PRITAM SHRESTHA

Roll no. 26

CHAMELIYA HYDROPOWER PROJECT

INTRODUCTION:
The Chameliya Hydroelectric Project is proposed on Chameliya River in Darchula
District of the Far-western Development Region of Nepal. Chameliya
Hydroelectricity Project, of national pride, based at Balach, Shailya Shikhar
Municipality-1 of the district Darchula. The project is designed as a run-of-river
scheme with a six-hour peaking capacity It has an installed capacity of 30 MW
generated through a gross head of 103. 7 m and a design discharge of 36 cubic metre
per second. It is estimated to generate an average annual energy of 184. 2 GWh.
The principal objective of the proposed consulting services is to provide technical
support to POD in implementation of the CHEP

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated Chameliya Hydropower Project,

one of the most expensive hydropower projects in terms of cost per megawatt (MW).
After the 30MW peaking run-of-the-river project completed entire tests of two
production units, PM Deuba inaugurated the power plant by switching on the power
house marking the commercial electricity generation.

With the commercial operation of Chameliya Hydropower Project, located in

Darchula district in the country’s Farwest, has become the largest hydropower project
in Provience-7.

At present, the project has the capacity to produce electricity under full capacity for
six hours day when the electricity demand is at peak. However, the project office has
said it will generate electricity as directed by the load dispatch centre of the Nepal
Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power utility and the owner of the
project.

The electricity generated by the project will be evacuated to the national power grid
via the 132kV Blanch-Attariya transmission line. The 131-km transmission line will
be used to transmit the electricity produced in Darchula to the business hub of
Attariya in the Farwest.

The construction of Chameliya started in January 2008 and was originally scheduled
to be completed by June 2011 at a cost of Rs8 billion. But the completion date was
pushed back repeatedly due to disputes between NEA and the contractors.
Consequently, the overrun has inflated the project cost to around Rs15 billion.

The project faced the biggest hurdle in May 2014 when all works came to a grinding
halt following the government’s refusal to make an additional payment of Rs1.09
billion. The contractor agreed to resume work after being summoned to the Energy
Ministry by then energy minister Janardan Sharma. The Chinese contractor for the
project, which returned to work in October 2016, then speeded up works and
completed the construction within the deadline.
The project will produce 184.2 million units of power annually. It will make an
annual income of Rs 1.10 billion, it is stated.

It took nearly 11 years for the construction of the project, which is constructed by the
China Gezhouba Company Limited.
Korea Hydro and Nuclear Company, the contractor of electro-mechanical and hydro-
mechanical works as well as the construction of transmission lines of the 30
MW Chameliya Hydropower Project , has warned the Nepal Electricity Authority
that it would walk out on the contract unless it is compensated for delay in civil works.
Civil works precede the electro-mechanic and hydro mechanical works and Chinese
contractor China Gezhouba Water and Power (Group) has been working on civil
works. The South Korean contractor has complained that the delay in civil works is
holding them back from starting their share of works in the project.
MAIN PARTS OF HYDRO POWER STATION
Hydrology (Intake)

Catchment Area 835 km2

Design Discharge 36 cumec

Powerhouse

Power House Semi-underground

Waterways

Headrace Tunnel – Length 4067m

Penstock – Length 383.64m

Penstock -Diameter 3.7m

Surge Tank Restricted orifice

Turbine

Type Vertical Shaft Francis

Number of Units 2

Salient Features
Type of Project : Run-off- river plant with (6 hours daily peaking)
Catchment area : 835 Km2
Gross head : 103.7m
Design discharge : 36 cumec (38% exceedance flow)
Installed capacity : 30 MW
Dam : Concrete with gated weir
Desanding basin
Type : Underground
Number of basin : 2
Headrace Tunnel
Tunnel Type : Horse shoe, Pressure tunnel
Length/diameter : 4067m/5.2m (4.2 m)
Type of surge tank : Restricted orifice
Surge tank diameter/height: 8.0m/49.8m
Penstock length/diameter: 383.64m/3.7m
Powerhouse
Type : Semi-underground
Length/Width/height: 37.5m/23.5m/27.4m
Turbine
Type of turbine : Vertical Shaft Francis
Number of unit : 2
Tailrace : Cut and cover box culvert
Transmission Line : 132 kV/131km long
Access Road : 18 km
Annual Energy : 184.21 GWh
Components of A Chameliya Hydropower Project:
The major components of a hydroelectric scheme are listed here under as (1) to (8).
(1) Diversion and Intake structure
(2) Water Conductor system
(3) Desilting chamber
(4) Forebay, Balancing Reservoir and Spilling arrangements
(5) Penstock
(6) Surge Tank
(7) Power House Comprising of turbine, generator, inlet valve and other auxiliary
systems like cooling water, drainage and dewatering systems, auxiliary power
system and equipment, emergency and standby power system and equipment,
lighting system and equipment, instrumentation protection and control system and
equipment, ventilation system and equipment, station grounding, fire fighting
equipment and system.
(8) Tail Race Channel
The hydroelectric stations on irrigation canals and dams are generally low head
schemes consequently have fewer components. Small hydro schemes on cooling
water channel of thermal power stations are typically low head schemes.

