Ebook: Hydropower Economics

This is a thorough revision of the 2007 publication, and includes five new chapters and brings all existing chapters completely up to date. There have been many advances in hydropower and renewable technologies since the original publication, and Europe, and particularly Scandinavia, plan many more in the coming years.

From a review of the original edition: “… it is important to note that the author deals well with his selected topics. … I recommend this book to all readers who wish to learn more about the economics of hydroelectric power." (Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Interfaces, Vol. 39 (1), January-February, 2009)

Hydropower Economics provides qualitative economic analyses of how to utilize stored water in a hydropower system with fixed generating capacities. The problem is dynamic because water used today to generate electric power may alternatively be used tomorrow. The distinctive feature of the book is to provide a social planning perspective on optimal use of water. This is a prerequisite for understanding and evaluating newly established electricity markets. The dynamic nature of hydropower production, the high number of units involved, and the inherent stochastic nature of inflow of water make optimization problems quite difficult technically to solve. In the engineering literature complex stochastic dynamic programming models are used and solution algorithms developed for real-life data, and numerical solutions provided. In this book a much more simplified mathematical approach suited to obtain qualitative conclusions is followed. Standard nonlinear programming models for discrete time are used and the Kuhn–Tucker conditions employed extensively for qualitative interpretations. A special graphical presentation, termed a bathtub diagram, is developed for two-period illustration. The enlarged edition covers phasing-in of intermittent energy (run-of-the-river, wind and solar) and the economics of pumped-storage electricity.