Energy Recovery Using Hydropower in TRANSCO Water Transmission System

Abstract

Recent years have seen a growing interest among researchers in Energy Recovery within the water sector. Water transmission systems inherently possess untapped hydropower potential, which, if harnessed, can offset electrical demands and be reintegrated into the local power grid. One practical approach to enhancing energy recovery is replacing pressure-reducing valves (PRVs) with hydropower turbines. To address this, this thesis introduces an optimization technique aimed at identifying the optimal location for establishing a hydropower turbine in a water transmission system to recover energy. This method applies a local searched algorithm programmed in Python, interfacing with hydraulic simulation software powered by EPANET. This thesis evaluated the potential of hydropower energy recovery and the feasibility of economic analysis on three distinct case studies. TRANSCO network has been analyses as one case study. The results show annual energy recovered of 131, 49, and 328 MWh/year, respectively, with the TRANSCO system notably recuperating 30-40% of the previously lost energy. The maximum NPV was presented in three sites for a range of 55,000 to 960,000 AED. The benchmark networks are the basis for validating the proposed approach, which converges to the best solution. This study participated in achieving a good optimization model to recover energy and enhance sustainability.

Date of Award	14 Dec 2023
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Andrei Sleptchenko (Supervisor)