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Contenuto archiviato il 2022-12-27

THE CONSTRUCTION OF, AND THE INTEGRATION OF, A SMALL HYDROELECTRIC GENERATING UNIT INTO AN IRRIGATION NETWORK

Obiettivo

The overall aims of this multipurpose project include the irrigation of 200 ha of agricultural land, the upgrading of the irrigation canal and the installation of a small hydroelectric generator suitable for operation at high head and with a large seasonal variation in flow.
The anticipated annual energy production is 13,000,000 kWh and the total unit cost of the electricity produced will be 0. 2019 FF/kWh.
In spite of minor incidents which occurred on commissioning, the project can be considered a technical success.
The savings in water made replacing the canal by a pressure pipe are considerable.
Control of turbined flow, with a needle valve and hollow jet valve and by a programmable controller has been perfectly satisfactorily.
The installation of a remote monitoring system using the Minitel allows the installation to be monitored and above all immediate information of any incidents which might occur. This has reduced the plant down time and therefore increased its yields.
The financial return produced by the first twelve months operation are very satisfactory and lead to believe, apart from unforeseen technical incidents, that the operation will be profitable.
The plant is operated by Societe du Canal de Provence personnel from its Manosque regional centre. This new activity has not led to any additional workload requiring the employment of additional staff.
The annual operatingcharges for the plant are around FF150,000.
The service life of the structures and the equipment for the hydroelectric plant are between fifty years for the civil works and the pipes and twenty to thirty years for the hydromechanical and electrical equipment.
This type of multipurpose hydroagricultural scheme has several advantages. Indeed, it participates in the energy policies of a country or a region by the installation of more hydroelectric units and can contribute to the profitability of irrigation areas in medium mountain zones. Irrigation projects although subsidised are difficult to render profitable.
On the other hand, if such projects are not executed, farmers will abandon the profession little by little and mountain zones will become deserted.
In France and abroad there are many projects of this type to be executed provided that the regulations regarding diversion of torrents and streams and the purchase of the power produced by the distributor do not impose greater constraints than is already the case.
The experience has shown that the integration of small hydro plant in pressurized irrigation networks does not present large technical difficulties either for their design or for their operation.
In spite of the level of investments and therefore the financial cost involved, the results proved to be perfectly satisfactory.
The intake structure on the Crevoux stream incorporates a sand trap, a trash rack and a fish ladder. A 4400 km steel conduit, which replaces the existing canal, will convey the water to the project area. A 1900 m steel penstock will then transfer the water to the single jet Pelton turbine. The available water flow rate varies from 0. 36 m3/s in the winter to 1. 9 m3/s in the summer. The optimised design flow is 0. 6 m3/s. The turbine governor will be designed to prevent dangerous transient surges in the hydraulic system. The design data of the plant is;
Head 415 m
Flow 0. 6 m3/s
Shaft speed 1000 rev/min
Turbine type Single jet Pelton
Generator output 2000 kW
Generator voltage 5500 V, 50 Hz, 3 phase
Generator type Asynchronous
The electricity produced by the generator will be sold to the EDF via a 20 kV grid interconnection.

Argomento(i)

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Invito a presentare proposte

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Meccanismo di finanziamento

DEM - Demonstration contracts

Coordinatore

Société du Canal de Provence et d'Aménagement de la Région Provencale
Contributo UE
Nessun dato
Indirizzo
Le Tholonet
13603 Aix-en-Provence
Francia

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Costo totale
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