5 (2011, España) PDF
5 (2011, España) PDF
5 (2011, España) PDF
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: A small hydropower plant in Spain is studied from an energetic and economic perspective. The viability
Received 26 December 2010 of the facility is examined using the freeware software RETScreen. Calculated and standard operational
Accepted 13 March 2011 data are compared, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of the project from all points of view. The study
highlights the growing interest in renewable energies.
Keywords: © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Feasibility study
Small hydropower
RETScreen
Economic study
Contents
1364-0321/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.rser.2011.03.029
2730 C. Alonso-Tristán et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 (2011) 2729–2735
1.1. SHP in Spain The evolution of the fixed tariff, the most widely chosen dur-
ing the last 10 years throughout the SHP sector, is presented in
Total hydropower electricity generated in Spain in 2009 was Table 1. Among the measures that will boost future development
23,862 GWh and 23% of this was produced by SHP facilities is, primarily, the maintenance of an effective tariff system. The only
(5483 GWh) [3]. Total installed hydropower is 18,682 MW of which quantitative evolution of the sector is from mini-power stations
1,974 MW (10.6%) is SHP. The regional distribution of hydropower connected to the grid. Thus, the National Action Plan for Renew-
capacity is presented in Fig. 1. The only evaluation of the SHP sta- able Energy in Spain (PANER) [5] proposed regulatory measures
tions distributed throughout hydrographical river basins in Spain designed to promote new SHP facilities and financial measures in
was completed in 1980 [4], from which it is assumed that the SHP order to improve and modernize existing facilities nearing the end
potential is about 30,000 GWh/year. In 2009, hydropower supplied of their useful life.
1.7% of Spain’s primary energy needs and 2.3% of its demand for In this work, a case study of a small hydropower plant in Spain
electricity. is presented. The SHP facility belongs to a small energy company
Development of renewable energies is a priority to which that operates under a Special Regime for electricity production. It
Spanish energy policy is committed. The National Action Plan for has been fully operational for 10 years. In the first place, this case
Renewable Energy in Spain (PANER) [5] is responsive to the require- study describes the SHP plant, and it goes on to examine the eco-
ments and methodology of the European Commission Directive nomic aspects of electricity production, its associated costs, and
2009/28/CE [6] which set a binding target of 20% of total consump- relevant grants and financial subsidies. The viability project of the
tion from renewable energy sources by 2020. Within the European facility has been simulated from RETScreen [9], comparing the real
Commission, the Spanish model is a successful example of poli- data to other possible economic scenarios. The results demonstrate,
cies designed to promote renewables. The principle result is the beyond doubt, the viability of small hydro power plants, even under
volume attained by renewable electricity, which has established a unfavourable economic scenarios for investment.
structural position of the first order. In 2009, renewable technolo-
gies accounted for approximately 25% of total electricity generation 2. The SHP case study in Spain
and 12.2% of the gross final energy consumption in Spain.
The country’s regulatory framework for electricity generation 2.1. The facility description
with renewable energies is structured through a feed-in tariff
system. This operates by securing the payment of a tariff at the The SHP case study (Astuwatt) is located on the banks of the
wholesale market price for superior technology. The additional River Pisuerga, in the town of Astudillo (Palencia), at the centre of
financing is generated by levying the electricity tariff of individual the autonomous region of Castilla y León in Spain. It is a 400 kW
users. Instead of an ordinary system of direct subsidies to produc- grid-connected run-of-river type SHP plant with no dam or water
ers, the costs are shared between conventional energy producers storage. Its 640 m long trapezoidal bypass channel falls a total of
Table 1
Evolution of the fixed electrical tariff for electricity generation under the Special Regime applied to SHP in Spain (1998–2009).
Year
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
cD/kWh 6.778 6.685 6.365 6.365 6.383 6.491 6.548 8.964 8.979 7.382 8.248 8.500
C. Alonso-Tristán et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 (2011) 2729–2735 2731
Fig. 2. SHP facility: (a) aerial photography of the plant; (b) bypass channel; (c) return of the bypass to the main river.
2.9 vertical metres over its total length. The widths at the bottom records production data. Fig. 3 shows the turbines and the control
and at the top of the channel are 6 m and 12 m, respectively. Once system.
turbinated, the flow is channelled back to the main river. The aerial
photographs in Fig. 2 illustrate (a) the plant, (b) the bypass channel 2.2. Economic data for the case study
and (c) the return to the main river.
