The potential of micro-hydropower generation in the Inkomati River Catchment in Mozambique.
Date
2014
Authors
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Abstract
Hydropower is the leading source of renewable energy. It provides more than 97% of all
electricity generated by renewable sources internationally. Small hydropower plants
(SHPs) can be an alternative and a complement to large power generating plants, especially
in the less developed world where the demand for electricity is growing rapidly. The socio-economic
development in the Inkomati River Catchment has experienced slow growth in
recent years. One of the major reasons identified is the lack of availability of electrical
energy, which hinders agricultural production, job creation and economic growth,
particularly in small rural communities. The installation of small hydropower plants in the
Inkomati River Catchment which experiences variable flows has the potential to produce
clean and cheap energy for boosting and sustaining economic growth in the region.
Numerous hydrological studies conducted in the Inkomati River Catchment have focused
on the mitigation of floods and droughts, while little attention has been given to the
hydropower potential of the catchment. The objectives of this study were to: (i) derive and
verify a simple methodology to estimate daily streamflow quantiles at gauged sites using
flow duration curves (FDCs), (ii) to regionalise the FDCs in order to estimate daily
streamflow quantiles at ungauged sites, and (iii) to demonstrate the use of the regionalised
FDCs to estimate potential hydropower production at selected sites in the Inkomati River
Catchment. To address these objectives, FDCs were computed using only reliable daily
streamflow data gathered from twelve gauged stations across the Inkomati River
Catchment. Since most of the gauged stations in the catchment are sparse, regionalisation
was performed using morphoclimatic characteristics (drainage area, hypsometric fall, Mean
Annual Precipitation (MAP) and river length) parameterized using a Geographic
Information System (GIS). The methodology developed enables daily streamflow quantiles
to be estimated at both gauged and ungauged sites. The verification of the accuracy of the
regionalisation was done by calculating the root mean square error at two selected gauging
stations, which were not used in the calibration procedure. The power equation was applied
to determine the power potential at the Mac-Mac River and Ressano Garcia gauging
stations, assuming a 50% and 70% overall plant efficiency (Є) of the turbine. The method
estimates the flow and, given adequate head, the potential hydropower can be estimated,
especially from small catchments (<100 km² drainage area).
Description
M. Sc. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2014.
Keywords
Small scale hydropower--Mozambique., Water-power--Mozambique., Hydroelectric power plants--Mozambique., Theses--Bioresource system.