Assessment of Investment in Small Hydropower Plants

In this study, an assessment of investments in a hydropower plants is considered. The objective of this work is to maximize the net present value from selling energy. Because of the stochastic nature of river flows, flow duration curve is constructed to take into account hydropower plant capacity factor, important for the assessment of investment. Proposed mixed-integer linear programming model is flexible and accounts for nonlinear three-dimensional relationship between the produced power, the discharged water, and the head of the associated reservoir. Continuous chain of imaginary run-of-river plants is considered on the Sava river stretch Croatia from border with Slovenia to city of Sisak.