scholarly journals Nepal’s Water Resources: Blessing or Curse ?

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Rabindra Bahadur Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Flood Hazards ◽  
Hydroelectric Project ◽  
Hydropower Potential ◽  
Democratic Nation ◽  
Economic Growth Rates ◽  
Run Of River

For half a century, Nepal has been chanting the ‘Mantra’ of 83,000 MW hydropower potential. When Nepal was in its childhood as a young democratic nation in the 1950s, India, with its vast ‘experience’ under the British colonial rule (colonial mindset), extracted lop-sided agreements on the Koshi, Gandaki and Mahakali rivers.Whereas India irrigates 12,200,000 acres of land, flood mitigates flood hazards and benefits from other intangible benefits. Nepal gets a meager 160,000 acres irrigation facility (1.3 percent of total irrigation benefits) from these unequivocal biased agreements. The adverse social and ecological impacts in Nepal are unaccounted for.Such water resource agreements have resulted in the sad present-day plight of Nepal: social life and industries are in total disarray with dismally low economic growth rates (GDP) forcing millions of Nepalese to seek employment abroad.Before it gets out of hand, India’s direct/indirect domination over Nepal’s water resources and politics should end, so that Nepal can develop its economy and hydropower in peace.Nepal should first develop run-of-river projects as per the modality of 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project (cost 1000 US$/kWh) and medium size storage hydropower projects (140 MW Tanahu). Muddling with large storage projects like 1200 MW Budhi Gandaki HEP will only further delay the execution of RoR projects. NEA’s technical capability should be improved to build and oversee hydropower projects and INPS.HYDRO Nepal JournalJournal of Water, Energy and EnvironmentIssue: 19Page: 11- 15

scholarly journals Kali Gandaki ‘A’ Hydroelectric Project in Environmental Perspectives

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Rajendra P. Thanju
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Public Infrastructure ◽  
Energy And Environment ◽  
Hydroelectric Project ◽  
Hydropower Potential ◽  
Project Construction ◽  
Community Improvement ◽  
Operation Phase ◽  
Installed Capacity

Hydropower is one of the cleanest, renewable and environmentally benign sources of energy. Nepal is blessed with immense source of water resources and huge hydropower potential. The Kali Gandaki ‘A’ (KGA) Hydroelectric Project is the largest hydropower project constructed so far in Nepal. The project is a daily pondage type scheme with an installed capacity of 144 MW. The KGA is one of the first largest hydropower projects that has been well studied environmentally and socially in the pre-project, construction and operation stages. A full team of multi-disciplinary professionals was involved during the construction phase to monitor environmental impacts and compliance with contract clauses, and to implement the mitigation measures. Implementation of KGA in what was once considered as a remote area, has resulted in multifold beneficial impacts to the local community. Improvement of public infrastructure, enhanced educational facilities and employment of local populations, including affected families during project construction and operation phase, have enhanced the quality of rural lives. The KGA operation has contributed significantly to Nepal’s power system and has boosted the economic development of the country. Key words: Hydropower; environmental monitoring; impacts; mitigation; resettlement; Nepal Hydro Nepal: Journal of Water, Energy and Environment Vol. I No. 1, 2007 pp. 15-21

In-stream turbines for sustainable hydropower development in the Amazon river basin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suyog Chaudhari ◽  
Erik Brown ◽  
Raul Quispe-Abad ◽  
Emilio Moran ◽  
Norbert Mueller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Amazon River ◽  
River Ecology ◽  
Amazon River Basin ◽  
Hydropower Development ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Large Dams ◽  
Hydropower Potential

