Derivation of Flow Duration Curves to Estimate Hydropower Generation Potential in Data-Scarce Regions

Abstract

Small-scale hydropower is a robust and reliable form of sustainable energy supply in remote areas. On the one hand, the potential for hydropower generation depends on the specific climate in a given place, and precipitation above all. On the other hand, such potential also depends on the catchment's characteristics, e.g., topography, land use, and soils. In the absence of discharge measurements, the available river flow for hydropower production can be estimated in the form of a flow duration curve based on these variables. In this study, the lumped rainfall-runoff method by Crawford and Thurin (1981) was modified to calculate a flow duration curve with a daily time step for an ungauged catchment in Nicaragua. Satisfactory results could be obtained by calibrating the method with the aid of a few discharge measurements. Best results were obtained with a parameter set for groundwater flow and recharge to groundwater from excess soil moisture of 0.014 and 0.6, respectively. Considering the climate and catchment characteristics of the study site, this parameterization can be physically reasoned.

System Dynamics Approach for Assessing the Behaviour of the Lim Reservoir System (Serbia) under Changing Climate Conditions

“…The Kokin Brod and Radojnja reservoirs are located on the downstream river section ( Figure 1a The assessment of the climate-related impacts on the hydropower generation of the Lim water system has been performed in [19]. A traditional engineering approach (flow duration analyses under present and future climates) was used to estimate the impacts of the changing climate on the hydropower generation [20]. This study extends the World Bank analyses using an approach based on the system analysis and simulation of climate-related impacts on the Lim water system [1].…”

“…Two RCMs are used for further hydroenergetic analysis under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 concentration scenarios, namely CCLM 4-8-19 and ALADIN 5.2 [19]. The study uses the traditional engineering approach based on the flow duration curve under climate change [20]. This approach allows the estimation of the percentage of corresponding turbines working time.…”

“…For example, the estimated annual change in the electricity production for the Potpec reservoir is from −7.9% to +2.7% (Table 3). Since the seasonality adds an important variation in the hydropower generation, the traditional approach based on the flow duration curve is not capable of capturing the changes in the seasonal power generation [20]. Higher temperature over the year will modify the seasonality of the inflows available for the hydropower generation [38].…”

Daily Power Generation Forecasting Method for a Group of Small Hydropower Stations Considering the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Precipitation—South China Case Study

“…Paper [5] took the entire area of small hydropower as the object and assimilated snow observations to improve the forecasting results of power generation capacity of small hydropower in snow-rich areas. Paper [6] decomposed the power generation load of small hydropower into meteorological load components and long-term trend load components and predicted the power generation load of small hydropower by establishing a regression relationship between meteorological factors and meteorological load and a prediction model of long-term trend load characteristics. Paper [7] introduced the concept of regional synchronization characteristics of small hydropower generation for the modeling of small hydropower output based on the differences in climatic conditions in different regions.…”

Harnessing Hydropower Potential in Desert Regions: The Case of Wadi Dayqah Dam, Quriyat, Oman

“…The earlier scheme can be divided to small dams having regulations at night and day times or large dams having storage that are seasonal or pumped typed (U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Power Resource Office, 2005; International Renewable Energy Agency, 2015). The run-of-the-river scheme is usually employed in small hydropower technology (Schramm et al, 2016;Botelho et al, 2017;Reichl and Hack, 2017), with little or no environmental impacts, compared with large hydropower plants that could raise both environmental and social concerns due to their effects on water availability, ecosystems, and population in the region.…”