Question

State any four factors for selection of hydro power plant site. 

Answer 1

Factors governing selection of site for hydroelectric power plant: 1) Availability of water: Primary requirement of hydropower station is availability of huge amount water. 2) Storage of water: Sufficient space should be available to collect the water during high flow period (rainy season) and use it throughout the year. 3) Head of Water: Stored water must have high head as it reduces quantity of water required to run the turbine. 4) Soil condition: It must have sufficient strength to withstand the heavy dam structure. 5) Geographical situation: The location can offer advantage to store huge amount of water and also for dam construction. 6) Transportation facility: The site should be accessible by rail and/or road so that necessary equipment & machinery can be easily transported. 7) Near to the load centre: To reduce the cost of transmission lines, the site should be near to the load centre. 8) Cost of land: The land must be cheaply available. 9) Free from earthquake zone: For safety of huge dam structure and water storage. 10) Silt and debris (unwanted solid particles): The catchment area should be such that there are less accumulation of silt and debris. 11) Water pollution: Water should be free from chemical impurities. 

Answer 2

Following Factors to be kept while site selecting for Hydro power plant:

1) Quantity of water available :-Where high rainfall occures so that sufficent quantity of water can be stored for generation of electricity through out year. 2) Water Storage :-Catchment area must be large to collect water in high flow period and used throughout the year. Water is stored by constructing dam across river. 3) Head of Water :-Stored water must have high head as high head reduces quantity of water required to run the turbine. 4) Hilly Area :- If site is located in hilly area then, it reduces construction cost of dam and for catchment area. 5) Rocky(Hard Murrum) area - To reduce the construction cost of damp and other structure it is necessary that area should be rocky. 6) Free from Earthquake :-The Area should be free from earthquake. 7) Water pollution :- It is necessary to see that water is of good quantity(no chemical impurities) because polluted water make cause corrosion. 8) Silt/debris:- The catchment area should be such that there are less accumulation of silt because capacity of storage reservoir will reduce due to the gradual deposition of silt, debris (means unwanted solid partials) and it should be minimum. 9) Transportation Facility:- The site selected for hydro power station accessible by rail & road so that necessary equipment & machinery could be easily transported. 10)Cost of land:-Cost of land should be less. 11)Near to load centre:-It should be located as far as possible near load center to reduce transmission line cost.

OR

The following are the points to be considered for the selection of site for hydroelectric power station. 1. Abundant quantity of water at reasonable head must be available. 2. It must be possible to construct an economical dam. 3. Transport facilities for workers and material must be made available, i.e., the site should easily be accessible. 4. Availability of labor at a cheaper rate. 5. It should allow strong foundation with low cost. 6. Sittings reduce the reservoir capacity. So, the rate of sitting should not be high. 7. Structures of cultural or historical importance should not be damaged. 8. There should be no possibility of future sources of leakages of water. 9. A large catchments area must be available. 10. During the construction period, it should be possible to divert the stream. 11. Sand, gravel, etc., should be available nearby.