Assessing Power Generation and Financial Viability of Hydrokinetic Farms in Canal Environments with Varying Turbine Diameters: A Case Study

The growing need to expand renewable energy generation has drawn attention to hydrokinetic technology. This study evaluates the impact of turbine size on the techno-economic viability of a hydrokinetic farm through a case study of a canal in Uttarakhand, India. Two configurations, one with 0.5 m diameter helical Savonius turbine (Case 1) and the other with 1.0 m diameter helical Savonius turbine (Case 2), both deployed over a 1 km canal stretch, have been investigated. For cases 1 and 2, the total number of installed turbines is calculated as 850 and 200, respectively. The net annual energy generation is estimated as 2.57 GWh for Case 1 and 2.42 GWh for Case 2. The total capital expenditure has been found to be USD 0.736 million for Case 1 and USD 0.528 million for Case 2. The levelized tariffs are calculated as 0.058 USD/kWh and 0.045 USD/kWh for Case 1 and Case 2, respectively. Further, sensitivity analysis revealed that capital expenditure is the most influential parameter, followed by O&M expenses and discount rate. Overall, the study highlights that Case 2 offers better techno-economic viability than Case 1, providing useful insights for researchers, developers, and investors in planning hydrokinetic farms.