The formulation of profitability evaluation approach of small hydroelectric generation through the use of runoff analysis

Abstract

 The novel exploitation of hydroelectric generation has been challenging yet because of the inadequate observation flow data and the difficulty of profitability evaluation, although hydroelectric generation can maintain stable energy supply. Therefore we formulated the profitability evaluation approach of small hydroelectric generation using runoff analysis. This approach was composed of electric generation unit price evaluation and profitability evaluation. In the former evaluation, optimized calculation was conducted to decide the relationship between the pipe and the peak rated output to obtain lowest generation unit price. In the latter evaluation, the construction cost recovery was estimated by electric power selling income based on Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and operational cost. The approach was applied to case study site, and then we discussed the impact of pipe type and the length on the profitability.