The bypass channel was constructed by modifying an old irriga- The project grant for the operation was awarded in 1990 but it
tion channel. The bottom of the channel is sandy and only the final was not possible to complete the administrative process and fulfil
150 m of its 640 m length, are to minimize loss through erosion. all the necessary administrative requirements relating to permits
The plant is environmentally integrated [10] and therefore poses until 1997. The running time was approximately 15 months and
no threat to the indigenous flora and fauna. the system was powered up in June 1998.
The plant employs two 200 kW semi-Kaplan turbines, specifi- The final price of the installation amounted to 1 MD, of which 30%
cally designed for the project, that are 1.5 m in diameter, with an of the total cost was financed through a bank loan with an inter-
internal adjustable turbine runner tilted 15◦ from the horizontal. est rate of 9% for 7 years and a grant amounting to D24,000 was
The design flow is 9 m3 /s. A multiplier element is used to adjust the received from the Government of Castilla y León. Annual expendi-
speed of the turbine (190 rpm) to the speed of the electric generator ture currently amounts to D32,000, which includes maintenance,
(750 rpm). There are two 200 kW generators (Abb Motors, model staff costs and insurance.
M2BA 355 MLA8), one of which is specifically for the turbine. The Table 2 shows monthly electrical production from the outset
output voltage of this generator is 400 V and a transformation sys- of its functioning until 2009 and total annual electrical production
tem is used to convert the electricity to high voltage for input to the is presented in Fig. 4. The facility tariffs its production at a fixed
grid. An automatic system controls all mechanical components and tariff, noted in Table 1. Since the outset, the installation has func-
Fig. 3. Different electromechanical elements of the SHP plant: (a) zenithal view of the turbines; (b) electric generator; (c) multiplier; (d) control system.
2732 C. Alonso-Tristán et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 (2011) 2729–2735
Table 2
Annual electrical production (GWh) of the SHP facility Asturwatt in the period under evaluation (1998–2009).
Month Year
1998 1999 2000 2001a 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Jan 0 130.10 233.21 0 113.18 142.72 244.57 134.71 132.18 201.90 123.13 187.25
Feb 0 108.43 177.26 0 90.29 127.50 204.09 132.64 108.57 194.21 114.11 194.24
Mar 0 72.22 122.69 0 142.48 168.99 223.86 154.32 215.29 224.04 116.32 222.52
Apr 0 52.63 137.30 0 104.80 190.37 182.14 139.66 186.33 203.09 171.97 151.07
May 0 76.25 201.89 0 32.05 183.68 132.69 89.71 73.53 206.93 220.05 94.56
Jun 45.65 49.61 137.88 0 20.07 119.47 100.07 110.07 49.28 190.66 127.72 87.19
Jul 154.15 90.86 144.79 0 97.07 109.24 94.02 145.75 61.79 141.29 104.37 136.08
Aug 134.50 74.74 141.84 0 70.68 131.65 90.98 127.68 69.13 123.75 108.53 118.72
Sept 103.46 30.67 45.00 0 0.00 66.01 48.59 21.83 20.41 124.99 97.68 58.20
Oct 24.48 55.58 7.99 28.80 43.25 81.79 31.53 0.19 49.83 59.16 0.54 8.60
Nov 7.56 199.22 114.41 74.97 94.74 130.75 92.92 83.60 131.31 27.58 41.85 18.21
Dec 0.22 186.48 14.40 67.07 150.87 187.23 113.80 106.08 200.14 28.18 175.96 76.65
Total 470.02 1126.80 1478.66 170.84 959.46 1639.41 1559.25 1246.24 1297.78 1725.80 1402.22 1353.30
a
The electrical production was null from January to September of 2001 due to damage caused by a major flood and subsequent repairs to a large part of the electromechanical
elements of the installation.
effectiveness.
1,400
Moreover, the RETScreen software integrates a series of
1,200
databases that help to overcome the costs and difficulties asso-
1,000 ciated with gathering meteorological data, product performance
800 data, etc. Hence, worldwide meteorological data has been incor-
600
porated directly into the RETScreen software. This meteorological
database includes both the ground-based meteorological data and
400
NASA’s satellite-derived meteorological data sets. The RETScreen’s
200 hydroelectric model can be used anywhere in the world, but the
0 only available hydrological data is from Canada. However, the
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
user can introduce data from any other source. The software has
Year
been widely used to study all types of renewable energies includ-
Fig. 4. Annual total production (MWh) of the SHP facility from 1998 to 2009. ing: small hydropower [16], photovoltaic power [17,18], solar
water heaters [19], wind and small wind projects [20], combined
heat and power facilities [21], hybrid systems [22], among oth-
tioned for an average of 3,135 h per year, except during 2001, when ers. The application of this tool for the proposed case study will
the plant needed repairs following extensive flooding. This value is demonstrate its capacity to perform pre-feasibility studies any-
within the range of the technology and the design flow [11] used where in the world and will expand the study for application in
in the project. However, the price per kW installed (2500 D/kW) other design options and financing as well as different economic
is higher than the average estimated by industry associations [2]. scenarios.
