HYDROPOWER GENERATION

PAPER PRESENTED AT THE 42ND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS (NSChE) AT ABUJA ON THE 15TH TO 17TH NOVEMBER, 2012.

BY

ENGR. R.O. AKINWUNMI

MANAGING DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER KAINJI HYDRO ELECTRIC PLC, KAINJI NEW BUSSA, NIGER STATE.

KAINJI HYDRO ELECTRIC PLC

Be the leading Regional Hydro-PowerCompany

Innovative and empowered

INTRODUCTION

Water resources are harness for the production of electricity. The production of this energy requires a reliable abundant and predictable source of water. Electricity however, can also be produce from other sources such as fossil fuels, nuclear energy, coal etc. Electricity is very important for national development as it isthe heart of the Nigerian economy and way of life. National Defence, food production, human health, manufacturing, recreation, tourism and daily functioning of the household all rely on a clean and affordable supply of electricity. THE HISTORY OF HYDROPOWER GENERATION IN NIGERIA Electric power supply started in Nigeria in 1886, when the whitemen came to exploit raw materials for their industries. As they move from the coastal areas of the country to the interior to exploit cocoa in the West, rubber and palm oil in the East and groundnut in the North, they installed more generators in Kaduna, Ibadan, Enugu and Kano. These diesel powered generators were maintained and controlled by the Public Works Department (PWD). By 1950, Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) was established and took over from PWD. With the growth of industries and urbanization, the demand for Electricity rose faster than supply. This prompted the ECN, to authorize the study of the HYDRO ELECTRIC POTENTIALS of the River Niger for large and cheap supply of Electricity. On the initiative of ECN the Federal Government of Nigeria, in 1953, commissioned Netherlands Engineering Consultants (NEDECO) to carry out hydrological survey of the Niger and Benue rivers, followed by ECN itself which in 1958, and commissioned Balfor Beatty Company Ltd to specifically study hydrological potentials of the River Niger around Jebba area. The two Engineering consulting firms NEDECO and BALFOR BEATTY published their joint reports in 1961. The report recommended that the first Dam be built at Kainji about 102 kilometres upstream of Jebba. By 1962, Niger Dams Authority (NDA) was instituted by an act of Parliament to supervise the construction and thereafter maintain the proposed Hydro Electric station at Kainji. The construction works was contracted to Impregilo, as a major contractor. It was a consortium of three Italian companies Impresit, Giriola and Lodigiani.

Fund for the project (89 million pounds as at 1964) was provided by the following governments and international organizations 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Federal Government of Nigeria Government of Netherlands International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Institute Di Credito per le impresse Di publicaUtilita UK Export Guarantee Department

The construction work took off in 1964 with an inaugural ceremony performed on 31st August that year by the then Prime Minister of the Federation, AbubakarTafawaBalewa who in his speech said This is a practical Nigerian Project that will supply Electricity to every Region in the Federation and create room for greater unity of the country. The project was ready for commissioning in 1968 with 4 sets of Kaplan turbines units 7, 8, 9 and 10 of 80 MW capacity each, totalling 320 MW. Thus, on 15th February, 1969 the station was officially commissioned by Major General Yakubu Gowon.

THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST SOURCE OF WATER (RIVER NIGER) HARNESSED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY IN NIGERIA. The Electric power generation in Nigeria will not be complete without discussing River Niger. It originated from the Fouta D jalon highlands of the wet tropical climate in Guinea. It is a long shared river that traverses political and climatic boundaries. The perimeter length from source (in Guinea) to its mouth (in Nigeria) is 4200km. River Niger is the most important river in West Africa, third of the great rivers of Africa and ninth in the world. It has a total drainage area of 1,500,000km2. It is joined by 18 major tributaries that contribute abundant perennial flow of fresh water. River Niger basin is shared by nine (9) countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Niger Republic, Nigeria and Chad), about 67% of Nigerias territorial landmass lies within the catchment areas of River Niger and its main tributary; River Benue.

TYPICAL HYDRO POWER GENERATION PLANT Power can be generated from various sources of natural materials such as the wind, Sun, fossils fuel, and water. For the purpose of this lecture, however, emphasis would be limited to Power derived from hydro otherwise known as water. Essentially, the availability of a very large volume of water for Power generation necessitates the construction of a structure or a barrier called a dam across a river course. Water is then impounded for the sole purpose of Power generation. Hydroelectric energy is produced by the force of falling water. The capacity to produce this energy is dependent on both the available flow and the height from which it falls. Building up behind a high dam, water accumulates potential energy. This is transformed into mechanical energy when the water rushes down the sluice and strikes the rotary blades of turbine. From 250 feet below the surface of the reservoir, water enters an 18 feet steel lined tube called a penstock. From here it flows through the dam into a spiral scroll case. Directed through slots on the inner diameter of the scroll case the water falls through the turbine causing it to spin. Finally, the water enters the draft tube. The larger diameter of this steel outlet tube slows the water before it exits the dam on the downstream side. It is interesting to note the length of the shaft connecting the turbine to the generator. Long shafts were used to permit the generator to be well above the downstream water level. This design, popular in early hydroelectric projects, protect the generators from accidental flooding. The water entering the turbine flows through a series of louvers, called wicket gates which are arranged in a ring around the turbine inlet. The amount of water entering the turbine can be regulated by opening or closing the wicket gates required. This allows the operators to keep the turbine running at a constant speed even under widely varying electrical loads. Maintaining precise speed is important since it is the rate of rotation which determines the frequency of the electricity produced. The turbine is coupled to an electric generator by a long shaft. The generator consists of a large spinning rotor and a stationary stator. The outer ring of the rotor is made up of a series of copper wound iron cells or poles each of which acts as an electromagnet. The stator is comprised of a series of vertically oriented copper coils nestled in the slots of an iron core. As the rotor spins, its

magnetic field induces a current in the stators windings thereby generating electricity. The turbines rotation spins electromagnetic which generates current in stationary coils of wire. Finally the current is put through a transformer where the voltage is increased for long distance transmission of power lines. In Nigeria today, we have three (3) functional hydroelectric power plants, namely Kainji hydro Electric Plc, Jebba Electric Plc and Shiroro Electric Plc. Kainji has installed capacity of 760MW. Jebba has installed capacity of 600MW Shiroro has installed capacity of 578.4MW

