An engineering feasibility study of lam chi long small hydropower project

Abstract

This article presents an engineering feasibility study of Lam Chi Long small run-of-river hydropower project. The study was started by data collection, creating a longitudinal profile of the river, and locating a proper site of intake and 3 alternative sites of power plant. The meeting of the villagers, the local administration officials, and stakeholderswas then organized in the project area. The meeting aimed to allow them to consider the project possibility and their cooperation. The natural stream discharge at the intake site, the design and the effective discharge were then calculated. There were 3 alternative values of the design discharge i.e. equal to the minimum flow, and to 50% and 75% of the under curve area of the inflow hydrograph respectively. Besides, the project area survey was carriedout. The further activities were including piping layout design, to design the pipe diameter of 3 optional types ofpipe, to calculate head loss along the pipeline and the total dynamic head, and to estimate the potential powergeneration. Furthermore, the project components such as Intake structure, size of turbine, and power house were alsodesigned. Finally, the local meeting was again organized in order to consider the detail of the project componentsand select the appropriate site of the power plant. The results comprised of a draft construction blue print, theconstruction cost and the benefits of each alternative, which would be taken into account for further economic analysis

Keywords: Hydropower plant, Small power plant, Run-of-river hydropower plant, Chi Long hydropower project,Chi basin