Two small hydroelectric schemes in the north west of Scotland were developed in 2016 in the rush to meet the cut-off date for the FIT. They were designed by a consultant and turbine supplier both of whom subsequently went into administration. From the outset after hand-over, some of the pipelines and other component parts failed and the schemes underperformed to the extent that the owner had little choice but to take legal action against the designers under their Professional Indemnity Insurance policy.

Hydroplan was contracted to provide the services of an Expert Witness which involved a detailed technical due diligence exercise on the design of the two schemes in relation to overall layout, pipeline design, build quality and actual performance. This work included the installation of monitoring equipment (cameras at intakes and flow and pressure gauging), analyses of actual and potential energy production, making recommendations on the necessary remedial works to the intakes and pipelines including detailed estimates of the cost.

The purpose of this work was to provide professional and impartial advice to the Court. Based on the information and reports that Hydroplan supplied, the case was settled out of court to the satisfaction of the owner.

Key Features:

• Complex schemes
• Multiple considerations
• Short deadlines and time pressure

The post Expert Witness first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.

In 2017, Hydroplan conducted a Due Diligence assessment of two hydropower projects in Yorkshire on behalf of Triodos Bank. The Thrybergh scheme (260kW) is on the River Don near Rotherham and has been operational since September 2015, and the Kirkthorpe scheme (500kW) on the River Calder near Wakefield has been operating since December 2016. Both schemes are low head. The assessment included the following elements:

• Site visit and inspection of the stations.
• Assessment of the quality of construction and the condition of the stations.
• Comparison of predicted AAEP with actual performance since commissioning.
• Review of turbine and station performance.
• Review of current O&M costs.
• Review of future maintenance, repairs and renewals budgets.
• Report providing a summary of the above and recommendations.

Following receipt of this assessment, the Bank then released funds for a further scheme at Knottingley on the River Aire, which Hydroplan inspected for due diligence for the client during construction. This scheme has an installed capacity of 500kW and sells the electricity directly to a paper mill on the opposite bank of the river. All three projects were developed by Barn Energy Ltd.

The post Yorkshire Hydro Project first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.

Building on our experience of developing hydro in Nepal through our Nepalese partner – Sanima Hydro and Engineering Private Ltd (SHEPL) – Hydroplan co-authored a report on hydro opportunities for UK businesses in the country and presented this to City of London financiers in at a Mansion House event in London.

The work involved organising a Lord Mayor’s visit to Nepal, including a helicopter trip to visit a number of remote sites and the production of a 37-page report.

The post Nepal Hydro Sector Dissemination first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.

Stanley Mill harnessed the power of the River Tay for 200 years before it closed in 1989. In 2003, the construction of a run-of-river hydropower scheme with an installed capacity of 840kW was commissioned by RWE and completed in 2004. Following the collapse of the intake screen at the hydro scheme in December 2015, Hydroplan was employed to carry out a Stage 1 Assessment and Stage 2 Detailed Design for the screen replacement.

The first stage study comprised an assessment of the existing structure, provisional design of uprights, acceptable loading on the bed, different design options and related head loss and approach velocity distribution. It was important to ensure that the design options considered all possible modes of the catastrophic collapse to avoid any failures in the future. In addition, the elements that remained intact following the collapse were assessed for their purpose to determine any required redesigns.

The recommendations for improvement were discussed with the client representatives to decide on the final design specifications. Subsequently, Hydroplan outlined the detailed design during the second stage, including specifications of the intake screen, support structures, walkway and reinstallation of the cleaner beam. The design utilised existing conditions on site, reused any undamaged parts of the old screen, and minimised the installation time on site.

The work on site commenced in November in 2016 and finished in December the same year, well within the allocated timeframe.

The post Stanley Mills Hydro first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.

Alongside Sanima Hydro and Engineering Ltd. in Nepal, Hydroplan was asked to assist with the feasibility studies and preparation of tender documents for 10 mini Hydropower projects in Western Uganda together with associated rural electrification and grid connection.

