Applying GIS to Identify Potential Location of Small Hydropower in Catchment Region

The effects of global warming and climate change have increased the frequency of floods and droughts, while over-urbanization has exacerbated the problem of disasters. In 2015, the United Nations proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which state that the proportion of renewable energy in the energy structure should be significantly increased, and that such a goal is a joint effort of governments, businesses and citizen groups. In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states that global warming should be limited to 1.5 degrees C to avoid increasing impacts of climate change, and in order to achieve this goal, global carbon emissions must be reduced by 45% in 2030 compared to 2010 and must reach "net zero" by 2050. For this reason, the world is actively developing green energy. Comparing to other renewable energy, small hydropower might cause little impact on the ecological environment. The steep terrain and abundant rainfall in Taiwan should have abundant potential for small hydropower, so this study aims to develop a GIS tool to quickly locate potential small hydropower sites in each catchment area. The feasibility assessment of small hydropower takes into account hydraulic head, discharge, water quality, geology, economics, and transportation. Traditional surveys are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and costly, so this study will develop a visualization tool that uses topographic data (DEM) and average annual runoff to assess small hydropower potential sites. The study area was located in central Taiwan. The QGIS software package was used to process the data, and the topographic data was used to find the appropriate hydraulic head and calculate the average annual flowrate for small hydropower potential assessment.