The Blue Water Footprint of Electricity Production from Hydropower Plants in Iran

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student, Faculty of Water Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Water Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran

3 Professor, Faculty of Water Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran

4 Associate Professor, School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Hydroelectric power plants are a global potential for electricity production. Common types of hydroelectric power plants use dams on rivers to store water in reservoirs. They consume water by evaporation from the reservoir surface. This is a major issue in hydrology and water resources, which results in the availability of water resources. In this regard, the concept of water footprint was used to calculate the water consumed in the process of generating electricity from these plants.  In this study, to calculate the water footprint in electricity produced in hydropower plants of the country, data on the annual evaporation volume (m3) and annual electricity generation (m3/TJe) from 17 hydropower plants in Iran for the period of 2010 to 2017 is analyzed. The results showed that on average, the largest water footprint in electricity produced by Droudzan power plant was 287649 (m3 / TJe) and the lowest was related to Masjed Soleyman power plant, being equal to 405 m3 / TJe. The annual average water footprint in electricity production from Iranian hydropower plants was estimated at 3694.82 (m3 / TJe).

Keywords

Main Subjects


[1]. Nader H, Keikha AA, Sabouhi Sabouni M. Designing the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process to Determine Water Allocation Priority for Mahabad Dam. Water and Soil Science. 2013; 22(4): 147-159. [Persion]
[2]. Jangavar H, Noorollahi Y, Emami Meybodi A. Economic and Environmental Analysis of the Small Hydropower Plants Development. Ecohydrology. 2018; 4(4): 1255-1268. [Persion]
[3]. Meldrum J, Nettles-Anderson S, Heath G, Macknick J. Life cycle water use for electricity generation: a review and harmonization of literature estimates. Environ. Res. Lett. 2013 Mar 12; 8(1):015031.
[4]. Aligholinia T, Rezaie H, Behmanesh J, Montaseri M. Presentation of water footprint concept and its evaluationin Urmia lake watershed agricultural crops. Journal of Water and Soil Conservation. 2016; 23 (3): 337-344. [Persion]
[5]. Yousefi H, Mohammadi A, Noorollahi Y, Sadatinejad SJ. Water footprint evaluation of Tehran’s crops and garden crops. Journal of Water and Soil Conservation. 2018; 24(6): 67-85. [Persion]
[6]. Herath I, Deurer M, Horne D, Singh R, Clothier B. The water footprint of hydroelectricity: A methodological comparison from a case study in New Zealand. J. Cleaner Prod. 2011 Sep 1; 19(14): 1582-1589.
[7]. Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY. The blue water footprint of electricity from hydropower. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 2012 Jan 20; 16: 179-187.
[8]. Zhao D, Liu J. A new approach to assessing the water footprint of hydroelectric power based on allocation of water footprints among reservoir ecosystem services. Phys. Chem. Earth. 2015 Mar 31; 79-82: 40-46.
[9]. Miglietta PP, Morrone D, Leo FD. The Water Footprint Assessment of Electricity Production:
An Overview of the Economic-Water-Energy Nexus in Italy. Sustainability. 2018 Jan 17; 10(1): 228.
[10]. Mekonnen MM, Gerbens-Leenes PW, Hoekstra AY. The consumptive water footprint of electricity and heat: a global assessment. Environ. Sci. Water Res. Technol. 2015 May 1; 1(3): 285-297.
[11]. Bakken TH, Killingtveit Å, Alfredsen K. The Water Footprint of Hydropower Production—State of the Art and Methodological Challenges. Global Challenges. 2017 Jun 6; 1: 1600018.
[12]. Hogeboom RJ, Knook L, Hoekstra AY. The blue water footprint of the world's artificial reservoirs for hydroelectricity, irrigation, residential and industrial water supply, flood protection, fishing and recreation. Adv. Water Resour. 2018 Mar 1; 113: 285–294.
[13]. Rezaei M, Chaharsooghi S K, Abbaszadeh P. The Role of Renewable Energies in Sustainable Development: Case Study Iran. Iran. J. Energy Environ. 2013; 4 (4): 320-329.
[14]. Hoekstra AY. Virtual water trade: Proceedings of the International Expert Meeting on Virtual Water Trade, Delft, The Netherlands, 12-13 December 2002, Value of Water Research Report Series No.12, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands.
[15].Hoekstra AY, Hung PQ. Virtual water trade: A quantification of virtual water flows between nations in relation to international crop trade.2002. Value of Water Research Report Series No. 11, UNESCOIHE, Delft, the Netherlands.
[16]. Dai J, Wu S, Han G, Weinberg J, Xie X, Wu X, et al. Water- energy nexus: a review of methods and tools for macro-assessment. Appl. Energy. 2018 Jan 15; 210: 393–408.
[17]. Scherer L, Pfister S. Global water footprint assessment of hydropower. Renewable Energy. 2016; 99, 711–720.
Volume 6, Issue 4
January 2020
Pages 913-919
  • Receive Date: 21 April 2019
  • Revise Date: 15 August 2019
  • Accept Date: 15 August 2019
  • First Publish Date: 22 December 2019
  • Publish Date: 22 December 2019