Mekong River – Xayaburi

Hydrolometeorological monitoring & Forecasting System for power production

The Government of Laos (GOL) has given Xayaburi Power Company Limited (XPCL) the Concession to develop and operate the Xayaburi Run-of-River Hydropower Project along the Mekong in the Xayaburi Province.
Xayaburi Project consists of a Power Station with seven Kaplan units of 175MW and 1 smaller unit of 60 MW, totaling to an installed capacity of 1,285 MW and expect yearly energy production around 7,000 GWh. Furthermore the Project features a two stage navigation lock, a spillway with seven surface and 4 low level outlet gates and an intermediate block. Extensive provisions for both upstream- and downstream migration of fish have been included.
Construction started in 2012 and completion is foreseen in 2019. Following an initial request from the Government of Lao PDR, CNR assists XPCL for the development and deployment of a hydrometeorological monitoring and forecasting system, with the same strategy as the tools developed on the CNR’s cascade of run-of-river plants along the Rhone River in France. XPCL has contracted CNR to develop and install an accurate and operational hydrometeorological forecasting system in order to accurately forecast Mekong river flows:
. during construction to ensure site safety regarding flooding,
. and during operation phase to address safety and hydraulic issues and to improve XPCL’s forecasting of energy declaration to the Thai Offtaker.

Detail of the equipment used:

The development of the forecasting chain is carried out step by step in order to take into account the climatology of the main Mekong river course (with the alternation of dry and wet seasons) and the main construction phases of the development.

Hydrometric network : 10 measuring stations, designed by CNR, have been built. On these stations, CNR has also assisted XPCL for the measurement of flows and the establishment of calibration curves.

Development of a hydrometeorological forecasting system. CNR has also developed and installed an operational hydro-meteorological forecasting system in order to accurately predict :
. the levels and flows during the construction phase to ensure the safety of the construction site and to anticipate the risks of flooding and submersion of the protective dike of the construction site,
. flows and energy production during the operation phase not only to ensure the hydraulic safety of the development but also to optimize production management and enable XPCL to meet its commitments to the operator of the Thai electricity grid (EGAT) to whom the energy produced will be sold.

Simulation of daily déclarations:At the end of Phase 1 of the project, CNR started Phase 2 during 2015 in order to start simulating the daily declarations that XPCL has to submit to EGAT every day.

Modeling and simulation of weekly déclarations: In 2016, CNR developed a model for weekly forecasting based on ensemble weather forecasts. This model was developed in CNR's hydrometeorological forecasting system. CNR also simulated the weekly statement that XPCL must submit to EGAT every Wednesday (Phase 3).

Transfer of computer tools and training : In early 2017, CNR transferred the IT tools to XPCL at its premises in Bangkok (Phase 4). This transfer was accompanied by training sessions on the tools developed and expertise in hydrometeorological forecasting, production and reporting to EGAT, so that XPCL will be operational when the development is up and running.

Maintenance of the Tools: Since mid-2018, CNR has entered the maintenance phase of the tools deployed on the XPCL server, related to hydrometeorological forecasting and production.