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Francesco Gerini, Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui

The paper presents a model-based control strategy for optimal asset management of hydroelectric units in run-of-river hydropower plants. The proposed control strategy aims to operate the unit at the best efficiency while improving water flow management and ...

2021

Numerical simulations of Pelton turbine flow to predict large head variation influence

François Avellan, Cécile Münch-Alligné, Siamak Alimirzazadeh, Steve Crettenand

In the framework of the new feed-in-tariff system in Switzerland for Small Hydropower Plants (SHP), the aim of the SmallFLEX project, led by HES-SO Valais and performed in collaboration with EPFL, WSL, EAWAG, PVE, and FMV, is to show how SHP can provide wi ...

IOP PUBLISHING LTD2021

Production flexibility of small run-of-river power plants: KWGO smart-storage case study

Pedro Filipe De Almeida Manso, Vlad Hasmatuchi, Jessica Zordan, Matthieu Dreyer, Siamak Alimirzazadeh, Steve Crettenand

In the framework of the new Swiss feed-in-tariff system for Small Hydropower Plants (SHP), the aim of the SmallFLEX project, led by HES-SO Valais and performed in collaboration with EPFL, WSL, EAWAG, PVE and FMV, is to show how SHP can provide winter peak ...

IOP PUBLISHING LTD2021

Optimal CAM Computation of Kaplan Turbines Accounting for Wear and Tear Originated by Frequency Control

Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Francesco Gerini, Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui

Nowadays, the importance of providing frequency stability to power systems with hydropower units is significantly increasing due to the growing proportion of volatile renewable energy sources. However, the provision of such services, as frequency containme ...

IEEE2021

The complex winds of the Alps: an unseen asset for the energy transition

Jérôme François Sylvain Dujardin

Wind energy has played a major role in the development of our society since 5000 BC when the first sail boats traveled the Nile River. Wind technology continued to advance with the invention of wind-powered pumps and mills in China and the Middle East as e ...

EPFL2021

A Planner-Trader Decomposition for Multi-Market Hydro Scheduling

Daniel Kuhn, Napat Rujeerapaiboon, Kilian Schindler, Wolfram Wiesemann

Peak/off-peak spreads on European electricity forward and spot markets are eroding due to the ongoing nuclear phaseout and the steady growth in photovoltaic capacity. The reduced profitability of peak/off- peak arbitrage forces hydropower producers to reco ...

2024

DuoTurbo: Implementation of a Counter-Rotating Hydroturbine for Energy Recovery in Drinking Water Networks

François Avellan, Vlad Hasmatuchi, Cécile Münch-Alligné, Daniel Biner, Samuel Chevailler

To enhance the sustainability of water supply systems, the development of new technologies for micro scale hydropower remains an active field of research. The present paper deals with the implementation of a new micro-hydroelectric system for drinking wate ...

2021