Addressing Climate change in the water sector: The study of Run-of-river Hydropower potential in Vu Gia - Thu Bon river basin of Vietnam

Abstract

Vu Gia - Thu Bon river is the major water resource for the region with especially high potential for small hydropower development. This paper studies the potential of developing small hydropower and off-grid electricity supply for the communities within the river basin. Estimated run-of-river hydropower potential in the study area was performed using a distributed hydrologic model and flow duration curve method. The result indicates the total run-of-river hydropower potential is 277.342 MW with an average capacity factor of 40.2 %; which means the system is capable of generating 1.02 million MWh in a year.