A Feed-in Tariff (FITs) scheme was introduced into the UK in April 2010 aimed at providing financial support for the generation of electricity from anaerobic digestion, hydro, solar, photovoltaic and wind generation up to 5 megawatts (MW) capacity. In 2011 a comprehensive review was carried out of the FITs scheme and in February 2012 a [...]
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Browsing Posts in Hydropower Schemes
The outline design for the Callander hydropower scheme produced by MNV Consulting has the following components: Intake: The proposal is for a run-of-river scheme (i.e. no water storage required), which would utilise water from the upper reaches of the Stank Burn. The proposed intake location is on the lip of a broad corrie area, at [...]
The development of a hydropower scheme in Scotland must comply with various environmental regulations, and these must be considered from an early stage in the process. Of particular importance, there are legal requirements to assess the potential environmental impacts of the scheme and to obtain a licence to carry out certain engineering activities that affect [...]
The suitability of the proposed development was considered in light of policies, plans and guidelines set out at national and local level (Table 1 and Table 2 below). Because the scheme is under the 50 MW threshold set out by the 1989 Electricity Act (as amended in June 2011), the local authority will determine the [...]
MNV has been working with the Callander Community Development Trust (CCDT) to develop plans for a small run-of-river hydropower development on the Stank Burn, a tributary of the Teith catchment, situated in the Breadalbane area of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. As part of the planning process, MNV Consulting Ltd was contracted [...]
River gauging is often carried out to determine the flow regime of a river for water resources purposes. A standard statistic used to represent the flow regime is the flow duration curve giving the flows which are exceeded for given percentage of time in the year. MNV has data from, over 250 river gauging stations [...]
The results provided in hydro-power assessments are only as reliable as the data they have been derived from. Several factors could cause an outline scheme configuration to differ from what the scheme installed on site eventually generates. Topographic data is relatively easy to access and it is usually of high quality. The selection of intake and turbine positions can [...]
The estimation of the yearly output (usually quoted as MWH/Year or GWH/Year) of the site is carried out taking the following factors into account: Flow available across the flow duration curve and hence over the year Inter-year variability of the flow estimates Compensation flow required Flow available for generation Type of turbine specified Turbine efficiency from [...]
In order to choose an appropriate turbine size and type for further assessment the following factors need to be considered: Head from intake to turbine Flow duration curve(s) Operational regime (domestic use, grid connection, mixed) Availability of design flow & minimum flow required for generation Ease of construction versus power output The term load factor [...]
To assess the potential hydropower available an estimation of flow must be made unless there is existing flow data for the watercourse in question. Time series flow data are generally used to create a flow duration curve (FDC), which is an industry standard way of understanding the flow dynamics of a watercourse. Estimations in the [...]
