Management

The longevity of the benefits of hydropower schemes lies in the usually long-lasting nature of dams and the ability to extend the operational life of power stations through refurbishment and upgrade.  It is not uncommon that refurbishment and upgrade after 30-40 years will extend the operational life of a hydropower scheme to more than 80 years.  Increasing the generating life of an existing scheme is generally a preferred approach to construction of a new scheme.

The potential for refurbishment and upgrade depends on the age and condition of the plant, and the success of the original design.

Above dam wall capacity gains may include water optimisation to reduce spill, dam wall height extensions to increase storage capacity, and cloud seeding to increase rainfall.  Below dam wall efficiency gains can be obtained from turbine upgrades and replacement of turbine runners.  Further, computational fluid dynamics as a tool in the field of hydro turbine design was first applied only 20 years ago, and equipment installed before this time may have the potential for efficiency gains that this technology offers.  

High quality studies of catchment sediment yield are an essential requirement, and measures can be employed to minimise and mitigate the risk of reservoir siltation.