Dam:
Dam is a barrier across the river to store water in upstream side and to raise water
level. Dams and weirs are primarily intended to divert the river flow into the water
conveyance system leading to the powerhouse. Dams also produce additional head
and provide storage capacity. Hence the dam fulfils two functions,
• Develop a reservoir which has a capacity to store water
• Builds up the head and thus , potential for the river water
There are different types of dam according to different basis . The dam used in
Chameliya HEP is concrete gravity dam with height 54 metre and length of 88 metre.
Concrete gravity dam is a solid concrete or masonry dam in which all the pressure
like – water, wave , uplift, etc. are resisted weight or gravity forces.
 Fig: Dam Fig: Reservoir

Spillway:
Spillway are required in headrace canals to spill excess flows during the monsoon
and in case of obstruction in the canals. Similarly, spillways are also required at the
forebay to spill the entire design flow in case of sudden valve closure at the power
house. Spillway should be provided as close to the intake as possible so that the
excess flows can be diverted away from the system as early as possible.
 Fig: 2 Radial gate with 7*13.5m each

Diversion tunnel:
A diversion tunnel is either a permanent or temporary tunnel built essentially for the
purpose of diverting something away from something else. The most common use of
a diversion tunnel is to divert water.
For example, diversion tunnels are common in the construction of dams. When a dam
is built, a tunnel is bored in order to divert water away from the dam construction site
so that it essentially bypasses it, hence the term diversion tunnel.
A diversion tunnel may also be constructed to divert floodwaters in order to alleviate
flooding, or to divert water from mountainous regions to areas experiencing a water
shortage supply.
The diversion tunnel of Chameliya is 210m long, 4.2m diameter and is of inverted
D-shaped.
 Fig: Diversion tunnel

Intake:
An intake structure is an arrangement by which water is diverted for the required
use. The intake is an arrangement which allows water to be taken from its source and
then discharged into the conveyance system from where it is led to the desired use
(e.g. hydroelectric power generation). Arrangements for routing high flood discharge
are also made.
Based on operating heads intakes may be classified as: (a) Low head intake (b)
Medium head intake and (c) high head intake.

In Chameliya there is side intake two orifice type 3*8m each.

Desanding basin:
Desanding facilities are typically placed between the water intake and the penstock,
and reduce the load and mean particle size of suspended sediments in the turbine
water and thus limiting hydro-abrasive wear of hydro-mechanical equipment
In Chameliya there is two underground basins with 80*12*25m each.

Head Race Tunnel:

Headrace Tunnel means the tunnel which conveys water from the water intake to the
powerhouse, to be designed and constructed by Contractor under this Contract.
The length of the headrace can vary from a few meters to several kilometers.
In Chameliya hydropower, Headrace tunnel is a tunnel of length 4067 m with
horseshoeshape shaped 5.2m and 4.2m diameter.
Surge tank:
A surge tank (or surge drum or surge pool) is a standpipe or storage reservoir at the
downstream end of a closed aqueduct, feeder, dam, barrage pipe to absorb sudden
rises of pressure, as well as to quickly provide extra water during a brief drop in
pressure.
In Chameliya the surge tank is restricted orifice with 8m diameter 48.4m high.

Penstock
A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an
enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems.

Powerhouse
The structure that houses generators and turbines at a hydropower facility.
Semi underground, 37.5m*23.5m*27.4m
Tailrace:
The tail race, containing tail water, is a channel that carries water away from a
hydroelectric plant or water wheel. The water in this channel has already been used
to rotate turbine blades or the water wheel itself.
Tailrace is box culvert and open channel with 617m.
Turbine:
Turbines convert the energy of rushing water, steam or wind into mechanical energy
to drive a generator.
2 Francis turbine with 15 MW each.
Generator
The generator transforms the mechanical energy into electricity. synchronous
generator is selected for hydropower plant
2/3 phase synchronous generator , 4228.6 rpm speed.

Switch yard:
Switchyard is a switching station which is the main link between the generating plant
and the transmission system. It can be considered as the heart of the power plant, the
generated power will only be worthy if it can be transmitted and received by the
consumers. Switchyard is a junction which carries the generated power to the
destination.
Transmission Line:
Transmission lines carry electric energy from one point to another in an electric
power system. They can carry alternating current or direct current or a system can be
a combination of both. Also, electric current can be carried by either overhead or
underground lines.
132 KV, 131 km single phase to Attariya sub station.