This is mainly due to increased costs associated with the use of Seven worksheets are provided in the small hydro project work-
self-designed turbines, which required the adaptation of other ele- book file:
ments in the plant and the use of two turbines instead of one, in
order to adjust the capacity of the facility to the river flow.
- Energy model;
- Hydrology analysis and load calculation;
3. RETScreen study of the facility - Equipment data;
- Cost analysis;
The previous section presented a case for a viable and - Greenhouse gas emission reduction analysis;
cost-effective installation in a particular economic scenario. Oppor- - Financial summary;
tunities for implementing commercially viable, energy efficient - Sensitivity and risk analysis
and renewable energy technologies (RETs) are often missed these
days, because many planners and decision-makers still do not
routinely consider them at the critically important, initial plan- Fig. 5 presents a flow diagram of the computerized RET’s assess-
ning stage, even though technologies such as small hydropower ment tool. Greenhouse gas emission reduction and sensitivity and
installations have proven their reliability and cost-effectiveness in risk analyses are optional.
similar situations elsewhere. Specific procedures regarding design
and economic viability studies of small hydropower plant projects
have been developed [12–14], in order to address and integrate at 3.1. The energy model
a pre-feasibility, planning stage, perspectives that consider all the
potential obstacles that can arise. The first step, referred to as the “energy model”, requires the
RETScreen software [9,15] is capable of assessing RETs via- user to collect basic information concerning the site conditions as
bility factors such as energy resources available at the project may be necessary: latitude and longitude, available head, or drop
site, equipment performance, initial project costs, “base case” in elevation. These data are presented in Table 3 in relation to this
credits, on-going and periodic project costs, avoided cost of case study.
C. Alonso-Tristán et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 (2011) 2729–2735 2733
200 100%
Energy Model
Worksheep 180 1 turbine 2 turbines 90%
Flow (m /s)
Data 120 60%
3
Worksheep
100 50%
Fig. 7. Turbine performance as a function of the flow duration curve and the number
Fig. 5. RETScreen model flow diagram. of working turbines.
Unit Location of Location of the The data on small hydro turbine efficiency can be entered man-
meteorological project ually or can be calculated by RETScreen. Turbine performance is
data calculated at regular intervals on the flow–duration curve. Plant
Latitude ◦
N 42.0 42.2 capacity is then calculated and the power–duration curve is estab-
◦
Longitude E −4.5 −4.3 lished. Available energy is simply calculated by integrating the
Drop in elevation M 757 780 power–duration curve. In the case of a central-grid, the energy
◦
Heating design C −2.3
delivered is equal to the energy available. The calculation involves
temperature
Air conditioning ◦
C 26.1 comparing the daily renewable hydro-energy available to the daily
design load–duration curve for each of the flow–duration curve values.
temperature For this case study, the efficiency as a function of the
◦
Soil temperature C 19.4 flow–duration curve and the number of functioning turbines is
amplitude
presented in Fig. 7 and a summary of results in Tables 4 and 5.
RETScreen calculates the estimated renewable energy deliv- During the “cost analysis” step, a detailed cost analysis is
ered for SHP projects, based on the adjusted available flow performed taking into account initial costs and annual costs (main-
(adjusted flow–duration curve), the design flow, the residual tenance, staff and insurances) involved in the project. Fig. 8 presents
flow, the load (load–duration curve), the gross head and the the distribution of initial expenses.
efficiencies/losses.
