Improving hydropower choices via an online and open access tool.
This paper describes and validates the HydroCalculator Tool developed by Conservation Strategy Fund. The HydroCalculator Tool allows researchers, policy-makers and citizens to easily assess hydropower feasibility, by calculating traditional financial indicators, such as the levelized cost of energy,...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2017-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5484472?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1828405611250843648 |
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| author | Thais Vilela John Reid |
| author_facet | Thais Vilela John Reid |
| author_sort | Thais Vilela |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper describes and validates the HydroCalculator Tool developed by Conservation Strategy Fund. The HydroCalculator Tool allows researchers, policy-makers and citizens to easily assess hydropower feasibility, by calculating traditional financial indicators, such as the levelized cost of energy, as well as greenhouse gas emissions and the economic net present value including emissions costs. Currently, people other than project developers have limited or no access to such information, which stifles informed public debate on electric energy options. Within this context, the use of the HydroCalculator Tool may contribute to the debate, by facilitating access to information. To validate the tool's greenhouse gas calculations, we replicate two peer-reviewed articles that estimate greenhouse gas emissions from different hydropower plants in the Amazon basin. The estimates calculated by the HydroCalculator Tool are similar to the ones found in both peer-reviewed articles. The results show that hydropower plants can lead to greenhouse gas emissions and that, in some cases, these emissions can be larger than those of alternative energy sources producing the same amount of electricity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:57:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e632bca99ff44a75a67463091fb72ca8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:57:19Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-e632bca99ff44a75a67463091fb72ca82022-12-22T01:51:50ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01126e017939310.1371/journal.pone.0179393Improving hydropower choices via an online and open access tool.Thais VilelaJohn ReidThis paper describes and validates the HydroCalculator Tool developed by Conservation Strategy Fund. The HydroCalculator Tool allows researchers, policy-makers and citizens to easily assess hydropower feasibility, by calculating traditional financial indicators, such as the levelized cost of energy, as well as greenhouse gas emissions and the economic net present value including emissions costs. Currently, people other than project developers have limited or no access to such information, which stifles informed public debate on electric energy options. Within this context, the use of the HydroCalculator Tool may contribute to the debate, by facilitating access to information. To validate the tool's greenhouse gas calculations, we replicate two peer-reviewed articles that estimate greenhouse gas emissions from different hydropower plants in the Amazon basin. The estimates calculated by the HydroCalculator Tool are similar to the ones found in both peer-reviewed articles. The results show that hydropower plants can lead to greenhouse gas emissions and that, in some cases, these emissions can be larger than those of alternative energy sources producing the same amount of electricity.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5484472?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Thais Vilela John Reid Improving hydropower choices via an online and open access tool. PLoS ONE |
| title | Improving hydropower choices via an online and open access tool. |
| title_full | Improving hydropower choices via an online and open access tool. |
| title_fullStr | Improving hydropower choices via an online and open access tool. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving hydropower choices via an online and open access tool. |
| title_short | Improving hydropower choices via an online and open access tool. |
| title_sort | improving hydropower choices via an online and open access tool |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5484472?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT thaisvilela improvinghydropowerchoicesviaanonlineandopenaccesstool AT johnreid improvinghydropowerchoicesviaanonlineandopenaccesstool |