<p>Given the ongoing and planned hydropower development projects in the Amazon River basin, appalling losses in biodiversity, river ecology and river connectivity are inevitable. These hydropower projects are proposed to be built in exceptionally endemic sites, setting records in environmental losses by impeding fish movement, altering flood pulse, causing large-scale deforestation, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. With the burgeoning energy demand combined with the aforementioned negative impacts of conventional hydropower technology, there is an imminent need to re-think the design of hydropower to avoid the potentially catastrophic consequences of large dams. It is certain that the Amazon will undergo some major hydrological changes in the near future because of the compounded effects of climate change and proposed dams, if built with the conventional hydropower technology. In this study, we present a transformative hydropower outlook that integrates low-head hydropower technology (e.g., in-stream turbines) and multiple environmental aspects, such as river ecology and protected areas. We employ a high resolution (~2km) continental scale hydrological model called LEAF-Hydro-Flood (LHF) to assess the in-stream hydropower potential in the Amazon River basin. We particularly focus on quantifying the potential and feasibility of employing instream turbines in the Amazon instead of building large dams. We show that a significant portion of the total energy planned to be generated from conventional hydropower in the Brazilian Amazon could be harnessed using in-stream turbines that utilize kinetic energy of water without requiring storage. Further, we also find that implementing in-stream turbines as an alternative to large storage-based dams could prove economically feasible, since most of the environmental and social costs associated with dams are eliminated. Our results open multiple pathways to achieve sustainable hydropower development in the Amazon to meet the ever-increasing energy demands while minimizing hydrological, social, and ecological impacts. It also provides important insight for sustainable hydropower development in other global regions. The results presented are based on a manuscript under revision for Nature Sustainability.</p>

Turkey's Water Resources and Hydropower Potential

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayhan Demirbaş ◽  
Recep Bakiş
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Ground Water ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Water Reservoirs ◽  
Total Potential ◽  
Hydropower Potential ◽  
Different Types

The aim of this paper is to investigate water resources in Turkey. Annual rainfall varies from 220 mm to 2500 mm with an average of 643 mm, which means total volume of 501 km3 and average annual potential of surface water is 186 km3 and 95 km3 of this amount potential can be feasibly developed. Ground water reservoirs are estimated to be around 12 km3. As a result of construction of 700 dams, with different types, purposes and sizes, 140 km3 of water is being stored in the reservoirs. Total hydropower potential of Turkey is annually 433,000 GWh. Almost 50% of the total potential is technically exploitable, and 29% is (122,322 GWh/year) economically exploitable.

scholarly journals The Case of Upper Karnali Hydroelectric Project

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 14-17
Author(s):  
Hari Man Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
National Interest ◽  
Hydroelectric Project ◽  
Run Of River

The Upper Karnali Hydroelectric Project, being one of the most attractive and suitable run-of-river hydropower projects for consumption of the energy in Nepal, should have been developed by Nepal for self consumption through self-construction and self-financing. The author describes that in Nepal things are not happening in a way to safeguard Nepal’s long-term national interest through deriving multiple benefits from modest and gradual way of utilization of better hydropower sites for own sake. Even the meager free entitlements are highly exaggerated in a falsified way to please India instead of striving hard for fulfilling its own need by own efforts.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v16i0.12213  HYDRO Nepal  Journal of Water Energy and EnvironmentIssue. 16, 2015 January Page: 14-17 Upload date: March 1, 2015

Unruly Mountains: Hydropower assemblages and geological surprises in the Indian Himalayas

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110507
Author(s):  
Saumya Vaishnava ◽  
Jennifer Baka
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Object ◽  
Project Development ◽  
Institutional Response ◽  
Hydropower Development ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Hydropower Potential ◽  
Indian Himalayas ◽  
Run Of River

Despite a decades long push to develop what is seen as the vast untapped hydropower potential of the Indian Himalayas, hydropower capacity addition has been delayed and become increasingly expensive in India. Policy documents cite “poor” geology as a major reason for these delays. As hydropower in the form of run-of-river projects expand into the Himalayas, their construction activities encounter poor geology more frequently. This paper analyses hydropower development as an assemblage and examines how risk, especially geological risk, is negotiated to allow hydropower development to continue in the Indian Himalayas. We show how the category of “geological surprises” emerges as an institutional response to the problems of run-of-river based hydropower development in a seismically vulnerable landscape. We further show how “geological surprises” act as a boundary object between hydropower policy, project development, infrastructural finance, and hydropower knowledge, allowing for cooperation and negotiation, to allow hydropower development to continue in the geologically complex Himalayas.

