The Untapped Potential of Hydropower
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The Untapped Potential of Hydropower Julia Wiebert Master of Science Thesis KTH School of Industrial Engineering and Management Energy Technology EGI-2017-0055-MSC Division of Energy and Climate Studies SE-100 44 STOCKHOLM Minna Sahlsten Master of Science Thesis EGI 2017-0055- MSC The Untapped Potential of Hydropower Julia Wiebert Minna Sahlsten Approved Examiner Supervisor Date Professor Semida Silveira, Professor Semida Silveira, PhD PhD Commissioner Contact person Fortum Sverige AB Hans Bjerhag Preface We are two master students studying at the Master's Program Sustainable Energy Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology. The topic of this master thesis, the untapped potential of hydropower, was initially suggested by Fortum Sverige AB, and the thesis has thereby been conducted in cooperation with Fortum during the spring of 2017. During our time at Fortum, we have had the opportunity not only to receive great support from many corners of the organization, but also to travel and visit several hydropower plants and offices around Sweden. We are grateful for this experience, and would like to thank our supervisors at Fortum, Hans Bjerhag and Malin Gustafsson, for their great support and guidance. Through the entire work, we have received a warm welcoming. We would therefore also like to thank all the employees at Fortum whom we had the opportunity to interview and receive help from. It is truly the people at Fortum who have made the past semester rewarding and exciting for us, and we appreciate this a lot. We would also like to thank our supervisor Semida Silveira at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, for taking time to be both our supervisor and examiner. Last, but not least, we would like to thank our supportive boyfriends who have been by our sides during the ups and downs of the work with this master thesis. Our hope is that you, as reader of this work, can get a better understanding of the opportunities, difficulties, and future challenges that hydropower in Sweden is facing. We found this subject very interesting, and hope you do as well. Enjoy the reading! Best regards Julia Wiebert and Minna Sahlsten Abstract The operation of hydropower plants in Sweden is regulated by certain Water Rights Permit. When new permits are to be applied for, for instance when wanting to make an upgrade or build new units or hydropower plants, this is done through an application process. This application process can be long and complex, and it has uncertain outcomes. Energy companies such as Fortum may therefore at times avoid applying for new permits, which results in an untapped potential of power output for the hydropower plants in question. The objective of this master thesis is to investigate how these application processes have impacted the power output from hydropower plants. This aspect is important due to expected changes in the legislation, which may increase the rate at which these applications for new permits are made. It is therefore important to learn from past processes and take these lessons into consideration in future cases. To investigate this, a number of case studies have been conducted in order to see which considerations have been made regarding whether or not to apply for new permits. Through investigation and evaluation regarding how different criteria impacts on the case studies, it was found that each case was unique. Different studied aspects affected the application process to a different extent, and at different stages. Some combinations, such as suggesting building a new hydropower plant or unit if the surrounding area is under protection according to the Environmental Code, were shown to impact the process and its outcome extensively in the studied cases. It was shown that a lot of potential upgrades have not been realized. An increase of only 10 %, out of an estimated potential of 26 %, was actually achieved in the studied cases. When comparing to other reports in the same field, it was shown that even further potential could be reached if using a systems approach. Table of Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................................. 11 List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 2 Objective ................................................................................................................................................................ 4 3 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Limitations ................................................................................................................................................... 5 3.2 Selection of case studies ............................................................................................................................. 5 4 Hydropower .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 4.1 Technical .................................................................................................................................................... 11 4.1.1 Hydrological aspects ........................................................................................................................ 11 4.1.2 Turbines ............................................................................................................................................. 12 4.2 Power regulation ....................................................................................................................................... 13 4.3 Technical and economical lifespan ......................................................................................................... 13 4.4 Environment .............................................................................................................................................. 14 5 The Environmental Code ............................................................................................................................ 1615 5.1 Water operations .................................................................................................................................. 1716 6 The Water Framework Directive ................................................................................................................ 1817 7 Natura 2000 .................................................................................................................................................... 1918 8 Water Rights Permit ...................................................................................................................................... 2019 9 Permit application processes ....................................................................................................................... 2019 10 The Investment process ............................................................................................................................... 2221 11 Electricity certificates .................................................................................................................................... 2322 12 The Sweco report .......................................................................................................................................... 2423 13 Case studies .................................................................................................................................................... 2725 13.1 Avestaforsen HPP ................................................................................................................................ 2826 13.1.1 The case in short ......................................................................................................................... 2826 13.1.2 Environmental protection ......................................................................................................... 2927 13.1.3 Potential power ........................................................................................................................... 2927 13.2 Bergvik HPP ......................................................................................................................................... 3028 13.2.1 The case in short ......................................................................................................................... 3028 13.2.2 Environmental protection ......................................................................................................... 3129