The flow–duration curve of the River Pisuerga in the facility 3.5. Greenhouse gas emission reduction analysis
site has been calculated from data compiled by the Confederación
Hidrográfica del Duero [23], the results of which are presented The RETScreen has the capacity to estimate the amount of green
in Fig. 6. It also includes the design flow of the turbines and the house gases (GHG), which could be avoided as a result of using
biological indicators of the river flow. renewable energy sources. The required input data is the fuel type
used in the specific country in question, which is selected as “All
fuel types” and the transport and distribution losses are calculated
80
70 Table 4
Flow (m^3/s) Summary of the technical performance characteristic of the semi-Kaplan turbine of
60 Biological Flow Asturwatt.
Design Flow Turbine
Design flow 18 m3 /s
Flow (m3/s)
50
Design coefficient 4.5
40 Turbine peak efficiency 78.5%
Flow at peak performance 13.5 m3 /s
30 Turbine efficiency at design flow 78.1%
Maximum hydraulic losses 35%
20 Miscellaneous losses 2%
Availability 97%
10
0 Table 5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Equipment data analysis: summary of results.
Percent of time that flow is equal or exceeded (%)
Power capacity 363 kW
Fig. 6. Flow duration curve for the River Pisuerga. Available flow adjustment factor 97%
Source: Prepared from Confederación Hidrodráfica del Duero data in ref. [23]. Electricity exported to grid 1479 MWh
2734 C. Alonso-Tristán et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 (2011) 2729–2735
Electrical Equipment and the CPI (Consumer Price Index). CPI affects the annual cost of
15% the plant (insurance, staff and maintenance). The electricity price
is fixed every year according to economic and political parameters.
Assuming that the plant has a lifetime of 50 years, the minimum EP
Feasibility study, Development and Engineering Mechanical Equipment increment was calculated in order to offset the increased fixed costs
Electrical Equipment Civil Engineering incurred by the CPI. The electricity price was adjusted in accordance
Contingences with the annual fixed tariff referred to as the CPI, with or without
governmental subvention. The CPI was calculated on the basis of a
Fig. 8. Summary of the initial costs of the facility. fixed annual increase of 2% or a variable limited rate of ±2% annu-
ally. As results of these calculations a revalorization of EP slightly
at 7.5% for Spain, as a developed country. The model GHG emission lower than the CPI (98%) is necessary in order to achieve a positive
factor is estimated to be 0.411 tCO2 /MWh and the net annual GHG IRR.
emission reduction is 607.4 tCO2 /year.
4. Conclusions
3.6. Financial summary
In this paper, a real case of a 400 kW grid-connected SHP plant
A number of different economic and financial feasibility indices has been presented. The installation has functioned at full capacity
were calculated such as the year-to-positive cash flow, Internal Rate over the past 10 years and has presented positive energy efficient,
of Return (IRR), return on investment (ROI), and Net Present Value environmental and economic results. The total amount of gen-
(NPV). The results are presented in Fig. 9, in which the calculated erated electricity amounted to 17,070.4 MW at the end of 2009
RETscreen accumulated cash flow results over 50 years of operation and the plant has avoided the emission of 607.2 tCO2 /year. A total
can be compared with the usual ones over the 10 years of opera- repayment period of 12 years was calculated, after allowing for
tion. Table 6 summarises these results. The RETscreen calculations financial subsidies and grants. The installation is assumed to have
are based on 4.54% after-tax IRR assets and a simple payback over estimated lifetime of 50 years.
11.2 years, while the real results over 10 years are 4.1% and 12.5 A pre-feasibility study was conducted using RETScreen soft-
years of payback. NPV for the plant is D2,349,625, very close to the ware in order to extend the case study to other economic scenarios
calculated figure, drawn from an extrapolation of the actual data and demonstrate the viability of these types of projects. The ener-
which amounts to D2,012,466. getic and economic results generated by the RETScreen software
closely approximate the usual ones, which demonstrates the capac-
3.7. Sensitivity and risk analysis ity of the RETScreen to analyse small hydro projects. The estimated
energy production cost is 5 cD/kWh, a value within the margins cal-
Different economic scenarios were studied in order to indicate culated by various industrial associations that work in the sector
the viability of the installation, by varying the electricity price (EP) [24].
The sensitivity analysis that changes the economic variables has
demonstrated that the installation is, from an economic point of
3,000,000
view, profitable, even without the feed-in-tariff subvention system,
2,500,000
RETScreen Prediction provided that the electricity price is adjusted to the CPI changes.
Real Data Asturwatt
However, all of the advantages outlined in this study are in stark
Cumulative Cash Flow (€)
-1,000,000 The present study was carried out under the research project
Year BU019A08 supported by the Department of Culture and Education
of the Regional Government of Castilla y León, Spain. The authors
Fig. 9. Summary of financial analysis: cumulative cash flow calculated by RETScreen
over the estimated cycle of life of the plant and the actual cash flow for the 10 years
are also grateful for the cooperation offered by Asturwat, the com-
of operation. pany responsible for the SHP installation described in this article.
C. Alonso-Tristán et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 (2011) 2729–2735 2735
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