Feasibility and Uncertainty Analysis of Hydropower Resources: A Case Study of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand

Renewable energy resources (solar, wind, hydro, etc.) are highly intermittent in nature. The nature of the available renewable resources affects the availability and economics of renewable power systems since the resource determines the quantity and the timings of renewable power generation. It is essential to characterize the availability of renewable energy resources before making any investment. An accurate estimation of renewable energy resources is the foremost requirements for the robust and reliable design and development of renewable-based hybrid energy systems. In this perspective, under the present study, hydropower potential assessment is conducted to meet the load demand for a cluster of ten villages located in the state of Uttarakhand (India), and the SCS curve number method based on daily rainfall data is applied. For a considered head of 5 m, the estimated electric power potential for catchment Zone-1, Zone-2, Zone-3, and Zone-4 was found to be 5.85 kW, 4.47 kW, 2.08 kW, and 4.63 kW, respectively. The feasibility of estimated power has been analyzed from the daily flow duration curves and is found to be as 38%, 39%, 40%, and 38% for Zone-1, Zone-2, Zone-3, and Zone-4, respectively. Further, the uncertainty in the estimated power was also analyzed due to variability in flow rate discharge.