A Reduced-form Cost Model for Prefeasibility Analysis of Hydropower at Non-Powered Dams

Technical Report · Sun Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 2024

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2439877· OSTI ID:2439877

Oladosu, Gbadebo A. ^[1]; Ma, Yu ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

This study presents a reduced-form model to support a better understanding of the capacity potential and drivers of costs for hydropower development at U.S. non-powered dams (NPD), which are existing dams that are not currently used for hydropower. With information on nineteen reference sites, a set of reduced-form design and cost equations were estimated to enable rapid assessments of aggregate costs and their components for a large number of NPD sites. The model was then applied to 36,000+ potential U.S. NPD sites using the limited data commonly available. Although the cost estimates span a wide range, there exists a significant amount of U.S. NPD hydropower capacity potential, which are considered cost-competitive in the current market using baseline technologies.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 2439877
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM--2024/3299
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

13 HYDRO ENERGY