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Variations in Discharge Volumes for Hydropower Generation in Switzerland

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  • Pascal Hänggi
  • Rolf Weingartner

Abstract

This study analyses the way climatic variations over the last century impacted the volumes of water available for hydropower production in Switzerland. The analysis relied on virtual intakes located all over Switzerland, which were assumed to be fed by water from mesoscale catchments. Intake capacities were designed using flow duration curves. The results show that the overall warming and increased winter precipitation observed in recent decades have led to more balanced discharge behaviours in rivers and more favourable conditions for electricity production than most periods in the past. In lower-altitude regions of Switzerland, the annual volume of water available for electricity production has not changed significantly; however, significantly more water is available in winters, while less is available during summers. In higher-altitude regions like the Swiss Alps, especially in glaciated catchment areas, significantly more water is available in both seasons; in other words, the annual volume of water available for hydropower production is significantly higher in these areas when compared to earlier periods. Comparison of these results with the actual amount of hydroelectricity produced over the same period reveals that hydrological variations cannot fully explain the variations in power production observed. Plant-specific analyses are needed of the impact of climatic changes on water management. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

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  • Pascal Hänggi & Rolf Weingartner, 2012. "Variations in Discharge Volumes for Hydropower Generation in Switzerland," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(5), pages 1231-1252, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:26:y:2012:i:5:p:1231-1252
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-011-9956-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lorenzo Alfieri & Paolo Perona & Paolo Burlando, 2006. "Optimal Water Allocation for an Alpine Hydropower System Under Changing Scenarios," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 20(5), pages 761-778, October.
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    1. Richard Arsenault & François Brissette & Jean-Stéphane Malo & Marie Minville & Robert Leconte, 2013. "Structural and Non-Structural Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for the Péribonka Water Resource System," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(7), pages 2075-2087, May.
    2. Schaefli, Bettina & Manso, Pedro & Fischer, Mauro & Huss, Matthias & Farinotti, Daniel, 2019. "The role of glacier retreat for Swiss hydropower production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 615-627.
    3. François, B. & Puspitarini, H.D. & Volpi, E. & Borga, M., 2022. "Statistical analysis of electricity supply deficits from renewable energy sources across an Alpine transect," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 1200-1212.
    4. Yue Zhang & Alun Gu & Hui Lu & Wei Wang, 2017. "Hydropower Generation Vulnerability in the Yangtze River in China under Climate Change Scenarios: Analysis Based on the WEAP Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-15, November.
    5. Lucas, Edimilson Costa & Mendes-Da-Silva, Wesley, 2018. "Impact of climate on firm value: Evidence from the electric power industry in Brazil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 359-368.
    6. Muhammad Azmat & Francesco Laio & Davide Poggi, 2015. "Estimation of Water Resources Availability and Mini-Hydro Productivity in High-Altitude Scarcely-Gauged Watershed," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(14), pages 5037-5054, November.
    7. Claude Boris Amougou & David Tsuanyo & Davide Fioriti & Joseph Kenfack & Abdoul Aziz & Patrice Elé Abiama, 2022. "LCOE-Based Optimization for the Design of Small Run-of-River Hydropower Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-35, October.
    8. François, B. & Zoccatelli, D. & Borga, M., 2017. "Assessing small hydro/solar power complementarity in ungauged mountainous areas: A crash test study for hydrological prediction methods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 716-729.
    9. Sakki, G.K. & Tsoukalas, I. & Kossieris, P. & Makropoulos, C. & Efstratiadis, A., 2022. "Stochastic simulation-optimization framework for the design and assessment of renewable energy systems under uncertainty," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    10. Anand Verdhen & Bhagu Chahar & Om Sharma, 2014. "Snowmelt Modelling Approaches in Watershed Models: Computation and Comparison of Efficiencies under Varying Climatic Conditions," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(11), pages 3439-3453, September.
    11. Luisa Liucci & Daniela Valigi & Stefano Casadei, 2014. "A New Application of Flow Duration Curve (FDC) in Designing Run-of-River Power Plants," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(3), pages 881-895, February.
    12. Handriyanti Diah Puspitarini & Baptiste François & Marco Baratieri & Casey Brown & Mattia Zaramella & Marco Borga, 2020. "Complementarity between Combined Heat and Power Systems, Solar PV and Hydropower at a District Level: Sensitivity to Climate Characteristics along an Alpine Transect," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    13. Sample, James E. & Duncan, Niall & Ferguson, Michael & Cooksley, Susan, 2015. "Scotland׳s hydropower: Current capacity, future potential and the possible impacts of climate change," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 111-122.
    14. Baptiste François & Benoit Hingray & Marco Borga & Davide Zoccatelli & Casey Brown & Jean-Dominique Creutin, 2018. "Impact of Climate Change on Combined Solar and Run-of-River Power in Northern Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, January.
    15. Schaefli, Bettina & Manso, Pedro & Fischer, Mauro & Huss, Matthias & Farinotti, Daniel, 2017. "The role of glacier retreat for Swiss hydropower production," Earth Arxiv 7z96d, Center for Open Science.
    16. François, B. & Hingray, B. & Raynaud, D. & Borga, M. & Creutin, J.D., 2016. "Increasing climate-related-energy penetration by integrating run-of-the river hydropower to wind/solar mix," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(P1), pages 686-696.
    17. Ludovic Gaudard & Manfred Gilli & Franco Romerio, 2013. "Climate Change Impacts on Hydropower Management," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(15), pages 5143-5156, December.
    18. Fernandes, Gláucia & Gomes, Leonardo Lima & Brandão, Luiz Eduardo Teixeira, 2018. "A risk-hedging tool for hydro power plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 370-378.
    19. Jonas Savelsberg & Moritz Schillinger & Ingmar Schlecht & Hannes Weigt, 2018. "The Impact of Climate Change on Swiss Hydropower," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-23, July.
    20. Patro, Epari Ritesh & De Michele, Carlo & Avanzi, Francesco, 2018. "Future perspectives of run-of-the-river hydropower and the impact of glaciers’ shrinkage: The case of Italian Alps," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 699-713.

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