Estimating route-specific passage and survival probabilities at a hydroelectric project from smolt radiotelemetry studies

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 1385-1393 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R Skalski ◽  
Richard Townsend ◽  
James Lady ◽  
Albert E Giorgi ◽  
John R Stevenson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chinook Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Specific Detection ◽  
Survival Probabilities ◽  
Hydroelectric Project ◽  
Detection Probabilities ◽  
Likelihood Model ◽  
Release Study ◽  
Run Of River

A tag–release study is illustrated using radio-tagged chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) smolts to concurrently estimate passage rates and survival probabilities through the spillway and turbines of a hydroelectric project. The radio antennas at the forebays of the dam were arranged in double arrays allowing the estimation of route-specific detection probabilities and converting smolt detections to estimates of absolute passage. A maximum likelihood model is presented using the downstream detection histories to jointly estimate the route-specific passage and survival probabilities. In turn, these estimates were combined to estimate smolt survival through the dam, pool, and the entire hydroelectric project. The detailed migration information derived by these techniques can be used to evaluate mitigation programs focused on improving downstream passage of migrating salmonid smolts. At a mid-Columbia River hydroproject, the average spillbay survival calculated across replicate releases of hatchery and run-of-river yearling chinook salmon smolts was 1.000 ( estimated standard error, [Formula: see text] = 0.0144). Average survivals through the two different powerhouses at the hydroproject were estimated to be 0.9409 ([Formula: see text] = 0.0294) and 0.9841 ([Formula: see text] = 0.0119). Project survival after combining the route-specific survival and passage probabilities was estimated across stocks to be 0.9461 ([Formula: see text] = 0.0016).

scholarly journals Total Run-of-River type Hydropower Potential of Nepal

1970 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 8-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghunath Jha
Keyword(s):  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Energy Estimates ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Small Rivers ◽  
Energy And Environment ◽  
Hydropower Potential ◽  
Potential Estimate ◽  
Former Ussr ◽  
Run Of River

The total hydropower potential of Nepal was assessed as 83,500 MW in 1966 by Dr. Hari Man Shrestha dur-ing his PhD research work in former USSR. Since then, no further study has been done in this feld. The hydropower potential estimate has been used by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) and Department of Electricity Development (DOED) for power development, licensing and policy making. However, keeping in view recent advancements in computer technology that offer many benefits to the field of water resources and the importance of power estimation in Nepal, Dr. Shrestha’s estimate needs further review and updat-ing. The present study has mainly used the hydro-meteorological data of Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) for hydrological analysis of all the rivers in Nepal including the three big rivers, viz., Saptakoshi, Narayani and Karnali, and other medium and small rivers. Incorporating GIS and the Hydropower Model that has specifcally been developed by the author, the power potential and annual energy estimate on an run-of-the-river (ROR) basis of the entire country has been worked out. The result shows that the power potential and annual energy estimates of Na-rayani, Saptakoshi and Karnali River basins at Q40% (fow exceedence) and 80% efficiency are 17800, 17008, 15661 MW and 113373, 108817, 102324 GWh, respectively. The Mahakali River would yield only 2262 MW of hydropower and 14981 GWh of energy annually. The other water sources in Nepal would have a total power potential of 1105 MW and a combined annual energy of 7043 GWh. Thus, the total hydropower potential and corresponding annual energy capacity of Nepal on a ROR basis at Q40%, and 80% efficiency is 53,836 MW and 346538 GWh, respectively.Key words: Hydropower potential; Run-of-River (ROR); GIS; Hydropower Model; NepalDOI: 10.3126/hn.v7i0.4226Hydro Nepal Journal of Water, Energy and Environment Vol 7, July, 2010Page: 8-13Uploaded date: 31 January, 2011

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