Possibility of Hydropower Development: A Simple-to-Use Index

• Main Author: Agnieszka Operacz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: hydropower potential; renewable sources of energy; hydropower plant; sustainable development; possibility assessment
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2764

A standardized range system based on carefully selected multi-criteria is proposed in this work to assess the feasibility of hydropower implementation. A thought process has been developed as a simple-to-use and easy-to-understand methodology. Today, due to the broad concern for the natural environment, the use of renewable energy sources has become globally popular. Subsequently, such solutions as the application of renewable energy for electricity generation are often considered the most environmentally friendly installations. Unfortunately, no methodology to assess the possibility of hydropower plant realization in either scientific or industry literature has been put forward, and this constitutes a blatant failure. The proposed range system has been designed to use selected information (head, available flow, fish migration, hydrotechnical infrastructure, protected areas, environmental flow, status of surface water body), which is available through a variety of sources that are easy to obtain. From analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of this research method, it was recognized that it is worth propagating and recommending for the practical estimation of the hydropower potential. The author believes that the novel contribution of the paper, which is the innovative range system, will be accepted for common use.