Run of River Hydropower

Hydropower will only be generated for flows up to the Maximum Turbine Flow.  Note: you must enter a non-zero value for maximum turbine flow in order to generate hydropower.  The Fixed Head defines the working water head on the turbine--the distance the water falls. The Plant Factor specifies the percentage of each month that the plant is running. The plant Generating Efficiency defines the generator's overall operation effectiveness in converting the energy of the falling water into electricity.

Optionally, to accommodate situations in which you want to prioritize reservoir releases to generate hydropower, there are two methods for specifying hydropower energy demands in WEAP: as individual energy demands for each reservoir or run of river hydropower, or as an aggregate energy demand at the system level.  You can choose either method, or even use both at the same time.  See Supply and Resources\System Hydropower Demand for more information about system-level aggregate energy demands.

Individual energy demands: If you specify a non-zero Hydropower Priority and Energy Demand, WEAP will convert the energy demand into an equivalent volume of water that must flow through the hydropower plant that month to satisfy that demand.  Depending on the hydropower priority, this flow requirement will be satisfied either before, after or at the same time as other demands for water on the river.  If the hydropower priority is zero, WEAP will not release water from upstream reservoirs solely to generate hydropower at this run of river plant.  You may change the priority over time or from one scenario to another.  See Demand Priority, Supply Preferences and Allocation Order for more information.

See Hydropower Calculations for calculation algorithms.

Entered on: Data View, Branch: Supply and Resources \ River \ <River Name> \ Run of River Hydro, Tabs: Max. Turbine Flow, Plant Factor, Generating Efficiency, Fixed Head, Hydropower Priority, Energy Demand