HYDRO POWER AND THE ENVIRONMENT Hydropower does not pollute the water or the air. However, hydropower facilities can have large environmental impacts by changing the environment and affecting land use, homes, and natural habitats in the dam area.

WORLD DISTRIBUTION OF HYDROPOWER Hydropower is the most important and widely used renewable source of energy. Hydropower represents 19% of total electricity production China is the largest producer of hydro electricity, followed by Canada, Brazil and the United State of America (source: Energy information administration). Approximately two thirds of the economically feasible hydropower potential remains to be developed. Untapped hydro resources are still abundant in Latin America, Central Africa, India and China.

WATER RESOURCES AND DAM RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT There are evidences to show that dams and their associated reservoir have, for centuries occupy a vital place in the civilization of man. Africas water supply (rivers) suffers from two major shortcomings due to seasonal nature. 1. A high seasonal rainfall pattern resulting in most of the usable total annual runoff being available during only few months of the year mostly August October. 2. A low runoff coefficient (due to high evaporation) which is aggravated by frequent droughts, which can span several years and affect large areas. From resources environment point of view, the production of hydroelectricity is hydrologically more attractive compared to other processes because it is cheap and reliable. In addition, the management and operation of a dam reservoir as a water resources engineering is environmental friendly. It does not exist or discharge pollutants either into the atmosphere or into flows downstream. However, a dam may constitute a RISK to the environment and even the dam structure itself particularly during rain induced floods of high magnitudes, leading to hectic reservoir operation, to overtopping or even complete dam failure, with disastrous consequences to the dam itself, riparian communities and human activities downstream of the dam may be affected if not properly managed. So hydro dams though is capital intensive must be built to specification, for safety reasons.

FLOOD WARNING Flood warning is an advance notice that a flood may occur in the near future at a certain area along a river basin. Before any significant flood event on the River Niger, as were experienced in 1998, 1999 and recently in 2012, the flood with its devastating experience that Nigerians may not forget so soon as it ravaged many states, Kainji Hydro Electric Plc always issues flood warning to those who are to respond especially the relevant stakeholders.

THE FUTURE OF HYDROPOWER IN NIGERIA The challenge The management of water and engineering intervention upstream in view of its economic, social and environmental significance constitutes one of the greatest challenges facing modern society and one which requires thorough assessment and understanding. This is particularly relevant in West Africa subregion where the River Niger traverses climatic and political boundaries. Engineering interventions on a rivers natural hydrological setting using dams and associated structures apart from regulating the river hydrology especially downstream may also lead to changes in the hydrological regimes of the entire basin. It is imperative therefore that the water resources impacts of such interventions be thoroughly assessed to allow dam operations planning accommodate their effects on projects in the upstream and downstream reaches of the basin. The Niger River being a large complex system in which changes at one location can have an influence throughout the basin, has exhibited a delicate relationship between the upper, the middle and the lower reaches on the basin such that the security and performance of development projects downstream are closely tied to the trend of hydrological events and the intensities of hydraulic interference upstream. The proliferation of hydraulic structures in single and multipurpose water developments projects in the upper reaches (e.gFomi dam in Guinea, Tossaye in Mali) and middle Niger (e.gKhandaji dam) therefore may not be too desirable for our engineering facilities in the lower Niger like Kainji and Jebba dams. This is even more so when one considers the erratic behaviour of various weather elements in recent years, the impact of global climate change on our water resources systems and the resultant trend of hydrological events at the sub-regional level. While the existing projects are being renewed and expanded, the proposed ones are being rigorously pursued with foreign sponsorships. The alternative measures to counter the negative impact are are the construction of more hydro dams and thermal stations like the on-going projects in NIPP.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION o Nigeria has enormous hydro potentials but under developed. o Electricity generation in Nigeria is from both hydro (27%) and thermal plants. o Of about 200 dams in operation, only 3 are primarily for power generation. o Hydropower development has hastened the erosion of rural backwardness and promoted industrialization. o There is the manifestation of negative environmental and social impacts of hydropower construction. o Management and operational constraints of hydropower are both natural and man-made. o Considering the factors of resources, availability and renewability, the demand for clean electrical energy attractive government support policy, the future of hydro power in Nigeria is bright. REFERENCES 1. Oke, V. O, S. P Fregene and Adeagbo, M. A (1992). Status of NEPA reservoir Operation and management, paper presented at Nigerias water forum at NWRI, Kaduna. 2. Guide to Hydro - meteorological practices (1970) by WMO no 168, TP 82 3. Hayward, D. F, Oguntoyinbo J. S (1987): The Climatology of West Africa, Huchinson, London. 4. Tropical Hydrology and water resources by J. O Ayoade. 5. Sagua, V. O (1977). The effect of Kainji Dam Nigeria upon fish production in the River Niger below the dam at Fakun.