Hydro power caverns
Largest PSP cavern heads (m): San Fiorano, Italy
Edolo, Italy
Bissorte 2, France Omarugawa, Japan Entraque, Italy
Grandmaison, France La Coche, France Bissorte 2, France Veytaux, Switzerland Aurland, Norway
Largest conventional cavern net heads (m):
1400 1200 1160 1040 1020 950 940 877 865 850
Largest surge caverns according to volume (m3
):
Xiluodu, China (x2) Baihetan, China
La Grande 2, Canada Longtan, China
Shuangjiangkou, China Dachaoshan, China Yebatan, China Yageng 2, China Guandi, China
Lianghekou, China Ertan, China
545,000 471,000 446,000 309,000 309,000 256,000 253,000 248,000 229,000 203,000 206,000
Largest power tunnels according to length (m):
Karahnjukar, Iceland Shuakhevi, Georgia Longtan, China
Shuangjiangkou, China La Grande 2, Canada Gilgel Gibe 2, Ethiopia Dachaoshan, China Ertan, China
Cabora Bassa, Mozambique La Grande 2A, Canada Xinma, China
39,700 37,400 32,000 31,000 27,000 26,000 25,800 24,800 24,000 23,400 22,975
Largest tailrace tunnels according to length (m):
Torrejon, Spain
Rio Grande, Argentina Kodali, India Taloro, Italy
Caraguatatuba, Brazil Tianchi, China Minghu, Taiwan
Kazunogawa, Japan Mossul 3, Iraq
Three plants with
Largest design flows for PSP caverns (m3
/sec):
Sardar Sarovar, India Tai’an, China
Bailanhe, China
Shin Takase, Japan Torrejon, Spain
1260 1040 740 670 650
6000 5500 4800 4000 3800 3160 2800 3200 2800
L = 2500 Fortun, Norway
Curciusa, Switzerland L. Kihansi, Tanzania Acri 1, Italy
Karahnjukar, Iceland Retezat, Romania Fljotsdallur, Iceland Teesta 1, India Lomi, Norway
Miel & San Carlos, Colombia
975 942 850 630 600 582 580 577 560 555
Largest surge shafts according to volume (m3
):
Bursar, India (planned) Jinping 1, China (x2) Wangchhu, India Ram Pur, India Teesta IV, India Luhri, India
Nuozhadu, China Larji, India Boinu, India
Cirata, Indonesia Shongtong, India
120,000 106,000 85,000 84,000 84,000 79,000 79,000 76,000 75,000 74,000 73,000
Largest tailrace tunnels according to length (m):
Manapouri, NewZealand Karuma, Uganda Zhinvali, Georgia Fortuna, Panama Canicada, Portugal Beles, Ethiopia
Lower Cunene, Angola Fulpmes, Austria
Alto Lindoso, Portugal
10,000 8600 8600 8100 7500 7100 7000 5200 5000
NB: All conventional plants. Smaller tailrace lengths result for pumped storage plants.
Largest transformer caverns according to volume (m3
):
Laxiwa, China Longtan, China
Baihetan, China (x2) Xiluodu, China (x2)
Wudongde, China (x2) Nuozhadu, China Karun 3, Iran
Mambilla, Nigeria Rogun, Tajikistan
336,000 220,000 200,000 157,000 153,000 138,000 130,000 123,000 116,000
tunnels, with an average length of 5000m and 1000m, respectively, are also listed. Average tailrace tunnel length for the 34 new plants included in this edition of the Yearbook increases to 1275m. Representative hydro cavern dimensions for the 190 pumped storage plants and 610 conventional plants are 4 x 190MW, 23m x 42.5m x 123m, v = 97,000m3 and 4 x 100MW, 20m x 35.5m x 93m, v = 60,000m3
, ,
respectively: Typical total flow rates are Q = 365m3
= 270m3
Francis turbine plants, and Q = 40m3 264m3
/sec and Q
/sec for conventional and pumped storage /sec and Q =
/sec for Pelton and Kaplan turbines, respectively.
Average power shaft sizes are 190MW, d = 22, h = 55m, v = 20,000m3
for the 46 pumped storage caverns
listed, and 100MW, d = 20, h = 42m, and v = 13,000m3 for the 37 conventional plants listed. These values may be biased towards larger turbine sizes since it is often only these types of projects which are reported within the hydro industry’s journals. The 37 conventional and 46 pumped storage hydro
shaft plants listed house 76 and 102 units, respectively, with an average net water head of approximately 295m. Of the 27 and 36 listed shapes at shafts there are 20 and 23 circular shapes for conventional and pumped storage plants, respectively. Average values of 16 and 32 power tunnel lengths are similar with L = ~1800m. Typical total flow rates are Q = 260m3 225m3
/sec and Q = /sec, respectively.
Currently, global installed hydropower capacity stands at 1389GW, with total installed capacity at hydro caverns taken from the published data to be at least 420,000MW, including 23,000MW at shaft power houses, 27,000MW planned for China, 26,000MW planned for India, and 32,000MW elsewhere. Construction of 80 of the 160 hydro plants planned or under construction for this decade will be in India to coincide with the country’s ongoing 50,000MW by 2020 initiative. Another 8600MW planned in Pakistan have not been included.
1. The largest hydropower excavations To rank within the ten largest caverns worldwide
each plant needs to exceed the following values: width >32m, height >74m, length >330m, section area >2000m2
, excavation volume >460,000m3 , total/
unit capacity >4200MW/>500MW. To rank within the largest pumped storage caverns the following values need to be exceeded: 1200MW capacity, 160,000m3 excavation volume, and flow volume of 2000m3
/
sec. To rank within the ten largest transformer halls a volume of 110,000m3
needs to be exceeded
With regard to criteria such as cavern height, length, excavated area and volume, and total installed capacity, seven of the ten largest caverns have either been completed or are currently under construction in China. The most prominent cavern plants with the largest net water head are situated in France, Italy, Peru, and Switzerland; and plants with the longest tunnel lengths are most prominent in Iceland, France, Ethiopia, Ecuador, and India. To rank within the top ten plants with the longest tailrace tunnel lengths, 5000m and 2500m have to be exceeded for conventional and pumped storage plants, respectively. It is also interesting to discover how frequently smaller caverns with a small total installed turbine capacity were found to be competitive by
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