Performance evaluation of micro-hydro power plant based on a case study of 2 × 650 kW

Indonesia has been acknowledged as a country with abundant renewable energy, one of which is water energy. The potential for water energy in Indonesia has been immense, comprising approximately of75,000 MW. However, from the abundance of existing energy, Indonesia could solely maximize around 7% from the existing capacity. One of the functions is the establishment of a hydroelectric power plant. Mini-hydro Power Plant (MHPP), hereinafter referred to as MHPP, is a small-scale power plant that utilizes hydropower under a capacity of 1 MW generated from irrigation channels, rivers, or natural waterfalls, by utilizing the height of the falls and the amount of discharged water, stipulated in the Regulation of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources No. 08 of 2011. Lodagung MHPP, situated in Ludoyo District, Blitar Regency is managed by PT. Jasa Tirta 1. Lodagung MHPP operates by utilizing irrigation canals, originally utilized to channel water from the dam to the rice fields. The Lodagung MHPP has 2 generating units of 2 × 650 kW, initially operating in 2017. Upon observing that the Lodagung MHPP is regarded asa new MHPP, this study aims to analyze the performance evaluation by utilizing Matlab Simulink modeling, further compared with the output power and generated by the generator. The results of the research on the Lodagung MHPP indicated that the Hgross parameter value was 13.25 m, the Hloss value was 2.681 m, and the Hnet was 10.569 m. The power generation for the duration of 10 months obtained the average value of the sensor on the turbine of 1024.72 and power on the generator of 968.40, while the turbine results in the Simulink simulation were 1120.63 and the generator was 1059.18. The comparison result of the power difference between the turbine and generator was 95.91 indicating an error of 8%.