A HYDRO WOOD NET-ENERGY APPROACH TO HYDRO PROJECT DESIGN

An integrated approach to energy planning, when applied to large hydroelectric projects, requires that the energy-opportunity cost of the land submerged under the reservoir be incorporated into the planning methodology. Biomass energy lost from submerged land has to be compared to the electrical energy generated, for which the authors develop four alternative formulations of the net-energy function. The design problem is posed as a linear programming problem and is solved for two sites in India. Results show that the proposed designs may not be viable in net-energy terms, whereas a marginal reduction in the generation capacity could lead to an optimal design that gives substantial savings in the submerged area. Allowing seasonal variations in the hydroelectric generation capacity also reduces the reservoir size. A mixed hydro-wood generation system is then examined and is found to be viable.