A New Technical Concept for Water Management and Possible Uses in Future Water Systems

Storli, Pål-Tore Selbo; Lundström, T. Staffan

doi:10.3390/w11122528

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The capacity of the reservoir has to be adapted to the ramping rate of the power plant, and space constraints can be an issue particularly when dampening reservoirs are retrofitted to existing power plants. An alternative solution using water storage for dampening the effect of hydropeaking has been proposed by Storli and Lundström (2019) who presented the Air Cushion Underground Cavern (ACUR), providing underground storage where compressed air is used to control the storage and release of water. This solution would be suited to underground power plants and is potentially easier to retrofit at existing power plants since no structure is required to be built at the power plant outlet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigation of environmental effects of frequent flow ramping scenarios in a regulated river

Alfredsen

Juárez-Goméz

Kenawi

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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In the transition to a society based on renewable energy, flexibility is important in balancing the energy supply as more intermittent sources like wind and solar are included in the energy mix. The storage-based hydropower systems are a renewable energy source that provides the needed flexibility since a hydropower plant can be started and stopped in minutes, and the reservoirs provide stored energy that can be utilized when the demand arises. Thereby, the hydropower plants can balance the variability in other energy sources, e.g., when there is no wind or when solar input is low. This need for increased flexibility has led research toward new hydropower turbines to provide larger ramping rates, more frequent starts and stops, and other system services. A possible drawback of the ramping operation of hydropower plants (often termed “hydropeaking”) are the adverse effects on the environment in receiving water bodies downstream of the power plant outlet, particularly when the hydropower outlets are in rivers. Rapid changes in flow can lead to stranding of fish and other biota during the shutdown of turbines and flushing of biota during the start of turbines. These effects can also be caused by other sudden episodes of water withdrawal, such as during accidental turbine shutdowns. The main objective of this study is to describe a method of designing the necessary volume of water required to mitigate a fast ramping turbine, and present the effect this has on the downstream river reach. We used a 2D hydraulic model to find the areas affected by hydropeaking operation and, furthermore, to define areas with a faster ramping rate than 13 cm/h which is used as a limit in Norwegian guidelines. Based on this, we developed a ramping regime that would prevent fast dewatering of critical areas and provide this as a basis for mitigating the effects of fast dewatering in the downstream river (River Nidelva in Norway was used as a test case). Furthermore, the effect of increasing the frequency of start–stop cycles was studied, and the proposed mitigation was evaluated for the new operational regime.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigation of environmental effects of frequent flow ramping scenarios in a regulated river

Alfredsen

Juárez-Goméz

Kenawi

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…One approach that has been suggested is to divert some of the discharge during hydropeaking before the tailrace and to gradually introduce it to the main river downstream [18]. It has also been suggested that discharge water can be temporarily stored in an Air Cushion Underground Reservoir (ACUR) and gradually released into the tailrace in times of no hydropeaking [9,19]. An additional approach could be to use the inherent inertia in the river to reduce the impact of hydropeaking in some stretches of a river.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Case Study of Transient Dynamics in a Bypass Reach

Burman

Andersson

Hellström

et al. 2020

Water

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The operating conditions of Nordic hydropower plants are expected to change in the coming years to work more in conjunction with intermittent power production, causing more frequent hydropeaking events. Hydropeaking has been shown to be detrimental to wildlife in the river reaches downstream of hydropower plants. In this work, we investigate how different possible future hydropeaking scenarios affect the water surface elevation dynamics in a bypass reach in the Ume River in northern Sweden. The river dynamics has been modeled using the open-source solver Delft3D. The numerical model was validated and calibrated with water-surface-elevation measurements. A hysteresis effect on the water surface elevation, varying with the downstream distance from the spillways, was seen in both the simulated and the measured data. Increasing the hydropeaking rate is shown to dampen the variation in water surface elevation and wetted area in the most downstream parts of the reach, which could have positive effects on habitat and bed stability compared to slower rates in that region.

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“…Given that mortality is dependent on the hydropeaking flow regime, a range of recommendations have been made to mitigate effects including modifying operational regimes (Moreira et al, 2019) and installation of hydraulic structures such as buffer reservoirs and retention basins (Reindl et al, 2022). Additionally, mitigation technologies including the Air Cushion Underground Reservoir (ACUR) (Storli, 2017;Storli & Lundström, 2019) that uses compressed air to dampen changes in downstream flow conditions during hydropeaking have recently been investigated. Fish behaviour also affects stranding mortality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring sensitivities to hydropeaking in Atlantic salmon parr using individual‐based modelling

et al. 2023

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Hydropeaking (the release of water pulses at hydropower plants) results in temporary reductions in river channel water‐covered area downstream, which may cause fish mortality through stranding. We used a mechanistic modelling approach to examine how both the form of the hydropeaking cycle and the characteristics of the affected fish control how hydropeaking may cause stranding mortality of fish. We modelled the response of Atlantic parr to hydropeaking in a regulated watercourse in central Norway (the River Nidelva) using an individual‐based population model designed explicitly to examine fish behaviour and stranding mortality during hydropeaking. A response to hydropeaking, involving migration from the riverbanks towards the mid‐channel on down‐ramping and a return to the riverbanks on up‐ramping, was based on individuals being parameterized to migrate to habitat properties that spatially changed throughout the hydropeaking cycle. We found that stranding mortality was strongly dependent on both the form of the hydropeaking cycle and on the fish response. Total stranding mortality was more dependent on the down‐ramping speed than the duration of the minimum flow period. Total stranding mortality was greatest when there was a low movement speed, leading to individuals being stranded, combined with a high probability of dying per unit of time when stranded. Given the sensitivity of mortality to the fish response and the lack of detailed field studies quantifying this, we conclude that this area requires further controlled studies for parameterizing models used to predict effects of hydropeaking on fish. Simulation‐based modelling, where there is a 100% control of and knowledge of fish characteristics, where a range of deterministic functions can be evaluated and in which boundary conditions can be easily controlled, may be a useful research tool to complement empirical studies.

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A New Technical Concept for Water Management and Possible Uses in Future Water Systems

Cited by 8 publications

References 15 publications

Mitigation of environmental effects of frequent flow ramping scenarios in a regulated river

Mitigation of environmental effects of frequent flow ramping scenarios in a regulated river

Case Study of Transient Dynamics in a Bypass Reach

Exploring sensitivities to hydropeaking in Atlantic salmon parr using individual‐based modelling

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