High-resolution assessment of global technical and economic hydropower potential

Hydropower is the most important renewable energy source to date, providing over 72% of all renewable electricity globally. Yet, only limited information is available on the global potential supply of hydropower and the associated costs. Here we provide a high-resolution assessment of the technical and economic potential of hydropower at a near-global scale. Using 15”×15” discharge and 3”×3” digital elevation maps, we built virtual hydropower installations at >3.8 million sites across the globe and calculated their potential using cost optimization methods.

This way we identified over 60,000 suitable sites, which together represent a remaining global potential of 9.49 PWh yr−1 below US$0.50 kWh−1. The largest remaining potential is found in Asia Pacific (39%), South America (25%) and Africa (24%), of which a large part can be produced at low cost (<US$0.10 kWh−1). In an ecological scenario, this potential is reduced to 5.67 PWh yr−1.

This article is available on the publisher’s website via restricted access.

Authors

David E.H J. Gernaat, Patrick W. Bogaart, Detlef P. van Vuuren, Hester Biemans, Robin Niessink

Specifications

Publication title
High-resolution assessment of global technical and economic hydropower potential
Publication date
18 September 2017
Publication type
Publication
Magazine
Natture Energy
Product number
2023