Assessment of water supply potential to generate electricity as micro hydro power plant in Bayang Catchment, West Sumatra

Abstract

The subject of water supply and demand is one of the central issues facing by the scientist today. The main purpose is to keep the water balance along the river on this climate change situation. Micro Hydro Power Plant (MHPP) is expected to be one of the solutions to mitigate this problem in the generation of electricity from renewable sources. But in its implementation, MHPP is very dependent on the stream flow which is always fluctuating as a result of climate change itself. This study assesses the potential effects of climate change on water supply in Bayang catchment to generate MHPP. Currently, there are three MHPP operate along the Bayang River. The hydrological model built using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system, and calibrated using historical data on climatology. The evapotranspiration was calculated using Penman method (FAQ 56). The water supply would then be investigated in purpose to generate all three micro hydro power plants. The assessment model is computed based on two scenarios and performed for the 2013-2025 period - Scenario 1: Water Year Method, Scenario 2: Climate Sequence. The simulation results that power generation varies from 619.4 MWh/year to 966.7 MWh/year. Based on the results, climate changes do have impact on power generation. Therefore, the comparison between both two scenarios can be considered for the planning of hydroelectric power plant generally and MHPP specifically.