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Muskrat Falls Hydroelectric Generating Project Develop an Integrated Approach to Assess Sustainability

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Muskrat Falls Hydroelectric Generating Project Develop an Integrated Approach to Assess Sustainability Muskrat Falls Hydroelectric Generating Project Develop an Integrated Approach to Assess Sustainability by F. I. M. Muktadir Boksh A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Policy at Memorial University of Newfoundland Grenfell Campus Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador August 2015 Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iv Measurement Units ........................................................................................................................ iv List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... v Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background Information ....................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Research Objectives .............................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 2 Research Methodology ................................................................................................ 5 Chapter 3 Study Area Overview .................................................................................................. 8 3.1 The Energy Sector ............................................................................................................... 12 3.2 Socio-Economic Attributes ................................................................................................. 14 3.3 The Environment in NL ...................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 4 Sustainability Assessment Framework ...................................................................... 20 4.1 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................................... 20 4.1.1 Sustainable Development ............................................................................................. 20 4.1.2 Economic Sustainability ............................................................................................... 21 4.1.3 Social sustainability ...................................................................................................... 22 4.1.4 Environmental Sustainability ....................................................................................... 23 4.1.5 Good Governance ......................................................................................................... 24 4.2 Identification of Key Issues: PESTLE Analysis ................................................................. 26 4.3 Sustainability Index (SIHEP) and Parameterization ............................................................. 32 4.3.1 Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 32 4.3.2 Index development ....................................................................................................... 33 4.3.3 Normalization and Aggregating Indicators .................................................................. 35 i 4.3.4 Calculation Procedure................................................................................................... 36 4.3.5 Explanation of the Results and Policy Recommendations ........................................... 38 4.3.6 Report Writing .............................................................................................................. 39 Chapter 5 Case Study: Sustainability of the Muskrat Falls Project ........................................... 39 5.1 Project Background ............................................................................................................. 39 5.2 Identifying Key Issues: PESTLE Analysis ......................................................................... 41 5.3 Measurement of Sustainability ............................................................................................ 48 5.3.1 Minimizing Social Impacts ........................................................................................... 48 5.3.2 Minimizing Environmental Impacts ............................................................................. 49 5.3.3 Maximizing Economic Benefits ................................................................................... 50 5.3.4 Good Governance ......................................................................................................... 51 5.4 Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 53 Chapter 6 Policy Framework and Recommendations ................................................................ 55 6.1 The DSR Framework .......................................................................................................... 55 6.2 Hydroelectric Energy Development: Policy Scan ............................................................... 57 6.3 Policy Recommendations .................................................................................................... 63 Chapter 7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 67 7.1 Summary and Conclusion ................................................................................................... 67 7.2 Research Achievement ........................................................................................................ 67 7.3 Research Limitation ............................................................................................................ 68 7.4 Scope for further research ................................................................................................... 68 References ..................................................................................................................................... 69 APPENDIX A: Electric Power Generation (Annual Megawatt Hour) .................................... 78 APPENDIX B: Sustainability Index measurement procedure .................................................. 80 APPENDIX C: Parameters and their measures (natural and proxy)......................................... 81 APPENDIX D: Benchmarking and indexing criteria for indicator ........................................... 83 ii List of Tables Table 1: Provincial Economic Indicators ...................................................................................... 14 Table 2: Socio-Economic Profile .................................................................................................. 15 Table 3: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Current Prices, Millions of Dollars ............................. 16 Table 4: Police officers ................................................................................................................. 17 Table 5: Population with a regular medical service, by sex ......................................................... 17 Table 6: GHG Emissions (kt CO2 equivalent) ............................................................................. 19 Table 7: Social classifications and objectives in social indicator sets .......................................... 23 Table 8: Normalization Grid ......................................................................................................... 35 Table 9: Calculation of sustainability index for hydroelectric energy projects ............................ 37 Table 10: Interpretation of sustainability score and policy status................................................. 38 Table 11: Key parameters for measuring sustainability of the MF hydroelectric project ............ 47 Table 12: Social sustainability of the MF hydroelectric energy project ....................................... 49 Table 13: Environmental sustainability of the MF hydroelectric energy project ......................... 50 Table 14: Economic sustainability of the MF hydroelectric energy project ................................. 51 Table 15: Sustainable governance of the MF hydroelectric energy project ................................. 53 Table 16: Sustainability index for the MF hydroelectric project .................................................. 54 Table 17: Driving forces and State of the MF project .................................................................. 56 Table 18: Legislative measures taken for hydroelectric energy development .............................. 62 Table 19: The DSR Metrics .......................................................................................................... 63 iii List of Figures Figure 1: Research Methodology ...................................................................................................
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