Abstract
This paper describes and validates the HydroCalculator Tool developed by Conservation Strategy Fund. The HydroCalculator Tool allows researchers, policy-makers and citizens to easily assess hydropower feasibility, by calculating traditional financial indicators, such as the levelized cost of energy, as well as greenhouse gas emissions and the economic net present value including emissions costs. Currently, people other than project developers have limited or no access to such information, which stifles informed public debate on electric energy options. Within this context, the use of the HydroCalculator Tool may contribute to the debate, by facilitating access to information. To validate the tool’s greenhouse gas calculations, we replicate two peer-reviewed articles that estimate greenhouse gas emissions from different hydropower plants in the Amazon basin. The estimates calculated by the HydroCalculator Tool are similar to the ones found in both peer-reviewed articles. The results show that hydropower plants can lead to greenhouse gas emissions and that, in some cases, these emissions can be larger than those of alternative energy sources producing the same amount of electricity.
Highlights
Within the energy sector, one of the greatest challenges is to increase electricity supply in an economically feasible way while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions
Clean and renewable sources, such as wind and solar, are becoming increasingly cost competitive, many countries, especially developing countries, are investing in large-scale hydropower plants to simultaneously meet growing demand for electricity and greenhouse gas emission targets. Studies such as Fearnside (2005) [1] and Faria et al (2015) [2] show, that investing in hydropower plants to curb greenhouse gas emissions may not be the best approach as some hydropower plants may pollute as much as thermal power plants
HydroCalculator Tool (HCT) uses a less sophisticated approach, the results found are similar, and, except for two out of 18 hydropower plants, the estimates are within the 95 percent confidence interval calculated in [2]
Summary
One of the greatest challenges is to increase electricity supply in an economically feasible way while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Clean and renewable sources, such as wind and solar, are becoming increasingly cost competitive, many countries, especially developing countries, are investing in large-scale hydropower plants to simultaneously meet growing demand for electricity and greenhouse gas emission targets. Studies such as Fearnside (2005) [1] and Faria et al (2015) [2] show, that investing in hydropower plants to curb greenhouse gas emissions may not be the best approach as some hydropower plants may pollute as much as thermal power plants. Many hydro plants are not subjected to sufficient independent economic review and are selected despite unfavorable economic indicators Given this context, the non-governmental organization Conservation Strategy Fund developed the online HydroCalculator Tool (HCT) to facilitate the evaluation of hydropower plant projects. The HCT uses information provided by the user to calculate the environmental and social impact of these projects, as well as traditional measures of economic performance
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