Alternativas para regulação de velocidade de turbinas em micro centrais hidrelétricas

Abstract

Although the access to electricity by the population is increasing in Brazil, some isolated communities still live withlack of electricity supply. Hence, rural electricity grid periodically suffers from supply interruptions mainly due to weather conditions, which causes damage to those who are its dependents. The use of micro-hydroelectric power plants can alleviate the problem of interruptions in supply, in addition to providing other advantages such as a reduction in electricity costs. However, the cost of implementing micro-plants with commercial equipment (particularly the speed regulator) is relatively high and consequently inhibiting and discouraging the diffusion of this type of generation. Thus, this work presents a study through a literature review to evaluate alternatives for replacing commercial speed regulators by other alternatives that make use of non-trivial techniques such as auxiliary load implemented with electronic devices. It is evident that speed regulation maintains the balance of active power between generation and load, resulting in speed and frequency kept within a viable operating range. It is thus emphasized that the need to discuss alternative methods for speed regulation of turbine/generator sets, aims to serve a population that lacks solutions for small hydraulic applications, and that a complementary power generation system can supply temporary losses distribution networks and minimize their economic impacts.