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HARNESSING HYDROPOWER IN NORTH-EASTERN POLAND
Abstract
Poland has been long harnessing hydraulic energy despite the absence of supportive conditions for hydropower development. According to the Energy Regulatory Office, there were 721 hydropower plants in Poland in 2014. Electric power generation in small and medium-sized hydropower plants is characterized by minor fluctuations, in particular in comparison with other sources of renewable energy. In a given period, the observed changes in power output result mainly from variations in operating conditions. Hydropower resources are determined by two factors: the slope of the riverbed and water flow rate. Poland is a lowland country with relatively low levels of precipitation and permeable soils, and these factors significantly limit the availability of hydropower resources. The study was conducted in a complex of 4 hydropower plants with the combined output of 3,762 MW, situated on the Lyna River in north-eastern Poland. The combined output of the examined hydropower plants, which operate a total of 8 hydroelectric generators, was examined over a 7-year period (2011-2017). In the analyzed hydropower plants, the highest average output was observed in the spring months with a peak of 256 MWh in March 2017 and an average of 187 MWh in 2007-2017. The minimum average monthly output below 120 MWh was noted in the summer months (June-September). The output of every hydropower plant was also analyzed individually in view of downtimes and outages. The hydroelectric generators in plant Braswald with the highest nominal ratings (16% and 18%), plant Lyna (11%), plant Kotowo (9% and 9%) had the highest share of energy production in the hydropower complex. The power generation capacity of every hydroelectric generator was also calculated. The hydroelectric generator in plant Braswald was characterized by the highest generation capacity of 66%, whereas plant Lyna was characterized by the lowest generation capacity of 47%.
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References6
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