Speed Regulation Study for Bay D’Espoir Hydroelectric Generating Station

Abstract

An island-wide power network has recently been built in Newfoundland, linking together the various local power systems for the first time. Power for this network will be provided from Bay d’Espoir powerhouse. Since most of the power stations already in operation are small and have slow governor times, it was important that the Bay d’Espoir units be able to respond quickly to major changes of load. A detailed study was therefore carried out using a computer to optimize the design parameters, the results obtained providing a detailed picture of the frequency changes resulting from various load changes on the system, and the corresponding water hammer and surge tank level fluctuations. A second study, now under way for the next stage of the project, shows the effect of increased load changes on the larger system.