Abstract:
Most of the world's energy demand is fulfilled from non-renewable energy resources, but these resources are depleting because of the increasing demand for energy due to population growth and climate change. Global installed hydropower capacity has been growing in recent years by an average of 24.2 GW/year. Hydropower seems to be more reliable and cleaner among all renewable energy sources due to less greenhouse gas emissions. This study's objective was to select potential sites for the Run of the River (RoR) projects and determine their theoretical potential using the SWAT model. The Swat River basin's sub-basins theoretical power potential has been estimated using the power formula and regional flow duration curve. Flow at 40th and 60th percentiles have been considered in the study. GIS-based tools and hydrological model SWAT have been implemented to select the sites to pinpoint weir, powerhouse, head acre, and penstock. The results reveal that the Swat River basin has enormous hydropower potential. Total 62 sites have been identified in the basin. The power ranges from 52KW to 7025KW at the 40th percentile, while power ranges from 200KW to 27471KW at the 60th percentile. Those basins have greater potential that has a higher elevation and are located on the greater stream order i.e. 4,5 and 6. if fully utilized the power potential of Pakistan, such as Swat river, only solve the energy crisis of Pakistan but also reliance on non-renewable energy.
