Pre-feasibility study of upper pikhuwa khola hydropower project (5.28 mw)

Abstract

This project and study, namely �Pre-feasibility study of Upper Pikhuwa Khola Hydropower Project,� aims to determine the feasibility of the project. The project site is located in Bhojpur district, which is accessible at about 315 km from Kathmandu. The project started with a desk study, collecting relevant guidelines and codes, and outlining the tasks that was needed to be carried out during the project. Phase I of the project included the hydrological analysis. The hydrological and meteorological data was collected from Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Average rainfall computation was done using Thiessen Polygon Method and Isohyetal Method. Flow analysis was done to determine the discharge design. The MIP method was adopted and design discharge was found to be 2.664 m3/s. Flood analysis for high flood, construction flood, and low flow was done using different methods like Gumbel Extreme Value Distribution, Log Normal Distribution Method, etc. Phase II of the project included Hydraulic Analysis, Cost Estimation and Financial Analysis. Different components of the headwork and the conveyance system were designed. The alignment starting from the headwork and ending at the powerhouse and the tailrace was set using the survey data. The tunnel length was 3070m and the length of the penstock map was 695m. Pelton turbine was selected due to the high head and low discharge of the project. The net head of the project was found to be 228.948m and finally installed capacity was calculated to be 5.28MW. The total cost of the project was estimated to be NRs. 1,13,86,37,780. The saleable energy of 26.258 GWhr helps to collect NRs. 14,22,79,000 annual income and NRs. 13,31,69,898 net annual income. The project feasibility was positive with both modified B/C ratio and conventional B/C ratio greater than 1. There were many limitations to the project. Site visit was not carried out and design was based on secondary data obtained from different sources. However, with the primary focus on the hydraulic design of civil structures and their sizing and arrangements concerning local constraints and suitability, the project was timely completed.