Systematic high-resolution assessment of global hydropower potential.

Autor: Hoes OA; Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands., Meijer LJ; Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.; Witteveen+Bos Raadgevende ingenieurs B.V., Deventer, the Netherlands., van der Ent RJ; Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.; Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands., van de Giesen NC; Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2017 Feb 08; Vol. 12 (2), pp. e0171844. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Feb 08 (Print Publication: 2017).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171844
Abstrakt: Population growth, increasing energy demand and the depletion of fossil fuel reserves necessitate a search for sustainable alternatives for electricity generation. Hydropower could replace a large part of the contribution of gas and oil to the present energy mix. However, previous high-resolution estimates of hydropower potential have been local, and have yet to be applied on a global scale. This study is the first to formally present a detailed evaluation of the hydropower potential of each location, based on slope and discharge of each river in the world. The gross theoretical hydropower potential is approximately 52 PWh/year divided over 11.8 million locations. This 52 PWh/year is equal to 33% of the annually required energy, while the present energy production by hydropower plants is just 3% of the annually required energy. The results of this study: all potentially interesting locations for hydroelectric power plants, are available online.
Competing Interests: LJJM has performed part of his work under a commercial affiliation (Witteveen+Bos Raadgevende ingenieurs B.V.). We state that this does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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