17 Exploitation of Rivers in Poland for Electricity …
337
coal-fired power plants from customers, which is associated with a sharp power drop
in steam turbines and the possibility of damaging them.
The second largest hydropower plant in Poland is the Por˛ abka- ˙
Zar power plant
built in 1979. It is also a pumped storage power plant, which has no natural inflow.
The power plant’s output power is 500 MW. The head reservoir of the power plant
with a capacity of approx. 2 million m
3 was built on the top of the ˙
Zar mountain near
Bielsko-Biała. Because the difference in levels between the head and tail reservoir is
440 m with less water flow than in ˙
Zarnowiec, the Por˛ abka- ˙
Zar power plant achieves
little less power. The energy is generated by four reversible Francis units, which are
also used for pumping work. All power plant installations, including the powerhouse,
are located inside the ˙
Zar mountain, and water flows by rock-cut tunnels. Turbine
operation can last up to 4 h and pump work 1.5 h longer [19].
The Solina power plant is much smaller than the previous two. Its maximum
capacity is about 200 MW, finally obtained after modernization carried out in the
years 2000–2003. It is also a pumped storage power plant, but its construction and
functioning are slightly different from the previous two. The reservoir of the power
plant was built on the San River near the village of Myczkowce. It is, therefore,
a pumped storage power plant with its inflow, which on average is about 20 m
3 /s
(so it should be called mixed pumped storage HP). The power plant’s reservoir is
maintained by a heavy concrete dam. It allowed the creation of the Solina reservoir
in the San River Valley and its tributaries. The reservoir collects water from the
Bieszczady region. The water head can reach a maximum of 60 m. The Solina
power plant is equipped with four reversible Francis pump-turbine units of 50 MW
each. The annual energy production is about 85 GWh from inflow water and about
25 GWh from pumped back water. Below the Solina Power Plant, there is a 8.3 MW
Myczkowce hydropower plant that also indirectly uses the water collected behind
the Solina dam [20].
The biggest run-of-river plant in Poland is the Włocławek power plant on the
Vistula, with a maximum output of 160.2 MW. The channelized stage, which includes
the hydroelectric power plant, was officially opened on October 17, 1970. It was the
first object of the planned serial construction of the Vistula with 8–9 channelized
stages, which were to constitute the so-called cascade of the lower Vistula. The
regulation of the river in its lower course was supposed to equalize the flow and
secure further reservoirs against the erosion of the Vistula river bed below the dam.
Currently, the plans for the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in Siarzewo
are planned, the date of commissioning is estimated for 2025.
As a result of the construction of the dam in Włocławek, the head of the power
plant up to 8.8 m was obtained. The original dam height calculated in the design
phase (11.8 m) has systematically increased as a result of erosion changes of the
tail pool, and currently, it is 12.83 m after reconstruction of the dam. Due to the
environmental issues and the technical condition of the Włocławek dam, since 2002
the power plant has been operating in a run-of-river system, using the current flow
to the size of the maximum flow of the turbines, i.e. 2190 m
3 /s [21]. This allows for
the production of approximately 740 GWh of electricity per year.
337
coal-fired power plants from customers, which is associated with a sharp power drop
in steam turbines and the possibility of damaging them.
The second largest hydropower plant in Poland is the Por˛ abka- ˙
Zar power plant
built in 1979. It is also a pumped storage power plant, which has no natural inflow.
The power plant’s output power is 500 MW. The head reservoir of the power plant
with a capacity of approx. 2 million m
3 was built on the top of the ˙
Zar mountain near
Bielsko-Biała. Because the difference in levels between the head and tail reservoir is
440 m with less water flow than in ˙
Zarnowiec, the Por˛ abka- ˙
Zar power plant achieves
little less power. The energy is generated by four reversible Francis units, which are
also used for pumping work. All power plant installations, including the powerhouse,
are located inside the ˙
Zar mountain, and water flows by rock-cut tunnels. Turbine
operation can last up to 4 h and pump work 1.5 h longer [19].
The Solina power plant is much smaller than the previous two. Its maximum
capacity is about 200 MW, finally obtained after modernization carried out in the
years 2000–2003. It is also a pumped storage power plant, but its construction and
functioning are slightly different from the previous two. The reservoir of the power
plant was built on the San River near the village of Myczkowce. It is, therefore,
a pumped storage power plant with its inflow, which on average is about 20 m
3 /s
(so it should be called mixed pumped storage HP). The power plant’s reservoir is
maintained by a heavy concrete dam. It allowed the creation of the Solina reservoir
in the San River Valley and its tributaries. The reservoir collects water from the
Bieszczady region. The water head can reach a maximum of 60 m. The Solina
power plant is equipped with four reversible Francis pump-turbine units of 50 MW
each. The annual energy production is about 85 GWh from inflow water and about
25 GWh from pumped back water. Below the Solina Power Plant, there is a 8.3 MW
Myczkowce hydropower plant that also indirectly uses the water collected behind
the Solina dam [20].
The biggest run-of-river plant in Poland is the Włocławek power plant on the
Vistula, with a maximum output of 160.2 MW. The channelized stage, which includes
the hydroelectric power plant, was officially opened on October 17, 1970. It was the
first object of the planned serial construction of the Vistula with 8–9 channelized
stages, which were to constitute the so-called cascade of the lower Vistula. The
regulation of the river in its lower course was supposed to equalize the flow and
secure further reservoirs against the erosion of the Vistula river bed below the dam.
Currently, the plans for the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in Siarzewo
are planned, the date of commissioning is estimated for 2025.
As a result of the construction of the dam in Włocławek, the head of the power
plant up to 8.8 m was obtained. The original dam height calculated in the design
phase (11.8 m) has systematically increased as a result of erosion changes of the
tail pool, and currently, it is 12.83 m after reconstruction of the dam. Due to the
environmental issues and the technical condition of the Włocławek dam, since 2002
the power plant has been operating in a run-of-river system, using the current flow
to the size of the maximum flow of the turbines, i.e. 2190 m
3 /s [21]. This allows for
the production of approximately 740 GWh of electricity per year.