Abstract
Conventional hydropower technologies such as dams have been criticized due to their negative environmental effects which have necessitated the development of new technologies for sustainable development of hydropower energy. Hydrokinetic (HK) energy is one such emerging renewable energy technology and, in this study, a theoretical potential assessment was done using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model, for the U-Tapao river basin (URB), a major tributary of the Songkhla lake basin (SLB) in southern Thailand. The SWAT was calibrated and validated with SWAT calibration and uncertainty (SWAT-CUP)-SUFI 2 programs using the observed discharge data from the gauging stations within the watershed. The model performance was evaluated based on the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2) values, achieving 0.62 and 0.60, respectively, for calibration, and 0.65 and 0.68 for validation which is considered acceptable and can be used to represent flow estimation. The theoretical HK potential was estimated to be 71.9 MW along the 77.18 km U-Tapao river, which could be developed as a renewable and reliable energy source for the communities living around the river. The method developed could also be applied to river systems around the world for resource and time efficient HK potential assessments.
Highlights
Hydropower is the pioneer and most reliable form of renewable energy, currently contributing the highest share of 16% to the global renewable electricity production [1]
HK energy is the extraction of power from waves, ocean currents, rivers, and streams utilizing the kinetic flow of the water without any dams or river diversions [5,6] which makes it ideal as the majority of unwanted effects of conventional hydropower are the results of river blockades or diversions
The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model delineates the watershed into sub-basins based on the stream network using the of the watershed
Summary
Hydropower is the pioneer and most reliable form of renewable energy, currently contributing the highest share of 16% to the global renewable electricity production [1]. Dams built by China and other countries on the Mekong river have significantly altered the river system affecting the livelihood of millions of people living around the river because their agriculture, fishing, and other activities depend on the Mekong river [2] Such concerns have convinced many countries in the world to enforce environmental protection laws imposing bans on Energies 2020, 13, 1749; doi:10.3390/en13071749 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies. Energies 2020, 13, 1749 further developments of new hydropower dams, such as in the case of Thailand where the development of new hydropower dams is no longer allowed under the country’s strict environmental protection laws [3,4]. Being environmentally friendly, HK technology has attracted the interests of both individual researchers and governments alike with a gradual increase in the research especially with respect to the potential assessments of riverine hydrokinetic energy
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