Insight |


Strong potential


Research has been carried out to assess pumped storage potential across the Himalayas in Nepal, and to ensure Swiss hydropower maintains its prowess


Above: A Swiss delegation recently visited Nant de Drance pumped storage project in Switzerland – and use existing


Below: Research by Baniya et al published in Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments has looked into the potential for pumped storage hydropower across the Himalayas in Nepal


ALTHOUGH A PROVEN TECHNOLOGY in Switzerland, work is constantly underway to ensure that hydropower remains the backbone of the country’s future electricity supply system. As Robert Boes, head of the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology at ETH Zurich says: “If we don’t, electricity production and storage at existing plants will slowly erode.” Tackling some of the various challenges that the


hydro industry faces, the university has recently been addressing the water management of run-of-river power plants. ETH Zurich researchers have shown that if Lake Zurich’s water level is managed in line with an adapted regulation, power plants along the River Limmat can generate almost two percent more electricity.


There are 11 run-of-river power plants along this 36km river that flows from Lake Zurich until it meets the River Aare, while authorities use the weir system at Zurich’s Platzspitz park to regulate lake levels and the amount of water that flows into the river. Boes explains how increased efficiency could arise


from a new management strategy which optimises weir regulation and: Permits lake water levels to be higher under current regulations.


Uses weather models to better adjust water level regulation in Lake Zurich to expected precipitation and inflow volumes. Generally, the more evenly water flows into run-of- river plants, the more electricity they can produce. Especially in the case of small and medium levels of high water, the new regulations would make better use of the additional water present. Boes explained that if the weather model predicts heavy rain, the smart weir system would release a little more water into the Limmat ahead of time. Then, when the predicted rain arrives, the lake would have more of a buffer and could continue to release water evenly into the Limmat despite the heavy rainfall, and would prevent the turbines from being overloaded by too much water. Obviously, Boes adds, water managers would still have to comply with high-water regulations as well as ecological and other requirements. The research has shown that similar adaptations would also be possible on other Swiss rivers downstream of Alpine lakes. The ETH Zurich team estimate that electricity production from such run- of-river power plants could be increased by around 100GWh/year if weir systems were managed more


8 | Yearbook 2024 | www.waterpowermagazine.com


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