Integration of hydropower plant within an existing weir structure : A hidden treasure [Case of Sint Michielsgestel weir, North Brabant, The Netherlands]

Hydropower is the largest renewable energy being used on the global scale, particularly in the European countries the large sources are almost depleted compared to the rest of the World. When it came to the environmental regulations it is hardly possible to exploit large potential site when it is available, which favours the project developers to go for small scale plants. Nowadays the capital cost for implementing a small hydropower plant is relatively expensive and this may be a barrier to the new investors, therefore It was thought to focus on integrating the plant within the existing hydraulic structures where are found to be available without compromising their primary functions instead of starting on the scratch. In this study a case study was selected which is a weir located at Dommel River in Sint Michielsgestel, North Brabant province, the Netherlands. The purpose of this structure is to maintain an upstream water level constant. The plant that could be installed on the site was designed using the theoretical background; and the field visit was done for the proper site reconnaissance. The MATLAB package was used to process the hydrological data and site configuration parameters relationship curves were derived. Due to the flatness of the site a special type of turbine was needed and was selected together with its position within the weir, and then a visit to the factory manufacturing it has been made for further details. The study also involved the estimation of the behavior of the structure in case of extreme event and the influence of the plant on the primary function of the weir was analyzed. Finally the general layout of the designed plant was sketched using AUTOCAD. As it is challenging for new investors or developers who are not professional in hydropower sector, a checklist was prepared to guide them step by step to know what is required beforehand and deciding whether to proceed with the project or not, so this will reduce their expenses both in time and money