The hydropower projects range in size from 300kW to 4MW and the rural electrification component will enable a total of 26,000 new connections.

 In alliance with:

The post Western Uganda Hydropower and Electrification Project first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.

Hydropower was first recorded at Hillmount in 1720 when a Bleach Green was established on the River Maine. Two waterwheels were in operation until the 1880’s when two open flume Francis turbines were installed. These turbines continued to operate until 2015 when the electrical system finally failed and a re-think was required.

There was much consultation on the merits of an AST as opposed to a Kaplan turbine but the final decision was made to install a single horizontal axial flow Kaplan turbine with ½” screen and screen cleaner in the same position as the original 1720 waterwheel had been, all provided by Hydrohrom from the Czech Republic.

Hydroplan carried out the survey and the civil design and the scheme was delivered on time without any issues using a local civil contractor.

Key Features:

• Low head, large flow
• Kaplan turbine
• Rehabilitation of existing scheme
• Historical site

The post Hillmount Rehabilitation first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.

Loch Doon and Tongland are both existing dams that form part of large hydro schemes in the Scottish Borders.  Hydroplan was employed to investigate the potential for retrofitting small turbines on to the compensation flows from each of the dams.

The schemes were both challenging – particularly in relation to access and allowing for flood management provision.  Moreover, both schemes are listed structures and had significant fisheries interests. Hence water use licences and listed building consent were required.

Hydroplan worked to a tight deadline (due to the restrictions of the feed-in tariff) to deliver all the consents and to also provide outline design for the compensation sets.

The consents were issued in 2015.

The post Loch Doon and Tongland first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.

The 2MW scheme on Loch Gaineamhach required a full Environmental Impact Assessment as part of the planning application due to its size and location within the Wester Ross National Scenic Area and the Flowerdate-Shieldaig-Torridon Core Area of Wild Land.

Hydroplan conducted preliminary feasibility work in 2015, with environmental surveys undertaken by sub-contractors during the summer of the same year. In addition, Hydroplan carried out a number of environmental impact studies. Due to environmental constraints, the scheme layout went through several iterations during the planning stage before the configuration with the lowest environmental impact in terms of land area and habitat affected was found. In addition, mitigation measures were considered where possible during the design stage.

On the edge of Loch Braigh Horirsdale, a curved track and cable bridge was designed to replace an existing rickety ATV bridge. The new bridge has carefully been designed to follow the geomorphology and integrate into the landscape.

The scheme was consented in spring 2019.

The post Gaineamhach first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.

The Lochaber Aluminium Smelter in Fort William has a huge catchment area, which includes numerous tributaries and several dams.  In 2014, the smelter owner and operator, Rio Tinto Alcan, employed Hydroplan to investigate the small hydropower potential on the rivers above the smelter intakes.

Using a desk-based analysis, Hydroplan identified 30MW of hydropower across 30 schemes in three main catchment areas.  This information proved to be extremely useful helping Rio Tinto Alcan value its assets.

The post Alcan Small Hydro Resource Review first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.

Following the decision to upgrade the existing hydroelectric scheme on Ardtornish Estate (Scotland); preliminary ground investigation confirmed that the ground conditions were not sufficient for the planned hydro scheme and a decision was made to undertake a more detailed investigation, which included rock drilling and geochemical testing of the samples.

Two 10m deep vertical rotary cored boreholes and one 10m inclined rotary cored borehole were drilled and samples were sent to a geotechnical laboratory for testing. The test results confirmed that the ground in the immediate vicinity of the proposed dam site needed to be improved in order to allow safe construction and operation of the proposed dam. It was determined that a number of holes would be drilled which would be filled with grout consisting of a mixture of cement and bentonite. A total hole length of over 400m was drilled. Over three tons of cement and bentonite were used to inject into the grout holes and after completion, each hole was tested for permeability.

The test results were accepted as satisfactory, and three years after the dam was completed, the regular dam inspection confirmed that the structure is sound and working as designed.

The post Rannoch Dam first appeared on Hydroplan - Hydropower Consultancy.